Frankie Faison - wikipedia Frankie Faison Frankie Faison Frankie Russel Faison ( 1949 - 06 - 10 ) June 10, 1949 ( age 68 ) Newport News, Virginia, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1974 -- present Children Frankie Russel Faison ( born June 10, 1949 ), often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire and as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 Filmography 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 4 References 5 External links Personal Life Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena ( née Gantt ) and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity. He also attended NYU 's Graduate Acting Program, graduating in 1974. Career Faison started his acting career in 1974 in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear, with James Earl Jones in the title role. Faison would later appear opposite Jones in the Broadway premiere of Fences, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play nomination. Faison 's next role came in TV, in the short - lived series Hot Hero Sandwich in 1979. Faison did not make it to the big screen until 1980, when he appeared in Permanent Vacation as `` Man in Lobby ''. A string of small roles followed until 1986, when he played the part of Lt. Fisk in Manhunter. Also that year, he appeared in the comedy The Money Pit, as an unruly construction worker, and in the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. In 1988, he appeared alongside Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones in Coming to America in the role of a landlord and won a minor role in the 1989 Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing. Faison is notable for being the most frequent actor to appear in adaptations of Thomas Harris ' Hannibal books : along with Manhunter, he also appeared as Lector 's jailer Barney in The Silence of the Lambs, the sequel Hannibal and the prequel Red Dragon. During the 1990 -- 1991 season, he starred in the Fox situation comedy True Colors with Stephanie Faracy and Nancy Walker about an interracial couple. He was replaced by Cleavon Little for the second season of the program. In 1991, Faison again appeared alongside Hopkins in the film Freejack, which also starred Mick Jagger and Maximum Overdrive co-star Emilio Estevez. In 1998, he was a regular on the science - fiction TV show Prey. In the 2003 film Gods and Generals, Faison played the role of Jim Lewis, a freed - slave, who shares his religious faith and optimism with CSA General Thomas J. `` Stonewall '' Jackson as the General 's personal cook. In 2004, he starred as JoJo Anderson in The Cookout and appeared in White Chicks. Faison had a starring role as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell on the HBO drama The Wire. Faison appeared in Tyler Perry 's Meet The Browns, a movie about a single mom who takes her family to Georgia for the funeral of her father -- a man she never met. There, her clan is introduced to the crass, fun - loving Brown family. Faison played the role of Brown and Vera 's brother, L.B. Brown. In 2009, he was also among the ensemble cast of John Krasinski 's adaptation of Brief Interviews With Hideous Men playing the son of a toilet attendant who caustically recounts his father 's experiences in one of the titular monologues. Faison played Richard Evans on One Life to Live from 2009 through 2012. He has recently appeared in episodes of Blue Bloods, which also stars Tom Selleck, as an assistant police commissioner. His main film role in this period was as Harlan in the film Adam. He also appeared in the November 29, 2010 episode of Lie to Me. Faison played the role of Sugar Bates, a prizefighter turned tavernkeeper, on the Cinemax program Banshee. He appeared as Henry `` Pop '' Hunter in the Netflix series Luke Cage, and played a supporting role in the 2016 Amazon Studios original special An American Girl Story - Melody 1963 : Love Has to Win. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1980 Permanent Vacation Man in Lobby 1981 Ragtime Gang Member No. 1 1982 Cat People Detective Brandt 1982 A Little Sex Electrician 1982 Hanky Panky Cop Driver 1984 C.H.U.D. Sergeant Parker 1984 Exterminator 2 Be Gee 1986 The Money Pit James 1986 Maximum Overdrive Handy 1986 Manhunter Lieutenant Fisk 1988 Coming to America Mr. Townsend 1988 Mississippi Burning Eulogist 1989 Do the Right Thing Coconut Sid 1990 Betsy 's Wedding Zack Monroe 1991 The Silence of the Lambs Barney Matthews 1991 City of Hope Levonne Freejack Eagle Man 1993 Sommersby Joseph 1993 Money for Nothing Madigan 1994 I Love Trouble Police Chief 1995 Roommates Professor Martin The Stupids The Lloyd Mother Night Robert Sterling Wilson The Rich Man 's Wife Detective Ron Lewis 1997 Albino Alligator Agent Marv Rose 1997 Julian Po Sheriff Leon 1998 Jaded Henry Broker 1999 The Thomas Crown Affair Detective Paretti 1999 A Little Inside Tom Donner 1999 Oxygen Phil Kline 2000 Where the Money Is Security Guard 2001 The Sleepy Time Gal Jimmy Dupree 2001 Hannibal Barney Matthews 2001 Down to Earth Whitney Daniels 2001 Thirteen Conversations About One Thing Richard ' Dick ' Lacey 2002 Showtime Captain Winship 2002 Red Dragon Barney Matthews 2003 Gods and Generals Jim Lewis Highwaymen Will Macklin America Brown Coach Bryant White Chicks Chief Elliott Gordon Messengers Tom Mabry The Cookout Jojo Andersen Crutch Jerry In Good Company Corwin 2006 Premium Phil 2007 My Blueberry Nights Travis 2008 Meet the Browns L.B. 2009 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Subject # 42 2009 Adam Harlan 2009 Splinterheads Pope 2009 Cirque du Freak : The Vampire 's Assistant Rhamus Twobellies 2009 For Sale by Owner Gene Woodman 2009 Breaking Point Judge Green 2011 Mayor Cupcake Lenny Davis 2012 Cowgirls ' n Angels Augustus 2013 Tio Papi Gilly 2013 Danger Word Grandpa Joe Short film 2014 Clipped Wings, They Do Fly Mayor Goode 2014 Assumption of Risk Dr. Paulson 2014 Away from Here Carl 2016 An American Girl Story -- Melody 1963 : Love Has to Win Frank Ellison 2016 Smoke Filled Lungs Stanley 2017 The Case for Christ Joe Dubois 2017 The Sounding Roland Television Year Title Role Notes Great Performances Captain Episode : `` King Lear '' The Edge of Night Ralph Pettibone Episode : `` 16919 '' Sessions Intern Television film 1985 Search for Tomorrow Willard Clovis Episode : `` 18643 '' 1985 Kate & Allie Detective Episode : `` The Bad Seed '' The Equalizer Zudo Episode : `` Mission : McCall : Part 1 '' 1989 A Man Called Hawk Mr. Carver Episode : `` Choice of Chance '' 1989 Monsters Jack Lyle Episode : `` The Mandrake Root '' 1990 Law & Order Lester Crawford Episode : `` Out of the Half - Light '' 1990 -- 1991 True Colors Ron Freeman 33 episodes 1994 The Spider and the Fly Detective Turner Television film 1995 The Langoliers Don Gaffney Two - part miniseries New York Undercover Captain Wilton Episode : `` Fire Show '' 1997 Oz Cornelius Keane Episode : `` Capital P '' 1997, 1998 Cosby Ron 2 episodes 1998 Prey Ray Peterson 13 episodes 1998 -- 1999 All My Children Frank Dawson 4 episodes 2001 Call Me Claus Dwayne Television film 2002 -- 2008 The Wire Ervin Burrell 40 episodes 2007, 2008 Law & Order : Special Victims Unit FBI Agent Tom Nickerson 2 episodes 2008 Army Wives General Baxter Episode : `` Departures, Arrivals '' 2008 -- 2012 One Life to Live Richard Evans 25 episodes 2009, 2013 Grey 's Anatomy William Bailey 2 episodes Blue Bloods Jeffords Episode : `` Samaritan '' Lie to Me Teddy Episode : `` Smoked '' 2010 -- 2015 The Good Wife Jeremiah Easton 4 episodes 2013 Elementary Judge Brewster O'Hare Episode : `` Tremors '' 2013 -- 2016 Banshee Sugar Bates 35 episodes 2014 Unforgettable Mayor Beverly Episode : `` Omega Hour '' 2014 Black Box Wade Episode : `` Sing Like Me '' 2014 Forever Pepper Evans Episode : `` 6 A.M. '' 2016 Luke Cage Henry `` Pop '' Hunter 2 episodes 2017 The Good Fight Jeremiah Easton Episode : `` Reddick v Boseman '' References Jump up ^ `` Frankie Faison ''. The New York Times. Jump up ^ Frankie Faison Biography ( 1949 -- ) Jump up ^ `` NYU Graduate Acting Alumni ''. 2011. Retrieved 2011 - 12 - 01. Jump up ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/616799-over-20-luke-cage-photos Jump up ^ Freeze, Kellie ( 21 October 2016 ). `` Amazon and American Girl Explore Civil Rights in An American Girl Story -- Melody 1963 : Love Has to Win ''. Channel Guide. Retrieved 5 November 2016. External links Frankie Faison on IMDb Frankie Faison at AllMovie VIAF : 85761764 LCCN : no96001238 ISNI : 0000 0001 1450 7361 GND : 1019716428 SUDOC : 066938287 BNF : cb14176108t ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankie_Faison&oldid=808058723 '' Categories : 1949 births Living people Male actors from Virginia American male stage actors American male film actors Illinois Wesleyan University alumni People from Newport News, Virginia African - American male actors American male television actors 20th - century American male actors 21st - century American male actors Tisch School of the Arts alumni Hidden categories : Articles with hCards No local image but image on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Suomi Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 31 October 2017, at 16 : 50. 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Question: who played barney in silence of the lambs
Answer: Frankie Russel Faison