Richard L. Brooks (born December 9, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and director. He played the eccentric bounty hunter Jubal Early in the space-western Firefly and assistant district attorney Paul Robinette in the NBC drama series Law & Order from 1990 to 1993, later appearing as a defense attorney on that same show. In 2013, he began starring as Patrick Patterson in the BET drama series, Being Mary Jane.
Throughout the 1990s, most of his popularity came from his widespread exposure in his role as Paul Robinette on Law & Order.[2] However, the actor would constantly find himself alternating between the feature films, television, and the stage. After appearing in The Substitute and playing the villain in The Crow: City of Angels (both 1996), Brooks opted to try his hand at directing, and the result was Johnny B Good (1998). It is about a young, urban black man who makes a positive change after suffering amnesia. Brooks returned to television for the short-lived series G vs E in 1999. In 2001, he made a guest appearance in NYPD Blue. Brooks is also well known by some science fiction fans for his appearance on Joss Whedon's Firefly, as a bounty hunter named Jubal Early in the existentialist series finale "Objects in Space". He also appeared as Hasdrabul Skaras in "Slayer", the fifth episode of the series Brimstone. He also appeared as Detective Ehrle in the short-lived Fox series Drive, alongside Nathan Fillion, with whom Brooks had worked on Firefly.
In addition to his film work, Brooks also founded his own production company, Flat Top Entertainment LLC. At the dawn of the millennium, Brooks released his first solo R&B album, Smooth Love, on Flat Top Records.