Lateef Crowder dos Santos (born November 23, 1977 in Salvador, Brazil) is a stuntman, martial artist, and actor based in California.
Born in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil, Crowder moved to San Jose, California, at the age of four. Growing up, he studied gymnastics and Capoeira, and joined the Zero Gravity Stunt Team. Today he is largely notable for his work in portraying Capoeira in film. His first major film role was as a capoeirista fighting Tony Jaa's character in Tom-Yum-Goong, the choreography of which was abruptly reduced due to Crowder damaging his Achilles tendon during filming. He became a fan-favorite to play Eddy Gordo in Tekken (2010), which he was ultimately cast in. Crowder has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Action Performance By a Stunt Ensemble, for Wonder Woman (2017) and The Mandalorian, and the first and third Emmy Awards for Outstanding Stunt Performance, also for The Mandalorian.
Notable Roles:
- Tom-Yum-Goong (2005) - Unnamed Capoeira Fighter
- Ninja Cheerleaders (2008) - Karate Bully
- Fight Science (2008) - As Himself in "Stealth Fighters"
- Tekken (2010) - Eddy Gordo
- Undisputed 3 (2010) - Andrago Silva (The Brazilian Fighter)
- Mortal Kombat: Rebirth (2011) - Alan Zane/Baraka
- Twilight: Breaking Dawn (2012) - Santiago
- Falcon Rising (2014) - Carlo Bororo
- Boone: The Bounty Hunter (2017) - Juan Cardoza
- Star Wars - Double - The Mandalorian
- The Mandalorian (2019 — present)
- The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)note
Tropes invoked by Lateef Crowder:
- Boisterous Bruiser: His characters are often rather jovial, smiling and joking around with opponents even in the middle of fight scenes.
- Capoeira: One of the foremost actors in the field for this style, he is pretty much the go-to guy for Capoeira in films, and incorporates it into his style even when it's not listed as the fighting style.
- Dance Battler: Part and parcel with Crowder's Capoeira style, his fighting tends to be relatively dance-like.
- Dreadlock Warrior: A common aspect of Lateef Crowder's roles is his dreadlocked hairstyle.
- Friendship on the Set: Formed some with the Mandalorian's other two most notable performers, Pedro Pascal and Brendan Wayne. Crowder and Pascal had already interacted prior to The Mandalorian, due to Crowder training him for Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and playing an unnamed character in Triple Frontier.
- Scary Black Man: Another common aspect of his roles. At 5'11", and with his packed musculature, Lateef makes for an intimidating figure.
