| Movie | 1966 | Duel at Diablo | Toller | |
| Movie | 1992 | Sneakers | Crease | |
| Movie | 1967 | Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | John Prentice | |
| Movie | 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Simon of Cyrene | |
| Movie | 1959 | Porgy and Bess | Porgy | |
| Movie | 1967 | In the Heat of the Night | Virgil Tibbs | |
| Movie | 2023 | Sidney Poitier - Der Mann, der Hollywood veränderte | (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1997 | The Jackal | Carter Preston | |
| Movie | 1958 | The Defiant Ones | Noah Cullen | |
| Movie | 1975 | The Wilby Conspiracy | Shack Twala | |
| Movie | 1988 | Shoot to Kill | Warren Stantin | |
| Movie | 1972 | Buck and the Preacher | Buck | |
| Movie | 1955 | Blackboard Jungle | Gregory W. Miller | |
| Movie | 1967 | To Sir, with Love | Mark Thackeray | |
| Movie | 1965 | A Patch of Blue | Gordon Ralfe | |
| Movie | 1961 | Paris Blues | Eddie Cook | |
| Movie | 1988 | Little Nikita | Roy Parmenter | |
| Movie | 1962 | Pressure Point | Doctor | |
| Movie | 1988 | Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night | Self - Audience Member | |
| Movie | 2004 | Hollywood Legenden | Self | |
| Movie | 1970 | They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | Virgil Tibbs | |
| Movie | 1950 | No Way Out | Luther Brooks | |
| Movie | 1957 | Edge of the City | Tommy Tyler | |
| Movie | 1974 | Uptown Saturday Night | Steve Jackson | |
| Movie | 1975 | Let's Do It Again | Clyde Williams | |
| Movie | 1961 | A Raisin in the Sun | Walter Lee Younger | |
| Movie | 1977 | A Piece of the Action | Manny Durrell | |
| Movie | 1957 | Band of Angels | Rau-Ru | |
| Movie | 2001 | Quincy Jones: In the Pocket | Self | |
| Movie | 1964 | The Long Ships | Aly Mansuh | |
| Movie | 1963 | Lilies of the Field | Homer Smith | |
| Movie | 1965 | The Bedford Incident | Ben Munceford | |
| Movie | 1957 | Something of Value | Kimani Wa Karanja | |
| Movie | 1973 | A Warm December | Dr. Matt Younger | |
| Movie | 1965 | The Slender Thread | Alan Newell | |
| Movie | 1968 | For Love of Ivy | Jack Parks | |
| Movie | 2012 | Sing Your Song | Self | |
| Movie | 1957 | The Mark of the Hawk | Obam | |
| Movie | 1971 | The Organization | Virgil Tibbs | |
| Movie | 1999 | The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | Noah Dearborn | |
| Movie | 2013 | Martin Luther King and the March on Washington | Self | |
| Movie | 1998 | David and Lisa | Dr. Jack Miller | |
| Movie | 1996 | To Sir, with Love II | Mark Thackeray | |
| Movie | 2023 | Paul Newman: The Restless | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1971 | Brother John | John Kane | |
| Movie | 1991 | Separate But Equal | Thurgood Marshall | |
| Movie | 1965 | A Cinderella Named Elizabeth | Self | |
| Movie | 1960 | All the Young Men | Sgt. Eddie Towler | |
| Movie | 2023 | Reinventing Elvis: The 68' Comeback | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2022 | Sidney | Self | |
| Movie | 2001 | The Last Brickmaker in America | Henry Cobb | |
| Movie | 1952 | The Red Ball Express | Robertson | |
| Movie | 1969 | The Lost Man | Jason Higgs | |
| Movie | 1999 | Free of Eden | Will Cleamons | |
| Movie | 1951 | Cry, the Beloved Country | Reverend Msimangu | |
| Movie | 2013 | Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley | Self | |
| Movie | 2000 | Richard Widmark: Strength of Characters | Self | |
| Movie | 1984 | I Love Quincy | Self | |
| Movie | 1997 | Mandela and de Klerk | Nelson Mandela | |
| Movie | 1959 | Virgin Island | Marcus | |
| Movie | 1955 | A Man Is Ten Feet Tall | Tommy Tyler | |
| Movie | 1970 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1956 | Good-bye, My Lady | Gates Watson | |
| Movie | 2003 | The Making of ‘Sneakers’ | Self | |
| Movie | 1985 | Night of 100 Stars II | Self | |
| Movie | 1998 | Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist | Reverend Msimangu (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1995 | Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick | Self | |
| Movie | 1997 | Afro Promo | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2007 | Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Self | |
| Movie | 1966 | The Strolling '20s | Self | |
| Movie | 2017 | Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart | Self | |
| Movie | 1986 | The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | Self | |
| Movie | 1979 | Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 1954 | Go Man Go | Inman Jackson | |
| Movie | 2014 | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2018 | Poitier's Walter Lee | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1972 | Nationtime | Self - Narrator | |
| Movie | 2017 | The Madding Crowd | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2018 | Mr. SOUL! | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2017 | I Am Not Your Negro | Various Roles (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2000 | Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light | | |
| Movie | 1969 | Three Young Americans in Search of Survival | Himself | |
| Movie | 1947 | Sepia Cinderella | Nightclub Extra (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 2022 | A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story | Self | |
| TV Show | 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1973 | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1953 | The Oscars | Self | 7 |
| TV Show | 1978 | The Kennedy Center Honors | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1995 | Children of the Dust | Gypsy Smith | 2 |
| TV Show | 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1991 | Separate but Equal | Thurgood Marshall | 2 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter | 1 |
| TV Show | 1948 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Tommy Tyler | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Cinépanorama | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1968 | The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest | 1 |
| TV Show | 1952 | Omnibus | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee | 1 |
| TV Show | 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Presenter | 1 |
| TV Show | 1966 | ABC Stage 67 | Self - Host | 1 |
| TV Show | 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self | 2 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self - Taped Tribute | 1 |
| TV Show | 1957 | Tonight Starring Jack Paar | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1953 | Kraft Television Theatre | | 1 |
