Robert DoQui could make a gruff order sound reasonable. We value the plain-speaking authority of his supporting work, especially the decency of Sergeant Reed in RoboCop, though the uniform could limit the surprises.
Fi1m perspective
In RoboCop (1987), Robert DoQui's Sergeant Warren Reed speaks with the blunt authority of a man who expects to be understood the first time. The gruffness is familiar; the sense that this sergeant has principles makes it worth attending to. We rate DoQui for making such a part convincing without making it seem more complicated than it is. Reed remains a recognisable hard-nosed sergeant, and there are limits to how much surprise the role allows. DoQui gives us a reason to respect him.
Coffy (1973) offers a useful warning against reducing him to the dependable man in uniform. His King George is a flamboyant pimp, a conspicuously different assignment from Reed. His 1970s work took him through blaxploitation and into Robert Altman's ensembles, beginning with Nashville (1975). There he plays Wade Cooley, a cook, in a film full of people trying to get noticed. That is a more useful way to consider his career than treating every supporting role as a missed opportunity to lead.
Nashville rewards attention to its crowded conversations, and DoQui belongs to that company rather than standing apart from it. Altman's patience lets the comedy and tenderness develop, though a few stretches dawdle. We would not make DoQui the chief reason to watch it, but the film gives us good reason to pay attention to its supporting players. His three-film association with Altman extended to Short Cuts (1993), where he played Knute Willis.
Reed became the recurring role, with DoQui playing him across the three original RoboCop films from 1987 to 1993. In Paul Verhoeven's original, his ethical sergeant has a useful place in a film so savage about corporate power. We were moved by RoboCop because Peter Weller makes the metal policeman a person worth caring about. DoQui's contribution is smaller, but Reed's plain decency helps that feeling find a place amid the violence. Start there, provided the violence is not going to spoil the evening.
Biography
Robert DoQui was an American actor who appeared in film and television from the mid-1960s until 2007. He is best known for portraying Sgt. Warren Reed in the three RoboCop films (1987–1993). Other notable film roles include King George in Coffy (1973), Wade Cooley in Nashville (1975) and Knute Willis in Short Cuts (1993).
DoQui made numerous guest appearances on television series including I Dream of Jeannie, Gunsmoke, The Jeffersons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and ER. He provided the voice of Pablo Robertson in the animated series Harlem Globetrotters (1970–1973). Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, he died in Los Angeles in 2008.
