Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera '' General Hospital'', as well as voicing

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

across various DC media and Kaldur'ahm / Aqualad in the animated series ''

Young Justice Young Justice is a fictional DC Comics superhero team consisting of teenaged heroes. The team was formed in 1998 when DC's usual teen hero group, the Teen Titans, had become adults and changed their name to the Titans. Like the original ''Teen ...

''.

Early life

Payton was born on May 16, 1972 in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

. At the age of 14, he won

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's first annual Kid Talent Quest, and a recording exists of him introducing an animated film called ''Sherlock Holmes in the Baskerville Curse''.

Career

Live-action work

Payton appeared on a recurring basis as Dr. Terrell Jackson on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' General Hospital''. He portrays

King Ezekiel King Ezekiel, later revealed as Ezekiel Sutton in the television series, is a fictional character from the comic book series '' The Walking Dead'' and the television series of the same name, in which he is portrayed by Khary Payton. Ezekiel is t ...

on AMC's '' The Walking Dead''.

Voice work

Payton has portrayed

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

in both ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' animated series and

Aqualad Aqualad is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The first Aqualad, Garth, debuted in February 1960 in ''Adventure Comics'' #269 and was created by writer Robert Bernstein and artist ...

in ''

''. In the cartoon series ''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

'', Payton provided the voice of the villain Ten from the

Royal Flush Gang The Royal Flush Gang is a group of supervillains appearing in DC Comics. The group, which debuted in ''Justice League of America'' #43 (March 1966), use a playing card theme. Their code names are based on the cards needed to form a royal flush in ...

. He also provided the voice of Drebin in the game '' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots'', Ripcord in '' G.I. Joe: Renegades'',

Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...

in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'',

Grimlock Grimlock is the name of several fictional robot characters in the Transformers robot franchise. He is usually portrayed as the leader of the Dinobots, a subfaction of Autobots who can transform into metal dinosaurs. Grimlock was known for his ...

in '' Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Quinn Derringer in République'' and Killer Croc in '' Batman: Arkham Underworld'' and voiced Wasabi on the

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

original series '' Big Hero 6: The Series'' based on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

by Man of Action and the film of the same name.

Personal life

Payton has three children. He married Linda Braddock in 2001, and they divorced in 2009. He married Stacey Reed in 2010 and they filed for divorce in 2019. He had two children with Reed. He had a son in 2021.

Filmography

Voice over roles

Television

Film

Video games

Live action roles

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Payton, Khary 1972 births Living people 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Male actors from Augusta, Georgia Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)