Richard Chaves
Actor · Born October 8, 1951 (75) · Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Richard John Chaves is an American character actor. In the early 1980s, he began work as an actor taking on various soap opera roles until he gained a role in 1987 as Poncho in the science fiction film Predator. Soon afterward, his career received another boost with the role of Lt. Colonel Ironhorse in the television series War of the Worlds. Chaves once calculated that the volume of fan mail he received outnumbered the rest of the cast members by a four or five to one ratio.
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Biography from TMDB.
- October 8, 1951 (75)
- Jacksonville, Florida, USA
- Actor
- 15 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are Richard Chaves' films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 3
Grounded 6 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4
Resolved 7 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
- Allyas Det. Lou Casals in L.A. Takedown (1989)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic2
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Richard Chaves' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Richard Chaves' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Elf Sparkle Meets Christmas the Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Baja Run (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Star Trek: Voyager(1995)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all showsNight Realm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)
Babylon 5(1993)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Walker, Texas Ranger(1993)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows
Night Eyes II(1991)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
L.A. Takedown(1989)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
War of the Worlds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Predator(1987)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Penalty Phase(1986)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
L.A. Law(1986)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all shows
Cease Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
MacGyver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Witness(1985)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Miami Vice(1984)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all shows
St. Elsewhere (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Fire on the Mountain(1981)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Hill Street Blues(1981)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 83rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 22 titles from 1981 to 2009; peak year 1987.
Film career
Peak 1987 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1987Screen debut· Predator
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Richard Chaves' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 57th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 32. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Richard Chaves work with?
People who share at least 2 of Richard Chaves' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bill Duke shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Bill DukeShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Bill Duke
- Elpidia CarrilloShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Elpidia Carrillo
- Kevin Peter HallShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Peter Hall
- Shane BlackShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Shane Black
Composers
- Alan SilvestriShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Alan Silvestri
Mixed roles
- Beau MarksShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Beau Marks
- Donald McAlpineShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with Donald McAlpine
- John DavisShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with John Davis
- John McTiernanShared titles: If It Bleeds We Can Kill It: The Making of 'Predator' (2001), Predator (1987)See all 2 shared titles with John McTiernan
