Lawrence Gilliard Jr. gives conflicted men a vulnerability that does not excuse them. We rate his work in David Simon’s ensembles, where everyday pressures matter, and wish more of his film parts gave him as much to do.
Fi1m perspective
In The Wire (2002), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. plays D’Angelo Barksdale as a drug dealer troubled by his own conscience. We were moved by that uncertainty, because he makes the difficulty of accepting what he does feel personal. That sensitivity is his chief strength as an ensemble actor. David Simon’s dramas give that discomfort room to develop.
He began with a leading role in Matty Rich’s independent Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991), before supporting work in films including Trees Lounge (1996). The substantial roles increasingly came through television, with The Wire followed by Bob Stookey in The Walking Dead (2013) and Chris Alston in The Deuce (2017). Film roles continued, but often gave him less space. We would welcome more leading parts: an actor who can make a character’s doubts matter has too often been allotted a small role.
The Deuce is a particularly good fit, casting him as a police officer in Simon’s drama about New York’s sex trade. Gilliard makes Alston’s everyday pressures matter within that crowded cast. We admire the programme’s patient attention to work and power, with Maggie Gyllenhaal providing its compelling centre. There is a cost to the size of the ensemble: the opening can be unnecessarily demanding, and James Franco’s double role adds to the congestion. It is worth allowing the people around Gyllenhaal time to establish themselves.
Regina King’s One Night in Miami... (2020), another ensemble drama we warmly recommend, gives him a supporting role as Bundini Brown. Its four central performances carry the film, while Tariq Anwar’s editing allows the listeners time to register their doubts. Some exchanges are too neatly written, and even attentive acting cannot make every developed point sound spontaneous. For a fuller introduction to Gilliard, start with The Deuce and give its crowded opening a little patience.
Biography
Lawrence Gilliard Jr. is an American actor, also credited as Larry Gilliard Jr. Born in New York City on 22 September 1971, he moved with his family to Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of seven. He studied classical clarinet at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the Juilliard School before switching to acting, training further at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Acting Studio and the Stella Adler Conservatory.
He made his film debut in the independent feature Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991). Gilliard is best known for his performances as D'Angelo Barksdale in the HBO series The Wire (2002–2004), Bob Stookey in The Walking Dead (2013–2016) and Chris Alston in The Deuce (2017–2019). Other notable credits include Gangs of New York (2002), The Machinist (2004) and One Night in Miami... (2020). He has also worked in theatre.
