Seth Gilliam

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.

Early life

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

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.

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. 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.

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. 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. Along with Chad L. Coleman and Lawrence Gilliard Jr., he is the third The Wire alum to join the series.

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 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.

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."

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. He was released after posting a $9,818 bond.

Filmography

Film

• 1992 — In the Eyes of a Stranger — - — TV movie
• 1992 — Aibobo — - — Short
• 1993 — Joey Breaker — Jeremy Breaker
• 1993 — Mr. Wonderful — ER Doctor
• 1994 — Heading Home — Willie
• 1994 — The Hardest Part — Derek — Short
• 1995 — Jefferson in Paris — James Hemings
• 1996 — Courage Under Fire — Altameyer
• 1996 — Tar — Tyrone
• 1997 — Starship Troopers — Sugar Watkins
• 2000 — Punks — Marcus
• 2002 — Personal Velocity: Three Portraits — Vincent
• 2005 — The Great Wonderful — Clayton
• 2008 — Sympathetic Details — Raymond
• 2009 — The People v. Leo Frank — Jim Conley
• 2009 — Did You Hear About the Morgans? — U.S. Marshal Lasky
• 2010 — Betrayed — Roger Waite — Short
• 2011 — Stake Out: Atlantic Salmon — Rivers — Short
• 2012 — The Skinny — HIV Testing Worker
• 2014 — Still Alice — Frederic Johnson
• 2017 — Police State — Officer Grady
• 2018 — Change in the Air — Officer Payne
• 2018 — Silver Lake — Jeff
• 2023 — Teen Wolf: The Movie — Dr. Alan Deaton

Television

• 1990–1991 — The Cosby Show — Aaron Dexter — Recurring cast (season 7)
• 1992 — Law & Order — Babatunde Amoda — Episode: "Consultation"
• 1994 — Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker — Cadet Johnson C. Whittaker — TV movie
• 1999–2001 — Oz — Clayton Hughes — Recurring 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 Wright — Recurring cast
• 2007 — The Bronx is Burning — Paul Blair — Episode: "Time for a Change?"
• 2007–2008 — Law & Order: Criminal Intent — Detective Daniels — Guest (season 6), recurring cast (season 7)
• 2009 — Damages — Mark Waters — Episode: "I Knew Your Pig"
• 2009 — CSI: Miami — Aaron Nolan — Episode: "Flight Risk"
• 2009 — Mercy — Police Officer — Episode: "Destiny, Meet My Daughter, Veronica"
• 2010 — Nurse Jackie — Dr. Lindsey — Episode: "Candyland"
• 2010 — Law & Order — Michael's Attorney — Episode: "Immortal"
• 2011 — Skins — Ken — Episode: "Cadie"
• 2011 — Svetlana — Tomas — Episode: "Milking It"
• 2011 — The Good Wife — Jacob Rickter — Episode: "Closing Arguments"
• 2011–2017 — Teen Wolf — Dr. Alan Deaton — Recurring cast (seasons 1–5), guest (season 6); 47 episodes
• 2012 — Person of Interest — Detective Des Franklin — Episode: "Identity Crisis"
• 2012 — Homeland — Chapman — Episode: "A Gettysburg Address"
• 2013 — Criminal Minds — Lyle Johnson — Episode: "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 Rickter — Episode: "Wanna Partner?"
• 2016 — Elementary — Dr. Ira Wallace — Episode: "Ready or Not"
• 2019 — The Code — Lt. Col. Metchaf — Episode: "Original Pilot"
• 2019 — City on a Hill — Rev. Jasper Fields — Recurring cast (season 1)
• 2020 — Bull — Dr. Poulson — Episode: "The Invisible Woman"
• 2023 — The Blacklist — Lawrence Whitaker — Episode: "Blair Foster"
• 2024 — The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live — Gabriel Stokes — Episode: "Become"

Theater

• 2010 — Othello — Othello — Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
• 2011 — Othello — Othello — Houston Shakespeare Festival
• 2011 — King Lear — Edmund — The Public Theater
• 2018 — The Last Bar at the End of the World — Tobias — Off-Broadway