Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in The Wire, Norman "Lechero" St. John in Prison Break, and Harold Conway in the 2021 Hulu film Vacation Friends.
Robert Wisdom | |
|---|---|
 Wisdom in 2008 | |
| Born | Robert Ray Wisdom September 14, 1953 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Education | St. Albans School |
| Alma mater | Columbia University (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–present |
Early life
editWisdom was born to Jamaican parents. He is a graduate of St. Albans School and Columbia University, where he was a star sprinter on the school's track team.[1][2][3]
Career
editHe appeared in four of the five seasons (primarily seasons three and four) of the HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin.[4] Wisdom had initially auditioned for the role of Stringer Bell.[5] He has also starred in the 2004 films Barbershop 2: Back in Business and Ray, and the 2007 film Freedom Writers. He landed a regular role on season 3 of Prison Break playing the role of a Panamanian drug kingpin named Lechero.[6] He also had recurring roles in the television series Supernatural, Happy Town, and Burn Notice.[7] Wisdom was once a producer for NPR's All Things Considered.
From 2012 to 2013, Wisdom was a series regular in season one of the ABC drama series Nashville, as Coleman Carlisle.[8]
From 2022 to 2023, Wisdom starred in the HBO black-comedy series Barry, as Jim Moss,[9] for which he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.[10]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Clean Slate | Mort | |
| 1996 | Hellraiser: Bloodline | Gambler Cenobite | |
| That Thing You Do! | Bobby Washington | ||
| Invader | Colonel Jessie Pratt | ||
| No Easy Way | Motel Manager | ||
| 1997 | Volcano | O.E.M. Staffer #2 | |
| Face/Off | Tito Biondi | ||
| Stir | Detective Williams | ||
| Jamaica Beat | Inspector Sterling | ||
| 1998 | Three Businessmen | Leroy Jasper | |
| Mighty Joe Young | Kwell | ||
| 1999 | How to Get Laid at the End of the World | Quonset Jones | |
| 2000 | The Heist | Slim | Video |
| Dancing at the Blue Iguana | Eddie | ||
| 2001 | Rocky Road | Michael Jones | |
| Storytelling | Mr. Scott | ||
| Osmosis Jones | Big Germ | Voice | |
| Hollywood Palms | The Dutchman | ||
| D.C. Smalls | Miles | Short | |
| 2002 | Coastlines | Bob Johnson | |
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Lucius | |
| Duplex | Officer Dan | ||
| 2004 | Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Alderman Lalowe Brown | |
| Killer Diller | Moker | ||
| Haven | Mr. Sterling | ||
| Ray | Jack Lauderdale | ||
| The Forgotten | Carl Dayton | ||
| Crazy like a Fox | Roy Fowler | ||
| 2005 | Mozart and the Whale | Blume | |
| 2006 | The Hawk Is Dying | Billy Bob | |
| 2007 | Freedom Writers | Dr. Carl Cohn | |
| Sex and Death 101 | Alpha | ||
| 2008 | Ball Don't Lie | Officer Perkins | |
| 2009 | The Collector | Roy | |
| 2010 | Sympathy for Delicious | Prendell | |
| Passion Play | Malcolm | ||
| 2011 | Bright | Irwin | Short |
| Rampart | Captain | ||
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | Army Captain Parker | |
| Freelancers | Terrence Burke | ||
| 2014 | The Loft | Detective Cohagan | |
| 2016 | Live Cargo | Roy | |
| 2017 | Unforgettable | Detective Pope | |
| 2018 | Beast of Burden | Mallory | |
| Revival! | Jesus' Father Co-Worker | ||
| 2019 | Motherless Brooklyn | Billy Rose | |
| 2021 | Vacation Friends | Harold Conway | |
| A Journal for Jordan | Sgt. T.J. Canedy | ||
| 2024 | Dreams in Nightmares[11] | Virgil |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Bill | Johnny Olina-Olu | Episode: "Street Smart" |
| 1993 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Waiter | Episode: "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" |
| 1995 | Sahara | Sergeant Major Tambul | Television film |
| 1996 | The Sentinel | Lieutenant Williams | Episode: "The Debt" |
| If These Walls Could Talk | Policeman | Television film | |
| 1997–1999 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Daniel Euwara | Recurring cast (season 2), guest (season 3-4) |
| Cracker | Detective Danny Watlington | Main cast | |
| 1998 | Arli$$ | - | Episode: "His Name Is Arliss Michaels" |
| Dharma & Greg | Prospero | Episode: "It Takes a Village" | |
| 1999 | Wasteland | Professor James | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000 | For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story | Oscar Valdez | Television film |
| 2001 | ER | Dr. Hammond | Episode: "Piece of Mind" |
| The District | Mr. Broyles | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" | |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Eric Green | Episode: "Safari, So Good" |
| Live from Baghdad | Bernard Shaw | Television film | |
| 2003 | The Agency | Mr. Banga | Episode: "Absolute Bastard" |
| Kingpin | Rolando | 2 episodes | |
| Boomtown | Daryl "Chronic" Norcott | Episode: "Execution" | |
| Judging Amy | D.A. Matthews | Episode: "Tricks of the Trade" | |
| 2003–2008 | The Wire | Howard "Bunny" Colvin | Guest (season 2 & 5), main cast (season 3-4) |
| 2004 | Century City | - | Episode: "Only You" |
| 2005 | Inconceivable | Earl Godcheaux | Episode: "Balls in Your Court" |
| 2007 | Close to Home | Reverend Scofield | Episode: "Eminent Domain" |
| The Nine | Clarence Jones | Episode: "Man of the Year" | |
| 2007–2008 | Prison Break | Norman "Lechero" St. John | Main cast (season 3) |
| 2008–2009 | Supernatural | Uriel | Recurring cast (season 4) |
| 2009 | NCIS | Warden Gene Halsey | Episode: "Caged" |
| Lie to Me | Bonds | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| How I Met Your Mother | McCracken | Episode: "Murtaugh" | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Father Theo Burdett | Episode: "Hell" | |
| 2010 | Happy Town | Roger Hobbs | Main cast |
| Hawthorne | Calvin Jenkins | Episode: "Afterglow" | |
| 2010–2011 | Burn Notice | Vaughn Anderson | Recurring cast (season 4), guest (season 5) |
| 2011 | Nikita | CIA Director Abbott | Episode: "Pandora" |
| Prime Suspect | Chuck Reingold | Episode: "Shame" | |
| 2012 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Cop Actor | Episode: "Paul Rudd Wears a Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt" |
| 2012–2013 | Nashville | Coleman Carlisle | Main cast (season 1), guest (season 2) |
| 2013 | Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Hamilton | Episode: "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" |
| 2014 | Legends | Conrad Tomlin | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Chicago P.D. | Commander Ron Perry | Recurring cast (season 1-2) |
| 2015 | 12 Monkeys | Jeremy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015–2019 | Ballers | Dennis Jerret | Recurring cast |
| 2016–2017 | Rosewood | Gerald Kelly | Guest: season 1, recurring cast: season 2 |
| Flaked | George Flack | Recurring cast | |
| 2017 | Seven Bucks Digital Studios | Dennis Jerret | Episode: "Get Pumped Up for "Ballers" Season 3 with the Rock" |
| 2018–2020 | The Alienist | Cyrus Montrose | Main cast |
| 2019 | Blue Bloods | Inspector Andre Clifford | Episode: "Blues" |
| The Fix | Buck Neal | Recurring cast | |
| The Hot Zone | Col. Vernon Tucker | Recurring cast (season 1) | |
| Watchmen | Seymour | Recurring cast | |
| 2020 | Helstrom | Caretaker | Main cast |
| 2021 | The Big Leap | Earl Reyes | Recurring cast |
| 2022 | Black Bird | Edmund Beaumont | Recurring cast |
| 2022–2023 | Barry | Jim Moss | Recurring cast (season 3), main cast (season 4) |
| 2023 | Accused | Mitch Becker | Episode: "Scott's Story" |
| Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Dak’Rah | Episode: "Under the Cloak of War" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Spider-Man: Web of Shadows | Luke Cage | |
| 2009 | The Lord of the Rings: Conquest | Uruk-Hai Officer #2 | |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Jonas Savimbi | |
| 2014 | Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | Prime Minister |
References
edit- ^ "Robert Wisdom Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
- ^ Erickson, Amanda (April 2011). "Actor Robert Wisdom '76 Brings Depth to His Roles". Columbia College Today. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ "30 Movie and TV Stars who Graduated from Columbia". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
- ^ "Character profile - Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin". HBO. 2006. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
- ^ Abrams, Jonathan (2018). All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of the Wire. New York: Crown. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-451-49814-4.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview: 'Prison Break' Star Robert Wisdom". Buddy TV. 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2007.
- ^ "Robert Wisdom Cast on Burn Notice". March 18, 2010.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (September 16, 2013). "'Nashville' Season 2: Powers Boothe Leaving as a Series Regular". TVLine. Retrieved December 8, 2013.
- ^ Glassman, Julia (2023-04-14). "Robert Wisdom Talks About Making Henry Winkler Cry in 'Barry'". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ^ "Nominations Announced for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®" (Press release). Screen Actors Guild. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (June 25, 2024). "Indie Spirit-Nominated 'Test Pattern' Filmmaker Shatara Michelle Ford Has Completed Next Film". IndieWire. Retrieved August 1, 2024.