This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (September 2017) |
Isiah Whitlock Jr. (born September 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as corrupt state senator Clay Davis on the HBO television series The Wire as well as being a frequent collaborator of Spike Lee.
Isiah Whitlock Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 13, 1954 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Education | Southwest Minnesota State University (BA) American Conservatory Theater (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–present |
He has also appeared in films including Goodfellas, Pieces of April, 1408, Enchanted, Cedar Rapids, Pete’s Dragon, Cars 3, The Old Man and the Gun, All Square, I Care a Lot, and Lightyear and television series including The Good Cop, Veep, Chappelle's Show, Your Honor, and several roles across installments of the Law & Order franchise.
Early life
editWhitlock was born in South Bend, Indiana. He attended college at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, where he enrolled through a football scholarship and studied theater. Injuries led him to stop playing football and focus on acting.[1] After graduating in 1976, he moved to San Francisco and joined the American Conservatory Theater.[2]
Career
editWhitlock is best known for his role on the HBO television series The Wire as corrupt state senator Clay Davis. He has also appeared in the Spike Lee films She Hate Me, 25th Hour, Red Hook Summer, Chi-Raq, BlacKkKlansman and Da 5 Bloods. In those projects, Whitlock established a catchphrase from his character's distinct pronunciation of the word "shit" ("sheeeeeeeee-it").[3][failed verification] Whitlock also made appearances on Chappelle's Show and has made several appearances as various characters on Law & Order. He appeared as Eugene, a supporting role, in the 2003 film Pieces of April. He had a bit part in Goodfellas as a doctor who gives Henry Hill Valium while attending to his brother. He also made an appearance in the film 1408, as the engineer of the Dolphin Hotel, as well as appearing in promotional spots for the Wii video game Punch-Out!! portraying the character Doc Louis. In 2007, he played Ethan Banks in Enchanted.
Whitlock played an insurance agent named Ronald Wilkes in the 2011 film Cedar Rapids. Wilkes is a self-described fan of The Wire and does an impersonation of character Omar Little. Whitlock has said that the references to the series were written in before he became involved in Cedar Rapids.[4] Whitlock filmed a separate promotion for the film, where Wilkes is seen in an insurance office reading lines from The Wire.[5] He recurred on the HBO comedy series Veep as General George Maddox. Whitlock has also made appearances on The Good Wife, Louie, Gotham, The Carmichael Show, and Elementary. He recently appeared as the sheriff in the 2016 remake of the 1977 film of Pete's Dragon.
SMSU now offers the Isiah Whitlock Jr. Endowed Scholarship.[1] He was SMSU's commencement speaker in 1999 and guest artist for the school's celebration of Black History Month in 2007.[2]
Capitalizing on his catch phrase "Sheeeeeeeee-it" and his public notoriety, Whitlock launched a successful Kickstarter Talking Bobblehead campaign.[6] The campaign has raised over $100,000 from 1,828 backers.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Fireman | |
| 1990 | Goodfellas | Doctor | |
| 1996 | Eddie | Rick | |
| 1996 | Everyone Says I Love You | Cop | |
| 1997 | The Spanish Prisoner | Trooper | |
| 1999 | A Fish in the Bathtub | Rudy | |
| 1999 | Harlem Aria | Manny | |
| 2001 | Jump Tomorrow | George's Uncle | |
| 2002 | Driving Fish | Mason | Short film |
| 2002 | 25th Hour | Agent Flood | |
| 2003 | Pieces of April | Eugene | |
| 2003 | Bought & Sold | Mr. Stubbs | |
| 2004 | She Hate Me | Agent Amos Flood | |
| 2005 | Honey Trap | The Detective | Short film |
| 2005 | Duane Hopwood | William | |
| 2005 | Stealing Martin Lane | Harold "Chopper" Jones | |
| 2005 | Kettle of Fish | Freddie | |
| 2006 | Beautiful Ohio | Mr. Lebreaux | |
| 2007 | A Nick in Time | Old Bob Delagard | Short film |
| 2007 | 1408 | Hotel Engineer | |
| 2007 | The Man in My House | T.J. | Short film |
| 2007 | Enchanted | Ethan Banks | |
| 2008 | Choke | Detective Palmer | |
| 2008 | Cadillac Records | Mississippi DJ | |
| 2008 | The Thing We Know | Keith | Short film |
| 2009 | Brooklyn's Finest | Investigator #3 | |
| 2009 | I Hate Valentine's Day | Drummer | |
| 2009 | Under New Management | Rev. A.L. Blunton | |
| 2009 | Speed Grieving | Dr. Holder | Short film |
| 2010 | Twelve | Detective Dummont | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Mayor | |
| 2011 | Gun Hill Road | Officer Thompson | |
| 2011 | Cedar Rapids | Ronald Wilkes | |
| 2011 | Detachment | Mr. Mathias | |
| 2012 | Red Hook Summer | Detective Flood | |
| 2012 | Why Stop Now | Black | |
| 2012 | Thanks for Sharing | Charles | |
| 2012 | Not Fade Away | Landers | |
| 2013 | Newlyweeds | Philly | |
| 2013 | Europa Report | Dr. Tarik Pamuk | |
| 2013 | Home | Samuel | |
| 2013 | Jerome's Bouquet | Jack | Short film |
| 2014 | The Angriest Man in Brooklyn | Yates | |
| 2014 | 23 Blast | Dr. Connelly | |
| 2015 | Chi-Raq | Bacchos | |
| 2016 | Pete's Dragon | Sheriff Gene Dentler | |
| 2017 | Person to Person | Buster | |
| 2017 | CHiPs | Peterson | |
| 2017 | Cars 3 | River Scott (voice) | |
| 2017 | Sloan Hearts Neckface | Lester | Short film |
| 2018 | BlacKkKlansman | Mr. Turrentine | |
| 2018 | All Square | Scotty | |
| 2018 | The Old Man & the Gun | Detective Gene Dentler | |
| 2019 | Corporate Animals | Derek | |
| 2019 | Lost Holiday | Matthews | |
| 2019 | Lying and Stealing | Lyman Wilkers | |
| 2019 | Run with the Hunted | Lester | |
| 2019 | Seneca | Michael | |
| 2020 | The Lost Husband | Russ McAllen | |
| 2020 | Da 5 Bloods | Melvin | |
| 2020 | I Care a Lot | Judge Lomax | |
| 2022 | Lightyear | Commander Burnside (voice) | |
| 2023 | Cocaine Bear | Bob |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | A Christmas Carol | Second Charitable Gentleman / Party Guest | Television movie |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Man Getting a Cab | Episode: "The City is Burning" |
| 1987 | Ocean | The Moose | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Preacher | Miniseries; 1 episode |
| 1995 | Law & Order | Anthony White | Episode: "Guardian" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Simon Brooks | Episode: "Trophy" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Fred Oates | Episode: "Slave" |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | Chief Hardin | Episode: "Bad Blood" |
| 1997 | Liberty! The American Revolution | Luke (Slave) | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 1999 | Third Watch | Reggie Simmons | Episode: "Impulse" |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Fred Oakes | Episode: "Loco Parentis" |
| 2000 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Robbery Division Captain | Episode: "Limitations" |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Capt. Navarro | Episode: "Standoff" |
| 2000 | Wonderland | Reviewer | Episode: "20/20 Hundsight"; uncredited |
| 2000 | Madigan Men | Airport Guard | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Detective | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Todd Smythe | Episode: "Paranoia" |
| 2001 | WW 3 | Unknown | Television movie |
| 2001 | Ed | Tim Unger | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Anton Emery | Episode: "Death by Cycle" |
| 2002-2008 | The Wire | State Sen. R. Clayton "Clay" Davis | Main; 22 episodes |
| 2003 | Chappelle's Show | Harold | Episode #1.8 |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Gordon Samuels | Episode: "Gunplay" |
| 2004 | The Jury | Abbott Truman | Episode: "Memories" |
| 2005 | Slavery and the Making of America | Minister/Petitioner | Episode: "Liberty in the Air" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | NTCC Representative | Episode: "Parts" |
| 2006 | Chappelle's Show | Store Manager | Episode #3.2; Uncredited |
| 2008 | New Amsterdam | Joe Williams | Episode: "Reclassified" |
| 2008 | Human Giant | Casting Director | Episode: "She Be a Witch" |
| 2009 | The Unusuals | Captain Leslie Morgan | Episode: "The Tape Delay" |
| 2010 | Meet the Browns | Sidney Graves | Episode: "Meet the Other Man" |
| 2010 | Rubicon | Mr. Roy | Recurring; 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Onion SportsDome | Wally Wright | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Onion SportsDome | Isiah Whitlock Jr. | Episode #1.10 |
| 2011 | Chaos | Warren | Episode: "Defending Sophia" |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | CSU Detective | Episode: "To the Boy in the Blue Knit Cap" |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Ira Protopapas | Episode: "Get a Room" |
| 2012 | Smash | Ronal Strickland | 2 episodes |
| 2012-2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Captain Reece | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Louie | Alphonse | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | Trent | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Lucky 7 | Bob Harris | Main cast; 6 episodes |
| 2013–2015 | Veep | George Maddox | Recurring; 7 episodes |
| 2014 | Lucas Bros. Moving Co. | Mr. Dream (voice) | Episode: "Before & After Models" |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Danny Moss | Episode: "Milton Bobbit (No. 135)" |
| 2014 | The Divide | Rev. Cheeks | Episode: "The Way Men Divide" |
| 2015 | Gotham | Gerry Lang | Episode: "Rogues' Gallery" |
| 2015 | The Carmichael Show | Reverend Carlson | Episode: "Prayer" |
| 2015 | Limitless | Lawrence Drake | Episode: "Headquarters!" |
| 2016 | Charity Case | Ronald | Television movie |
| 2016 | Lucifer | Carmen | Episode: "Wingman" |
| 2016, 2022 | Atlanta | Raleigh Marks | Episodes: "The Big Bang", "Light Skinned-ed" |
| 2016 | Jay & Pluto | Therapist | Unknown episodes |
| 2017 | Elementary | Jack Brunelle | Episode: "Over a Barrel" |
| 2017 | Son of Zorn | Robert | Episode: "The Quest for Craig" |
| 2017 | Survivor's Remorse | Samuel | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | The Mist | Gus Redman / Gus Bradley | Recurring; 8 episodes |
| 2017 | Thin Ice | Bill | Television movie |
| 2017 | She's Gotta Have It | Dog #10 | Episode: "#DaJumpoff (DOCTRINE)" |
| 2017 | Kevin Can Wait | Jerry | Episode: "Kevin Moves Metal" |
| 2018 | BoJack Horseman | C.E.O. (voice) | Episode: "Head in the Clouds" |
| 2018 | The Good Cop | Burl Loomis | 10 episodes |
| 2018 | Madam Secretary | Hervé Dupont | Episode: "The Courage to Continue" |
| 2019 | FBI | Richard Talmage | Episode: "Partners in Crime" |
| 2020 | Apple & Onion | Mayor Naise (voice) | Episode: "Election Day" |
| 2020–2023 | Your Honor | Charlie Figaro | 19 episodes |
| 2021 | History of Swear Words | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | The Kings of Napa | Reginald King | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2022 | Woke | Mr. Jackson | 2 episodes |
| TBA | The Residence | Larry Dokes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Voice role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | The Local Population |
References
edit- ^ a b Isiah Whitlock Jr. Endowed Scholarship Archived March 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation, accessed June 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Karin Elton, A perfect fit, Marshall Independent, February 11, 2011, accessed June 14, 2012.
- ^ Swansburg, John (March 12, 2008). "The Wire Final Season: Week 10: How Sheee-it Started". Slate.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
- ^ Rich, Katey (February 10, 2011), "Interview: The Wire's Isiah Whitlock Jr. Plays Against Type In Cedar Rapids", CinemaBlend.com, retrieved February 21, 2011
- ^ CEDAR RAPIDS: Ronald vs. Omar from the Wire on YouTube, Fox Searchlight official channel via YouTube.com, February 7, 2011.
- ^ "Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Talking Bobblehead". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
