Lawrence Gilliard Jr.
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Born: September 22, 1971
Birthplace: New York, NY
Zodiac Sign: Virgo
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Career and Life
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Lawrence Gilliard Jr. is an American character 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 is in the cast of David Simon's HBO TV series, The Deuce, that premiered in September 2017.
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He and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland when he was seven years old.
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Gilliard played clarinet and studied classical music at Baltimore School for the Arts. Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur were classmates of Gilliard's at the Baltimore School of the Arts.
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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.
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Gilliard made his film debut playing the lead, Dennis Brown, in the 1991 independent film Straight Out of Brooklyn.
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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).
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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.
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Gilliard is married to Michelle Paress, who joined the cast of The Wire in its fifth season.
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