[4] With his appearance in 1951's Pool of London, Cameron became one of the first black actors to take up a starring role in a British film after Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney and Elisabeth Welch in the 1930s.

[5][6] According to Screenonline, "Earl Cameron brought a breath of fresh air to the British film industry's stuffy depictions of race relations.

Often cast as a sensitive outsider, Cameron gave his characters a grace and moral authority that often surpassed the films' compromised liberal agendas.

He made appearances in many 1960s British science fiction programmes, including Doctor Who, where he was reportedly one of the first black actors to play an astronaut on television,[8] The Prisoner, and The Andromeda Breakthrough.

"[12] Cameron faced difficulties as a black person trying to find employment; he was reluctantly taken on as a dishwasher in a hotel and had to accept whatever casual work came his way.

Cameron, who was working at the kitchen of the Strand Corner House at the time, was fed up with menial jobs and asked Crossman if he could get him on the show.

[9] According to Cameron, he had an easier time than other black actors because his Bermudian accent sounded American to British ears (Bermuda, nearest to North Carolina, was settled as an extension of Virginia and retained strong links to Virginia and the Carolinas for the first two centuries of settlement, though it had remained British when they and ten other continental colonies had seceded to form the USA).

[15] Written by Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow, this play was staged at the Wyndham's Theatre[16] in London for six months (featuring Gordon Heath)[17] and then went on tour.

[19] Cameron's breakthrough acting role was in Pool of London, a 1951 film directed by Basil Dearden, set in post-war London involving racial prejudice, romance — Cameron's character is a merchant sailor who falls in love with a young white woman, played by Susan Shaw — and a diamond robbery.

[28] Cameron's later film appearances include a major role in Sidney Pollack's The Interpreter (2005) as dictator Edmond Zuwanie who is a fictionised version of Robert Mugabe (then leader of Zimbabwe).

The Baltimore Sun wrote: "Earl Cameron is magnificent as the slimy old fraud of a dictator...",[30] and Rolling Stone described his appearance as "subtle and menacing".

In 1956 he had a smaller part in another BBC drama exploring racism in the workplace, A Man From The Sun, in which he appeared as community leader Joseph Brent, the cast also featuring Errol John, Cy Grant, Colin Douglas and Nadia Cattouse.

[24] His other television work includes Emergency – Ward 10,[38] The Zoo Gang,[39] Crown Court (two different stories in 1973, one as Antoine Mbula from the legal department of the Diplomatic Mission of Zaire in episode three of the three part story Wise Child ), Jackanory (a BBC children's series in which he read five of the Brer Rabbit stories in 1971), Dixon of Dock Green,[39] Doctor Who – The Tenth Planet[21][40] (reportedly becoming the first black actor to portray an astronaut on television, and also became only the seventh actor from the series to reach 100 years of age),[41] Waking the Dead, Kavanagh QC, Babyfather, EastEnders (a small role as a Mr Lambert), Dalziel and Pascoe,[42] and Lovejoy.

[42] He also appeared in many one-off TV dramas, including: Television Playhouse (1957); A World Inside BBC (1962); ITV Play of the Week (two stories – The Gentle Assassin (1962) and I Can Walk Where I Like Can't I?

In 2017, a month after his 100th birthday, Cameron was cast in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel Anansi Boys, starring Lenny Henry.

[61] In 2019, the Earl Cameron Award – for "a Bermudian professional who has demonstrated exceptional passion and talent in the field of theatre, cinematography, film or video production" – was established in his honour by the Bermuda Arts Council.

[21] His children said in a statement: "Our family have been overwhelmed by the outpourings of love and respect we have received at the news of our father's passing … As an artist and as an actor he refused to take roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour.

"[21] Bermudian Premier Edward David Burt paid tribute to Cameron, describing him as an "iconic actor" and "a proud son of Bermuda whose constant, dignified presence added to stage and screen over decades.

"[21] In 2021, Burt Caesar programmed a season of films and talks at the BFI commemorating the life and career of Earl Cameron.