Lester Speight

Lester Speight
Lester Speight, 2016
Born	(1963-01-07) January 7, 1963 (age 54) Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Other names	Rasta
Occupation	Football player, wrestler, actor

Lester Speight (born January 7, 1963), also known as Rasta, is a former American football player who has had subsequent careers as a professional wrestler and then actor. He achieved significant recognition for his portrayal of Terry Tate: Office Linebacker in a series of Reebok commercials that debuted during Super Bowl XXXVII, and received further recognition for his portrayal of Augustus Cole in the Gears of War series of video games.

Speight was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Gussie Watson and Richard Speight. He graduated from Old Mill High School in Millersville in 1981, where he is in the Hall of Fame for starring in three sports: football, track, and basketball. He attended Morgan State University from 1982 to 1985, and was a Division 1 All American Linebacker. After graduating in 1985, he tried unsuccessfully to play in the NFL. Not one to give up easily, he tried out for the United States Football League the same year. During tryouts, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds, which got the attention of the Baltimore Stars. Speight and business manager/cousin Butch Groover negotiated a two-year deal with the Stars for more than $200,000. However, the USFL folded before he even played one season. He never made it into the NFL.

Speight moved on to professional wrestling working for Global Wrestling Federation and Catch Wrestling Association as "Rasta the Voodoo Man". It was not long, however, before he quit wrestling in 1997, to pursue an acting career.

From there he went on to appear in other minor roles in many films including Any Given Sunday, 13 Moons and as the club doorman, in Cradle 2 the Grave. Speight has also appeared in many television shows such as Malcolm in the Middle, Walker Texas Ranger, NYPD Blue, Arli$$, Prison Break and My Wife and Kids.