Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2017 | Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart | Self |
| 2017 | Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me | Self |
| 2011 | Sing Your Song | Actor |
| 2001 | Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey | Narrator |
| 1998 | David and Lisa (1998) | Dr. Jack Miller |
| 1997 | The Jackal | Carter Preston |
| 1992 | Sneakers | Donald Crease |
| 1991 | Separate but Equal | Actor |
| 1985 | Fast Forward | Director |
| 1980 | Stir Crazy | Director |
| 1979 | Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist | Narrator |
| 1975 | Let's Do It Again | Clyde Williams |
| 1974 | Uptown Saturday Night | Steve Jackson |
| 1973 | A Warm December | Dr. Matt Younger |
| 1972 | Buck and the Preacher | Buck |
| 1972 | Nationtime (2020) | Narrator |
| 1971 | The Organization | Virgil Tibbs |
| 1970 | They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | Virgil Tibbs |
| 1969 | The Lost Man | Jason Higgs |
| 1967 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Dr. John Wade Prentice |
| 1967 | New Movie | Virgil Tibbs |
| 1967 | To Sir, With Love | Mark Thackeray |
| 1966 | Duel at Diablo | Toller |
| 1965 | A Patch of Blue | Gordon Ralfe |
| 1965 | The Bedford Incident | Ben Munceford |
| 1965 | The Slender Thread | Alan Newell |
| 1964 | The Long Ships | Aly Mansuh |
| 1963 | Lilies of the Field | Homer Smith |
| 1962 | Pressure Point | Doctor |
| 1961 | A Raisin in the Sun | Walter Lee Younger |
| 1961 | Paris Blues | Eddie Cook |
| 1960 | All the Young Men | Sgt. Eddie Towler |
| 1959 | Porgy and Bess | Porgy |
| 1958 | The Defiant Ones | Noah Cullen |
| 1958 | The Mark of the Hawk | Obam |
| 1957 | Edge of the City | Tommy Tyler |
| 1957 | Band of Angels | Rau-Ru |
| 1957 | Something of Value | Kimani Wa Karanja |
| 1956 | Good-bye, My Lady | Gates |
| 1955 | Blackboard Jungle | Gregory W. Miller |
| 1950 | No Way Out (1950) | Dr. Luther Brooks |
