Lena Waithe’s 10 Best TV & Movie Roles, According To IMDb

Actress, screenwriter, and producer Lena Waithe has grown in popularity over the years, with notable credits in several acclaimed creative projects. Many also know her from her Emmy-winning run on the Netflix comedy-drama series Master of None in which she plays Denise, the best friend of Aziz Ansari’s protagonist, Dev Shah.

She’s also set to appear in the show’s third season this May, which will solely focus on Denise’s character arc. Other than the Netflix series, her other recent projects include the horror anthology, Them (serving as executive producer), and Big Mouth (voicing Lena). All in all, Waithe’s success only seems to be growing.

10 Brook-Lynne (Bad Hair) – 5.6

The 2020 satirical horror-comedy Bad Hair did have the potential to garner many positive reactions given its premise and ensemble cast, but unfortunately, the film largely flew under the radar. The film is directed by Justin Simien (of Dear White People fame) and stars Lena Waithe as Brook-Lynne, an office co-worker and friend of the lead character, Anna (Elle Lorraine).

Set in the 1980s, Anna is made by her boss to change her natural hair to a weave to fit her company’s new “image.” However, her new hairstyle proves to be a nightmare when it seemingly “comes alive” and has a mind of its own.

9 P. Ninny (Dear White People) – 6.2

Spawned from the film of the same name, the satirical Netflix series Dear White People featured Waithe in a few episodes of Volume 2 as the rapper, P. Ninny. The character also stars in a reality show called Trap House Tricks, a direct parody of shows like Love and Hip-Hop, along with slight allusions to Empire.

Waithe is, of course, no stranger to the franchise, as she also served as producer for the original film back in 2014.

8 Office Employee (A Black Lady Sketch Show) – 7.2

Lena Waithe has a blink-and-miss cameo in the final sketch of the second episode of the HBO original A Black Lady Sketch Show. Quinta Brunson plays an office worker who’s searching for her stolen mug. When the security-in-charge, Fatimah (Ashley Nicole Black), goes through some CCTV footage, she discovers that Brunson’s character actually stages murders in her office for unknown reasons. Another twist reveals her stealing everyone’s coffee mugs from the office.

And then, almost as a jump scare, Waithe enters the room looking for her mug, which also seems to have been stolen. Shaken by the encounter with the murderer, Fatimah is too disturbed to respond to Waithe’s query.

7 Helen Harris/Aech (Ready Player One) – 7.3

In the Steven Spielberg-helmed sci-fi epic, Ready Player One (based on Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name), Lena Waithe is initially introduced as the gaming avatar, Aech, an orc-like creature who serves as a builder and repairman in the virtual gaming environment known as OASIS.

Her voice was heavily edited for the gaming scenes, as her character hides her identity under the guise of Aech. Later on, as the story progresses, Waithe’s character is shown to be a gamer called Helen Harris. This also happened to be Waithe’s first major film role.

6 Officer Specter (Onward) – 7.4

Before Soul earned rave reviews, Onward was Disney-Pixar’s major release in 2020. The animated film is set in a fantasy realm in which two elf brothers (Chris Pratt and Tom Holland) set out to find an artifact that will temporarily bring back their father from the dead.

Lena Waithe plays a cyclops police officer called Specter, operating in the city of New Mushroomton. Specter initially tails the protagonists Ian and Barley for speeding. But when the siblings magically disguise themselves as Colt Bronco, their mother’s new police officer boyfriend, she interrogates them further. Later, she lets Bronco go upon hearing about his troubles, relating with him. Specter is also Pixar’s second LGBTQ+ character after the lesbian mothers in Finding Dory.

5 Camille Hallaway (The Chi) – 7.5

Camille Hallaway is a mayoral candidate in Southside Chicago who is introduced in the third season of The Chi. Waithe herself created the Showtime series that is set to premiere its fourth season this May.

Hallaway is one of Waithe’s boldest and most outspoken characters, as is evident from an introductory speech in which she promises to change her neighborhood and reduce its crime rate. To put it in her own words, “I don’t wanna walk in front of you, I wanna walk alongside you because we’re all in this together.”

4 Lena Foreman (Big Mouth) – 8

The fourth season of Netflix’s Big Mouth featured Lena Waithe voicing a guest character for two episodes. She played Lena Foreman, one of Missy’s cousins, who encourages her to connect with her Black roots. This interaction influences Missy (Ayo Edebiri) to change her style and general worldview.

The topic is further touched upon at a college party. Lena and her colleagues debate about the practice of “code-switching,” with Lena expressing her disdain over the practice being “corny” and “oppressive.”

3 Denise (Master Of None) – 8.3

Denise is initially introduced as Dev’s casual friend, but further episodes reveal that this friendship has existed since childhood. For instance, in the episode titled Religion, it’s revealed how Denise introduced Dev to bacon.

She’s often shown as a carefree, sarcastic personality who is willing to listen to her friend rant about his romantic and professional troubles. However, the one episode that really added more weight to her backstory was Thanksgiving. It explores Denise’s sexuality and how her mother (Angela Bassett) struggles to accept it. The heartwarming episode earned Waithe an Emmy for Outstanding Writing In A Comedy Series.

2 Ash James (Westworld) – 8.6

The polarizing third season of Westworld introduced the character Ash James, a temperamental criminal who works with Giggles (Marshawn Lynch) and Caleb Nichols (Aaron Paul) to make money from the RICO app to support her brother’s future.

But after she stumbles upon sensitive data from Incite Inc, she’s prompted to shoot down the company’s co-founder and CEO, Liam Dempsey Jr. (John Gallagher Jr.). She’s later found rioting outside the Incite headquarters, eventually helping Nichols infiltrate the building.

1 Animal Store Clerk (This Is Us) – 8.7

Continuing her streak of memorable guest appearances, Lena Waithe appeared as a worker at a dog shelter in This Is Us. The episode starts with Kate visiting the shelter, looking for a dog to adopt. Dealing with the death of her father, she wants a dog to help her get over her pain.

Considering that the series and this particular episode can be emotionally draining for viewers, Waithe’s cheery character as the animal store clerk comes as a breath of fresh air, offering some much-needed optimism.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
(727 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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