Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (born September 22, 1971) is an American actor who has appeared in films, television series, and theatre. He portrayed D'Angelo Barksdale on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama series '' The Wire'', a role which earned him critical acclaim. He is also known for his role as Bob Stookey in the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** AM ...

horror drama '' The Walking Dead''. He was in the cast of David Simon's

TV series '' The Deuce'', which premiered in September 2017 and concluded in October 2019. Gilliard Jr. has had roles in movies such as '' Straight Out of Brooklyn'' (1991), ''

Next Stop Wonderland ''Next Stop Wonderland'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Brad Anderson, written by Anderson and Lyn Vaus, and starring Hope Davis and Alan Gelfant. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 17, 1998, where it was no ...

'' (1998), and '' Gangs of New York'' (2002).

Early life and education

Gilliard was born in New York City. He and his family moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, when he was seven years old. Gilliard played clarinet and studied

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

at Baltimore School for the Arts.

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

were classmates of Gilliard's at the Baltimore School of the Arts. After attending

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

for three years as a clarinet performance student, Gilliard decided to pursue acting instead of music. He also studied acting at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

, The Acting Studio – New York, and the

Stella Adler Conservatory The Stella Adler Studio of Acting (formerly Stella Adler Conservatory) is a prestigious acting school that was founded by actress and teacher Stella Adler.

Career

Gilliard made his film debut playing the lead, Dennis Brown, in the 1991 independent film '' Straight Out of Brooklyn.'' Gilliard has appeared on numerous television crime dramas such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' The Wire'', '' New York Undercover'', and ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine seaso ...

''. Film roles include a love-struck ghetto teen in ''LottoLand'' (1995), an earnest college football player in '' The Waterboy'' (1998), and a member of the

Dead Rabbits The Dead Rabbits was the name of an Irish American criminal street gang active in Lower Manhattan in the 1830s to 1850s. The Dead Rabbits were so named after a dead rabbit was thrown into the center of the room during a gang meeting, prompting s ...

in '' Gangs of New York'' (2002). Gilliard is also a stage actor. He received positive reviews for his role of Booth in a production of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning play '' Topdog/Underdog''. He joined '' The Walking Dead'' cast as a regular, playing Bob Stookey.

Personal life

, Gilliard was married to

Michelle Paress Michelle Paress is an American actress. She starred in the HBO program ''The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broad ...

, who joined the cast of '' The Wire'' in its fifth season.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliard, Lawrence Jr. American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Juilliard School alumni Male actors from Baltimore Male actors from New York City Living people 1971 births American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people