John Wesley Chatham (born October 11, 1978) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''
In the Valley of Elah
''In the Valley of Elah'' is a 2007 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Haggis. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. Its title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Go ...
'', ''
W.'', ''
The Help
''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.
A ''USA To ...
'', and ''
The Philly Kid'', and played Castor in ''
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1'' and ''
Part 2''. Between 2015 and 2022, he starred as Amos Burton in ''
The Expanse
Expanse or The Expanse may refer to:
Media and entertainment
''The Expanse'' franchise
* ''The Expanse'' (novel series), a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey
* ''The Expanse'' (TV series), a television adaptation of the ...
''.
Early life
Chatham was born on October 11, 1978.
After graduating from high school, Chatham joined the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
in the rating of Aviation Boatswain's Mate. He worked as an aviation firefighter on the flight deck of the , working in crash and salvage for four years, reaching the rank of Petty Officer Third Class.
Acting career
Chatham's break into acting came just three months before his tour was finished when
Denzel Washington chose his ship to shoot the movie ''
Antwone Fisher
Antwone Quenton Fisher (born August 3, 1959) is an American director, screenwriter, author, and film producer.
His 2001 autobiographical book '' Finding Fish'' was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. The 2002 film '' Antwone Fisher'' was writt ...
''. Chatham was amongst those selected by casting director
Robi Reed
Robi Reed (born Robin Lynn Reed) is an American casting director while Reed was searching for authentic-looking military personnel for the movie. This was Chatham's first movie-making experience, which led to further pursuit of his lifelong dream of acting. Following ''Antwone Fisher'', Reed convinced Chatham to move to Hollywood and shortly thereafter cast him in his first series regular role on Showtime's ''
Barbershop''.
Chatham gained further attention when
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...
cast him alongside
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...
as Corporal Steve Penning in ''
In the Valley of Elah
''In the Valley of Elah'' is a 2007 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Haggis. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. Its title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Go ...
''. In 2009, Chatham went on to work with Oliver Stone in ''
W.'' as Frank Benedict, George W's fraternity brother. The following year, Chatham landed another series regular role on the hit CBS TV show ''
The Unit
''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...
''. Chatham was cast as new unit team member Sergeant Sam McBride (aka Whiplash), working with David Mamet and Shawn Ryan. Chatham also starred as Brian Danielson in Brett Simmons’ ''
Husk'' (2011).
Chatham portrayed Carlton Phelan,
Emma Stone's character's brother, in the 2011 film ''
The Help
''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s.
A ''USA To ...
''. The cast won a 2012
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2012, Chatham landed his first title role in Joel Silver's ''
The Philly Kid''. A fan of mixed martial arts, Chatham dove into the character of Dillion McGwire, performing all of his own stunts.
The film debuted in theaters May 2012. Following ''The Philly Kid'', Chatham starred in ''This Thing With Sarah'', which was accepted to the San Diego Film Festival in October 2013. In 2013 Chatham wrapped two studio films, ''Broken Horses'' (2013) and ''
The Town That Dreaded Sundown
''The Town That Dreaded Sundown'' is a 1976 American thriller horror film directed and produced by Charles B. Pierce, and written by Earl E. Smith. The film is loosely based on the 1946 Texarkana Moonlight Murders, crimes attributed to an unide ...
'' (2014).
Between 2015 and 2022, Chatham starred as Amos Burton in the
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
TV series ''
The Expanse
Expanse or The Expanse may refer to:
Media and entertainment
''The Expanse'' franchise
* ''The Expanse'' (novel series), a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey
* ''The Expanse'' (TV series), a television adaptation of the ...
''.
Personal life
Chatham is married to TV personality
Jenn Brown
Jennifer Lynne Brown (born March 23, 1981) is an American sports broadcaster and television host. A former Division I Collegiate Athlete for the University of Florida, she spent eight years as a reporter and host for ESPN and ''American Ninja W ...
. Together they have two sons, John Nash, born in 2014, and Rhett Jameson, born in 2016. Chatham missed the birth of Nash, as he was filming
episode 2 ''Episode II'', ''Episode 2'' or ''Episode Two'' may refer to:
* ''Episode II'' (album), an album by Safri Duo
* ''Episode II'' (EP), an EP by Eiffel 65
* "Episode 2" (song), a song by Dragon Ash
* "Episode 2" (''Ashes to Ashes''), an episode of ...
of ''The Expanse'' and his son was born while Chatham was in the air, flying back from Toronto, where they film.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham, Wes
1978 births
Living people
American male film actors
American male television actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state)
United States Navy sailors