Brooks' early theater credits include "The Offering", "A PHOTOGRAPH: A Study of Cruelty", and "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" in the 1970s. He started to gain recognition after his appearance in "Spell #7" at the Public/Anspache Theater in New York City in 1979. He subsequently starred in "Othello" at the Folger Shakespeare Festival (1985) and "Fences" at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1990. He reprised the role of "Othello" at the Washington Shakespeare Theater in 1990–1991.