# Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

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 drama series The Wire, a role which earned him critical acclaim. He is also known for his role as Bob Stookey in the AMC horror drama The Walking Dead. He was in the cast of David Simon's HBO 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 (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, when he was seven years old.
Gilliard played clarinet and studied classical music at Baltimore School for the Arts. Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur were classmates of Gilliard at the Baltimore School of the Arts.
After attending Juilliard School 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 Acting Studio – New York, and the Stella Adler Conservatory.

## 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, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire, New York Undercover, and CSI: NY. 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 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-winning play Topdog/Underdog. He joined The Walking Dead cast as a regular, playing Bob Stookey.

## Personal life

As of 2008, Gilliard was married to Michelle Paress, who joined the cast of The Wire in its fifth season. They divorced in 2020.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | Straight Out of Brooklyn | Dennis Brown | |
| 1993 | Fly By Night | Jed Lyte | |
| 1993 | The Pickle | Boy Who Stopped | |
| 1995 | Lotto Land | Hank | |
| 1995 | Money Train | Hood #3/Hood #1 | |
| 1996 | Trees Lounge | James | |
| 1996 | The Associate | Thomas, Plaza Bellhop | |
| 1997 | White Lies | Leon Turner / Leon Chame | |
| 1998 | A Soldier's Sweetheart | Shoeshine | |
| 1998 | The Substitute 2: School's Out | Dontae | |
| 1998 | Next Stop Wonderland | Brett | |
| 1998 | One Tough Cop | Curtis Wilkins | |
| 1998 | The Waterboy | Derek Wallace | |
| 1999 | Simply Irresistible | Nolan Traynor | |
| 1999 | Loving Jezebel | Walter | |
| 2000 | Cecil B. Demented | Lewis | |
| 2001 | Home Invaders | | |
| 2001 | Trigger Happy | Ray | |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | Jimmy Spoils | |
| 2003 | Kill the Poor | Spike | |
| 2004 | Brother to Brother | Marcus | |
| 2004 | The Machinist | Jackson | |
| 2004 | Woman Hollering Creek | Melvin | Short |
| 2008 | Turnipseed | Johnny Turnipseed | |
| 2008 | The Highs & Lows of Milo Brown | Elliot | Short |
| 2011 | The Double | Agent Burton | |
| 2012 | Junior | Det. Daniel Abrams Sr. | Short |
| 2012 | The Wire: The Musical | D'Angelo Barksdale | Short |
| 2012 | The Trial of Ben Barry | June | Short |
| 2012 | Would You Rather | Dr. Barden | |
| 2013 | Turnipseed: Second Chance | John Turnipseed | |
| 2014 | Walk of Shame | Scrilla | |
| 2018 | Hot Air | Earl | |
| 2020 | One Night in Miami... | Drew Bundini Brown | |
| 2023 | Big George Foreman | Archie Moore | |
| 2023 | The Featherweight | Sandy Saddler | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | In the Line of Duty: Street War | Will | TV movie |
| 1993 | Homicide: Life on the Street | William Lyness | Episode: "A Dog and a Pony Show" |
| 1993 | ABC Afterschool Specials | | Episode: "Girlfriend" |
| 1993 | Survive the Night | | TV movie |
| 1993–1994 | George | Lathan Basmore | 9 episodes |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Quentin | Episode: "After Shakespeare" |
| 1995 | Inflammable | Wesley Raines | TV movie |
| 2000 | Sally Hemings: An American Scandal | Henry Jackson | TV movie |
| 2002 | Less than Perfect | Chester | Episode: "Kip Steadman's Guide to Dating" |
| 2002–2003 | The Wire | D'Angelo Barksdale | 18 episodes |
| 2004 | The Jury | Corey Hamilton | Episode: "The Boxer" |
| 2005 | CSI: NY | Officer Omar Lilly | Episode: "Crime and Misdemeanor" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Eddie Roberts | Episode: "Acts of Contrition" |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Amos Shabaz | Episode: "Waste Not" |
| 2008 | Fear Itself | James | Episode: "Spooked" |
| 2009 | The Beast | Nick / Raymond Beaumont | 10 episodes |
| 2009 | Trauma | Duke | Episode: "Blue Balloon" |
| 2010 | Friday Night Lights | Elden | Episode: "The Lights in Carroll Park" |
| 2010 | The Boondocks | 2nd Prisoner (voice) | Episode: "A Date with the Booty Warrior" |
| 2010 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Lefty Reed | Episode: "Déjà Vu/All In" |
| 2010 | Lie to Me | Marcus Weaver | Episode: "Smoked" |
| 2011 | Partners | Dr. J | TV movie |
| 2012 | Southland | John's Sponsor | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Army Wives | Marcus Williams | 7 episodes |
| 2013 | Longmire | Burke | Episode: "Unquiet Mind" |
| 2013–2015 | The Walking Dead | Bob Stookey | 14 episodes |
| 2015 | Graceland | Deputy Agent Sean Logan | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Elementary | Dr. Dwyer Kirk | Episode: "The Eternity Injection" |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Ken Boxer Jr. | Episode: "Winning Ugly" |
| 2017–2019 | The Deuce | Chris Alston | 25 episodes |
| 2018 | God Friended Me | Aaron | Episode: "Coney Island Cyclone" |
| 2020 | Bull | Prosecutor Benjamin | Episode: "My Corona" |
| 2021 | Chicago P.D. | Latrell Wade | Episode: "Equal Justice" |
| 2021–2022 | That Damn Michael Che | Clarence | 2 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Power Book III: Raising Kanan | Azumadeen 'Deen' Tippett | 3 episodes |
| 2023–2024 | Law & Order | Attorney Aaron Dressler | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Clipped | Grady Rivers | 1 episode |