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Robert Wisdom

Highest Rated: 93% Face/Off (1997)

Lowest Rated: 15% Haven (2004)

Birthday: Sep 14, 1953

Birthplace: Washington, D.C., USA

Character actor Robert Wisdom played imposing men of authority on both sides of the law in such celebrated television series as "The Wire" (HBO, 2003-08), "Prison Break" (Fox, 2005-09, 2017), "Supernatural" (The WB/CW, 2005- ) and "The Alienist" (TNT, 2018- ). Born Robert Ray Wisdom to Jamaican parents in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 1953, he developed an interest in acting as a senior at Columbia University, but earned a degree in economics and history in 1976 and worked in banking before shifting careers to serve as a producer with National Public Radio. In the 1980s, Wisdom worked as artistic director for an array of cultural projects before eventually settling into his role as Director of Performing Arts at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London. He moved solely into acting in the early 1990s, and made his screen debut in an episode of the long-running police drama "The Bill" (ITV 1984-2010). Wisdom returned to the United States in 1993 and worked steadily in character parts in features, including Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do!" (1996) and John Woo's "Face/Off" (1997), and on television, most notably in recurring roles on the American version of "Cracker" (ABC, 1997-98) and the syndicated "Poltergeist: The Legacy" (1996-99). In 2003, Wisdom received his most substantive showcase on the celebrated police drama "The Wire." Debuting in its second season as veteran Baltimore major Howard "Bunny" Colvin, he grew disenchanted with the rank-and-file approach to the city's overwhelming drug trade, and created a "free zone" where dealers and addicts could conduct business without police intervention. The decision spawned a drop in crime rates for his district, but when his superiors - who were not consulted in the creation of the free zone - catch wind of the plan, he is demoted and disgraced. Colvin returned in the show's fourth season to establish a similar free zone scenario in the troubled Baltimore school system, which again produces positive results. Critical praise for his performance led to more high-profile character roles in features, most notably the biopic "Ray" (2004) as pioneering black record label head Jack Lauderdale, and in recurring roles on "Prison Break" as drug lord Norman "Lechero" St. John and as the imperious angel Uriel on "Supernatural." Both performances also earned laurels from viewers and critics, and Wisdom remained an in-demand character player on both the big and small screen, including "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) and recurring roles on "Nashville" (ABC/CMT 2012-18) as an aspiring mayoral candidate and the HBO series "Ballers" (2015- ) as NFL player John David Washington's estranged father. In 2017, TNT announced that Wisdom would join the cast of "The Alienist" (2018- ), an adaptation of the Caleb Carr period thriller, with Wisdom cast as a valet who aided psychologist Daniel Brühl in his investigation of a string of murders in 19th century New York.

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Highest rated movies

93% 82% Face/Off Watchlist
79% 87% Ray
Watchlist
78% 84% Live From Baghdad
Watchlist
73% 35% Rampart
Watchlist
70% 87% Freedom Writers Watchlist
69% 48% Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Watchlist
65% 80% Motherless Brooklyn Watchlist 58% 54% Vacation Friends Watchlist
54% 67% Storytelling
Watchlist
54% 41% Mighty Joe Young
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dreams in Nightmares Unknown (Character) - 2024
39% 95% A Journal for Jordan Sgt. T.J. Canedy (Character) $6.4M 2021
58% 54% Vacation Friends Unknown (Character) - 2021
65% 80% Motherless Brooklyn Billy Rose (Character) $9.3M 2019
25% 11% Beast of Burden Mallory (Character) - 2018
29% 33% Unforgettable Detective Pope (Character) $11.3M 2017
36% 81% Live Cargo Roy (Character) - 2016
15% 37% The Loft Detective Cohagan (Character) $6.0M 2014
73% 35% Rampart Captain (Character) $969.2K 2011
No Score Yet No Score Yet Bright Irwin (Character) - 2011
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Thousand Suns Narrator - 2009
29% 48% The Collector Roy (Character) $7.7M 2009
70% 87% Freedom Writers Carl Cohn (Character) $36.6M 2007
30% 43% The Hawk Is Dying Billy Bob (Character) $6.1K 2006
No Score Yet 80% Mozart & the Whale Blume (Character) - 2005
40% 74% Killer Diller Moker (Character) $17.3K 2004
15% 60% Haven Mr. Sterling (Character) $136.8K 2004
79% 87% Ray Jack Lauderdale (Character) $75.3M 2004
31% 36% The Forgotten Carl Dayton (Character) $66.6M 2004
69% 48% Barbershop 2: Back in Business Alderman Brown (Character) $65.0M 2004
No Score Yet No Score Yet Haven: Trailer Mr. Sterling (Character) - 2004
25% 45% Masked and Anonymous Lucius (Character) $533.3K 2003
35% 40% Duplex Officer Dan (Character) $9.7M 2003
No Score Yet No Score Yet Our House Officer Dan (Character) - 2003
48% 29% Coastlines Bob Johnson (Character) $6.5K 2002
78% 84% Live From Baghdad Bernard Shaw (Character) - 2002
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hollywood Palms The Dutchman (Character) - 2001
54% 67% Storytelling Mr. Scott (Character) $912.4K 2001
No Score Yet 78% For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story Unknown (Character) - 2000
22% 42% Dancing at the Blue Iguana Eddie (Character) $61.1K 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rocky Road Michael Jones (Character) $991 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Heist Slim (Character) - 1999
No Score Yet 62% Three Businessmen Leroy Jasper (Character) - 1998
54% 41% Mighty Joe Young Kweli (Character) $50.6M 1998
No Score Yet No Score Yet Stir Detective Williams (Character) - 1997
93% 82% Face/Off Tito Biondi (Character) $112.3M 1997
No Score Yet 23% Lifeform Colonel Jessie Pratt (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet 61% Sahara Tambul (Character) - 1995

TV

Credit
61% 62% Accused Mitch Becker (Guest Star) 2023
100% 81% The Big Leap Earl Sr. (Guest Star) 2021
27% 71% Marvel's Helstrom Caretaker (Character) 2020
77% 80% The Alienist Cyrus (Character) 2018 2020
57% 75% The Hot Zone Vernon Tucker (Character) 2019
56% 77% The Fix Buck Neal (Guest Star) 2019
No Score Yet 81% Blue Bloods Inspector Andre Clifford (Guest Star) 2019
9% 76% Rosewood Gerald Kelly (Guest Star) 2016-2017
72% 88% Ballers Dennis (Guest Star) 2015-2016
No Score Yet 88% Chicago P.D. Ron Perry (Guest Star) 2014-2015
88% 79% 12 Monkeys Jeremy (Guest Star) 2015
84% 72% Grey's Anatomy Unknown (Guest Star) 2013
91% 73% Nashville Coleman Carlisle (Character),
Unknown (Guest Star)
2012-2013
88% 95% Burn Notice Vaughn Anderson (Guest Star) 2010-2011
85% 69% Nikita Unknown (Guest Star) 2011
46% 71% Happy Town Roger Hobbs (Character) 2010
78% 83% Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Father Theo Burdett (Guest Star) 2009
84% 84% How I Met Your Mother McCracken (Guest Star) 2009
93% 73% Supernatural Unknown (Guest Star) 2008-2009
No Score Yet 86% Lie to Me Bonds (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet 84% NCIS Warden Gene Halsey (Guest Star) 2009
94% 96% The Wire Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Character),
Unknown (Guest Star)
2003-2004 2006 2008
61% 77% Prison Break Lechero (Character) 2007-2008
65% No Score Yet Close to Home Unknown (Guest Star) 2007
No Score Yet No Score Yet Judging Amy Unknown (Guest Star) 2003
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Agency Unknown (Guest Star) 2003
83% 95% NYPD Blue Eric Green (Guest Star) 2002
No Score Yet No Score Yet The District Unknown (Guest Star) 2001
No Score Yet 85% ER Dr. Hammond (Guest Star) 2001
6% No Score Yet Wasteland Unknown (Guest Star) 1999
60% No Score Yet Cracker Det. Danny Watlington (Character) 1997-1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Poltergeist: The Legacy Unknown (Guest Star) 1997 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dharma & Greg Prospero (Guest Star) 1998
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Sentinel Unknown (Guest Star) 1996
100% No Score Yet The Nine Unknown (Guest Star)