In 1991 , Odom made his film debut in '' Straight Out of Brooklyn '' , portraying Ray Brown , the troubled father of Dennis , played by Lawrence Gilliard Jr . Odom received a nomination for Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance , but lost to David Strathairn at the 1992 ceremony . Odom 's and Strathairn 's fellow nominees in that category were William H. Macy , John Malkovich and Glenn Plummer
1992 ceremony
7th Independent Spirit Awards
George T. Odom