Unable to find work in the U.S., he moved to Italy in the '60s to form his own theatre company, then to Germany, and finally to England, where he worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and found roles in British films. When he moved back to the U.S., he found a place as a leading personality in the "Blaxploitation" film movement of the early '70s. His film roles from this period include "Joanna," "Cotton Comes to Harlem," "Halls of Anger," "Melinda," and "Let's Do It Again."