Seth Gilliam

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Seth Gilliam
Seth Gilliam - Comiccon Brussels 2020 (49677344347) (cropped).jpg
Gilliam in 2020
Born (1968-11-05) November 5, 1968 (age 56)
Education State University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active1990–present
Known for The Wire
as Ellis Carver
The Walking Dead
as Gabriel Stokes
Teen Wolf
as Dr. Alan Deaton

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 , Dr. Alan Deaton on Teen Wolf , and Father Gabriel Stokes on The Walking Dead . [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Gilliam graduated from State University of New York at Purchase in 1990, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. [3]

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 Sergeant Sugar Watkins in the 1997 action film Starship Troopers and Sergeant Steven Altameyer in the 1996 film Courage Under Fire . [4] [5]

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 . [6] 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. [7] 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 . [8] 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 . [9] Along with Chad Coleman and Lawrence Gilliard Jr., he is the third The Wire alum to join the series. [10]

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. [11] 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." [12]

Personal life

On May 3, 2015, Gilliam was arrested in Peachtree City, Georgia, for driving under the influence as he was speeding 108 miles per hour in a fifty-five miles per hour zone. Police found a marijuana cigarette in his car. [13] He was released after posting a $9,818 bond. [14]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992In the Eyes of a Stranger-TV movie
Aibobo-Short
1993 Joey Breaker Jeremy Breaker
Mr. Wonderful ER Doctor
1994Heading HomeWillie
The Hardest PartDerekShort
1995 Jefferson in Paris James Hemings
1996 Courage Under Fire Altameyer
TarTyrone
1997 Starship Troopers Sugar Watkins
2000 Punks Marcus
2002 Personal Velocity: Three Portraits Vincent
2005The Great WonderfulClayton
2008Sympathetic DetailsRaymond
2009The People v. Leo FrankJim Conley
Did You Hear About the Morgans? U.S. Marshal Lasky
2010BetrayedRoger WaiteShort
2011Stake Out: Atlantic SalmonRivers
2012 The Skinny HIV Testing Worker
2014 Still Alice Frederic Johnson
2017 Police State Officer Grady
2018Change in the AirOfficer Payne
Silver LakeJeff
2023 Teen Wolf: The Movie Dr. Alan Deaton

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990–1991 The Cosby Show Aaron DexterRecurring cast (season 7)
1992 Law & Order Babatunde AmodaEpisode: "Consultation"
1994 Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker Cadet Johnson C. WhittakerTV movie
1999–2001 Oz Clayton HughesRecurring cast (seasons 3–4); 17 episodes
2002–2008 The Wire Ellis Carver Recurring cast (seasons 1–2), main cast (seasons 3–5); 51 episodes
2005 Law & Order: Trial by Jury A.D.A. Terence WrightRecurring cast
2007 The Bronx is Burning Paul BlairEpisode: "Time for a Change?"
2007–2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Detective DanielsGuest (season 6), recurring cast (season 7)
2009 Damages Mark WatersEpisode: "I Knew Your Pig"
CSI: Miami Aaron NolanEpisode: "Flight Risk"
Mercy Police OfficerEpisode: "Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica"
2010 Nurse Jackie Dr. LindseyEpisode: "Candyland"
Law & Order Michael's AttorneyEpisode: "Immortal"
2011 Skins KenEpisode: "Cadie"
Svetlana TomasEpisode: "Milking It"
The Good Wife Jacob RickterEpisode: "Closing Arguments"
2011–2017 Teen Wolf Dr. Alan DeatonRecurring cast (seasons 1–5), guest (season 6); 47 episodes
2012 Person of Interest Detective Des FranklinEpisode: "Identity Crisis"
Homeland ChapmanEpisode: "A Gettysburg Address"
2013 Criminal Minds Lyle JohnsonEpisode: "Strange Fruit"
2014–2022 The Walking Dead Gabriel Stokes Also starring (seasons 5–7), main cast (seasons 8–11); 73 episodes
2015 The Good Wife Jacob RickterEpisode: "Wanna Partner?"
2016 Elementary Dr. Ira WallaceEpisode: "Ready or Not"
2019 The Code Lt. Col. MetchafEpisode: "Original Pilot"
City on a Hill Rev. Jasper FieldsRecurring cast (season 1)
2020 Bull Dr. PoulsonEpisode: "The Invisible Woman"
2023 The Blacklist Lawrence WhitakerEpisode: "Blair Foster"
2024 The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Gabriel StokesEpisode: "Become"

Theater

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Othello Othello Commonwealth Shakespeare Company [12]
2011 Houston Shakespeare Festival [2]
King Lear Edmund The Public Theater [15]
2018The Last Bar at the End of the WorldTobias Off-Broadway [11]

References

  1. "Cast & Crew - Seth Gilliam as Ellis Carver". HBO. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  2. 1 2 3 Melloy, Kilian (2010-08-07). "Seth Gilliam :: From 'The Wire' to 'Othello'". EDGE Boston. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  3. "Alumni". Purchase College . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  4. "Starship Troopers". Variety . 1997-11-08.
  5. Ebert, Roger (1996-07-12). "Courage Under Fire". Chicago Sun-Times via rogerebert.com.
  6. Marnell cla, Blair (2011-07-13). "TEEN WOLF 1.07 'Night School'". CraveOnline. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  7. "The Wire star hits out at Emmys". BBC News. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  8. Reeves, Marcus (2011-05-06). "Seth Gilliam Cast For "Good Wife" Season Finale". BET. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  9. "The Walking Dead Q&A – Seth Gilliam (Father Gabriel) - news_detail | FX". www.fxtv.com.au. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  10. Acuna, Kirsten (2014-10-10). "Why 'The Walking Dead' Casts So Many Actors From HBO's Hit Show 'The Wire'". Business Insider .
  11. 1 2 Gaines, Tarra (2013-08-02). "The most powerful woman of all: Controversial Facebook book inspires Houston's Cleopatra". culturemap.com.
  12. 1 2 "Houston Shakespeare Festival Welcomes Seth Gilliam, Leah C. Gardiner". University of Houston News. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  13. "'Walking Dead' star Seth Gilliam arrested". CNN. May 4, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  14. Oldenburg, Ann. "'Walking Dead' star Seth Gilliam arrested". USA Today . Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  15. 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).