The 2005 Academy Award-Winning Documentary Short Film, "Mighty Times: The Children's March", in which he played D.J. Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart, contained no archival footage of Mr. Stewart. Therefore, all that is shown in the film representing Mr. Stewart is created through Rico's research and character development. 2nd cousin of actor Paul Benjamin (I) Rico is the oldest of 11 children on his mother's side and the 3rd of four children on his father's side. His mother is a retired government worker and his father is a retired transit bus driver. Is an active member of The Robey Theater Company, a Los Angeles based African American theater company created by Ben Guillory and Danny Glover. Majored in Theatre Arts and Minored in Black Studies at San Francisco State University. Was the Creative Arts Representative in the San Francisco State University Associated Students Legislature. His father is African American and his mother is 1/2 African American and 1/2 Cherokee Indian. Is a founding member of the African American Shakespeare Company in San Francisco. Co-founded L.A. Artists Theatre Company with director Niva Dorell and actor Abner Genece. L.A. Artists Theatre Company's first production was a revival of the award winning play, "The Meeting" by Jeff Stetson. "What if Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King had met and talked behind closed doors?" As of February 2007, The Meeting had not been produced in Los Angeles in over 15 years.
