Director
Boots Riley
April 1, 1971 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Raymond Lawrence 'Boots' Riley (born April 1, 1971) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial debut with Sorry to Bother You (released July 2018), which he also wrote. In 2023, the streaming series I'm a Virgo premiered on Prime Video, which Riley wrote and directed.
Notable work
Often works with
LaKeith Stanfield
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, I Love Boosters
Jermaine Fowler
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, I Love Boosters
Kate Berlant
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, I Love Boosters
Danny Glover
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, When I See Them, I See Us
Robert Longstreet
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, I'm a Virgo
Eric Jacobus
2 titles together
Sorry to Bother You, Rope a Dope 2
Full filmography · 10
Mr. Burns
Director and Writer
Upcoming
I Love Boosters
Director and Writer
20266.1
The Last Critic
cast
2026
Fremont
as Restaurant Patron (uncredited)
20236.4
I'm Charlie Walker
as Bartender Ray
2022
When I See Them, I See Us
cast
2021
Sorry to Bother You
Director and Writer
20186.8
Rope a Dope 2
as Mayor
2015First Earth: Uncompromising Ecological Architecture
cast
2009