His first acting roles were in the science-fiction film The Omega Man (1971) with Charlton Heston, and the ABC television series Room 222 (1970–1973).

In more recent years, he frequently directs such one-hour dramas as Blue Bloods and NCIS: Los Angeles.

[1] He began acting while attending Audubon Junior High School in the Crenshaw, Los Angeles, District.

While taking drama courses at nearby Susan Miller Dorsey High School, he began acting professionally, co-starring as a troubled youth in an award-winning television movie and becoming a semi-regular cast member on Room 222, including one episode in which he appeared with his future Force of One co-star, Chuck Norris.

As well as The Omega Man (1971), his other film appearances included roles in Black Belt Jones (1974), Death Wish (1974) opposite Charles Bronson, Shoot It Black, Shoot It Blue (1974), A Piece of the Action (1977), Love at First Bite (1979), A Force of One, (1979), The Baltimore Bullet (1980) and Back Roads (1981).

In 1988, Laneuville became the first African-American television director to film in Russia, as he directed a two-part episode "Mission to Moscow" for the series, Head of the Class.