Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Ellis Carver on The Wire, Clayton Hughes on Oz, Detective Daniels on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2007–2008), Dr. Alan Deaton on Teen Wolf, Father Gabriel Stokes on The Walking Dead, and Sugar Watkins in the movie Starship Troopers.[1][2]
Seth Gilliam | |
|---|---|
Gilliam in 2020 | |
| Born | November 5, 1968 |
| Education | State University of New York, Purchase (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Known for | The Wire as Ellis Carver The Walking Dead as Gabriel Stokes Teen Wolf as Dr. Alan Deaton |
Early life
Gilliam graduated from State University of New York at Purchase in 1990.[citation needed]
Career
Gilliam's film career began in the early 1990s. He has starred in award-winning films such as Still Alice. His other film credits include Interview with a Vampire in 1994, Sergeant Sugar Watkins in the 1997 action film Starship Troopers and Sergeant Steven Altameyer in the 1996 film Courage Under Fire.[3][4]
Gilliam has had a number of recurring roles on television, including during the seventh season of The Cosby Show as Aaron Dexter, boyfriend of Erika Alexander's character, and as Alan Deaton on Teen Wolf.[5] His most prominent role has been on The Wire. In 2008, he attracted attention for criticizing the show being overlooked for Emmy nominations despite its critical success.[6] He has had a number of guest roles in other shows such as CSI: Miami, Nurse Jackie, Skins, Person of Interest, and The Good Wife.[7] He played Clayton Hughes on Oz. In May 2014, Gilliam was cast as Father Gabriel Stokes in the fifth season of AMC's The Walking Dead.[8] Along with Chad Coleman and Lawrence Gilliard Jr., he is the third The Wire alum to join the series.[9]
Gilliam has acted on stage, playing Prince Edward in a 1993 production of Richard III. He played the title role in Othello, first in 2010 at Boston's Commonwealth Shakespeare Company[2] and then the following year at the Houston Shakespeare Festival, directed by his wife, Leah C. Gardiner. The pair returned to Houston in 2013 for Antony and Cleopatra, with Gilliam playing Antony and Gardiner directing.[10] Gilliam has stated that he prefers acting on the stage although he loves his work in film and television: "Acting for the stage is a lot more fun to do. There is instant communication with the audience. An actor can tell whether or not he or she is connecting with an audience or whether they understand what's going on."[11]
Personal life
On May 3, 2015, Gilliam was arrested in Peachtree City, Georgia, for driving under the influence as he was speeding one-hundred and seven miles per hour in a fifty-five miles per hour zone. Police found a marijuana cigarette in his car.[12]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | In the Eyes of a Stranger | - | TV movie |
| Aibobo | - | Short | |
| 1993 | Joey Breaker | Jeremy Breaker | |
| Mr. Wonderful | ER Doctor | ||
| 1994 | Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker | Cadet Johnson C. Whittaker | TV movie |
| Heading Home | Willie | ||
| The Hardest Part | Derek | Short | |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | James Hemings | |
| 1996 | Courage Under Fire | Altameyer | |
| Tar | Tyrone | ||
| 1997 | Starship Troopers | Sugar Watkins | |
| 2000 | Punks | Marcus | |
| 2002 | Personal Velocity: Three Portraits | Vincent | |
| 2005 | The Great Wonderful | Clayton | |
| 2008 | Sympathetic Details | Raymond | |
| 2009 | The People v. Leo Frank | Jim Conley | |
| Did You Hear About the Morgans? | U.S. Marshal Lasky | ||
| 2010 | Betrayed | Roger Waite | Short |
| 2011 | Stake Out: Atlantic Salmon | Rivers | Short |
| 2012 | The Skinny | HIV Testing Worker | |
| 2014 | Still Alice | Frederic Johnson | |
| 2017 | Police State | Officer Grady | |
| 2018 | Change in the Air | Officer Payne | |
| Silver Lake | Jeff | ||
| 2023 | Teen Wolf: The Movie | Dr. Alan Deaton |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–1991 | The Cosby Show | Aaron Dexter | Recurring Cast: Season 7 |
| 1992 | Law & Order | Babatunde Amoda | Episode: "Consultation" |
| 1999–2001 | Oz | Clayton Hughes | Recurring: Season 3-4 |
| 2002–2008 | The Wire | Ellis Carver | Recurring Cast: Season 1-2, Main Cast: Season 3-5 |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | A.D.A. Terence Wright | Recurring Cast |
| 2007 | The Bronx is Burning | Paul Blair | Episode: "Time for a Change?" |
| 2007–2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Detective Daniels | Guest: Season 6, Recurring Cast: Season 7 |
| 2009 | Damages | Mark Waters | Episode: "I Knew Your Pig" |
| CSI: Miami | Aaron Nolan | Episode: "Flight Risk" | |
| Mercy | Police Officer | Episode: "Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica" | |
| 2010 | Nurse Jackie | Dr. Lindsey | Episode: "Candyland" |
| Law & Order | Michael's Attorney | Episode: "Immortal" | |
| 2011 | Skins | Ken | Episode: "Cadie" |
| Svetlana | Tomas | Episode: "Milking It" | |
| The Good Wife | Jacob Rickter | Episode: "Closing Arguments" | |
| 2011–2017 | Teen Wolf | Dr. Alan Deaton | Recurring Cast: Season 1-5, Guest: Season 6 |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Detective Des Franklin | Episode: "Identity Crisis" |
| Homeland | Chapman | Episode: "A Gettysburg Address" | |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Lyle Johnson | Episode: "Strange Fruit" |
| 2014–2022 | The Walking Dead | Gabriel Stokes | Also starring (season 5-7), main (season 8-11); 73 episodes |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Jacob Rickter | Episode: "Wanna Partner?" |
| 2016 | Elementary | Dr. Ira Wallace | Episode: "Ready or Not" |
| 2019 | The Code | Lt. Col. Metchaf | Episode: "Original Pilot" |
| City on a Hill | Rev. Jasper Fields | Recurring Cast: Season 1 | |
| 2020 | Bull | Dr. Poulson | Episode: "The Invisible Woman" |
Theater
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Othello | Othello | Commonwealth Shakespeare Company[11] |
| 2011 | Othello | Othello | Houston Shakespeare Festival[2] |
| 2011 | King Lear | Edmund | The Public Theater[13] |
| 2018 | The Last Bar at the End of the World | Tobias | Off-Broadway, NYC[10] |
References
- ^ "Cast & Crew - Seth Gilliam as Ellis Carver". HBO. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
- ^ a b c Melloy, Kilian (2010-08-07). "Seth Gilliam :: From 'The Wire' to 'Othello'". EDGE Boston. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
- ^ "Starship Troopers". Variety. 1997-11-08.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1996-07-12). "Courage Under Fire". Chicago Sun-Times – via rogerebert.com.
- ^ Marnell cla, Blair (2011-07-13). "TEEN WOLF 1.07 'Night School'". CraveOnline. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
- ^ "The Wire star hits out at Emmys". BBC News. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ Reeves, Marcus (2011-05-06). "Seth Gilliam Cast For "Good Wife" Season Finale | News". BET. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
- ^ "The Walking Dead Q&A – Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel) - news_detail | FX". www.fxtv.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ Acuna, Kirsten (2014-10-10). "Why 'The Walking Dead' Casts So Many Actors From HBO's Hit Show 'The Wire'". Business Insider.
- ^ a b Gaines, Tarra (2013-08-02). "The most powerful woman of all: Controversial Facebook book inspires Houston's Cleopatra". culturemap.com.
- ^ a b "Houston Shakespeare Festival Welcomes Seth Gilliam, Leah C. Gardiner". University of Houston News. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ "'Walking Dead' star Seth Gilliam arrested". CNN. May 4, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
- ^ MacDonald, Heidi. "Roundtable: Stoya, Seth Gilliam, Phillip Cruise and Dean Haspiel talk The Last Bar at the End of The World," The Beat (04/09/2018).