In 1973 he landed the role of the James Bond villain Mr. Big in "Live and Let Die", as well as roles in "Across 110th Street" and "Truck Turner". Kotto portrayed Idi Amin in the 1977 television film "Raid on Entebbe". He starred as an auto worker in the 1978 film "Blue Collar". The following year he played Parker in the sci-fi–horror film "Alien". He followed with a supporting role in the 1980 prison drama "Brubaker". In 1983, he guest-starred as mobster Charlie "East Side Charlie" Struthers in "The A-Team" episode "The Out-of-Towners". In 1987, he appeared in the futuristic sci-fi movie "The Running Man", and in 1988, in the action-comedy "Midnight Run", in which he portrayed Alonzo Moseley, an FBI agent. A memo from Paramount indicates that Kotto was among those being considered for Jean-Luc Picard in "", a role which eventually went to Patrick Stewart.