Grier was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and won the Theatre World Award for "The First". He later starred as James "Thunder" Early in the hit Broadway musical "Dreamgirls". Grier made his film debut in 1983 in "Streamers", directed by Robert Altman. He won the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the film. He also appeared in the Negro Ensemble Company production "A Soldier's Play" and reprised his role in the film version "A Soldier's Story". Grier also appeared as a geology professor at Hillman College in the show "A Different World" where he was a crush of several of the girls on the show including lead character Denise Huxtable played by actress Lisa Bonet.