Isiah Whitlock

Prolific character actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. worked with everyone from Martin Scorsese to Woody Allen to Spike Lee during his gradual career ascent but first caught the public's attention when he was cast as the foul-mouthed bribe-taking senator Clay Davis in "The Wire" (HBO 2002-08). After that, he combined supporting big-screen parts in the likes of "Pieces Of April" (2003), "Cedar Rapids" (2011) and "Thanks For Sharing" (2013) with more substantial small-screen roles in "Rubicon" (AMC 2010), "Lucky 7" (ABC 2013) and "Veep" (HBO 2012-), while also earning critical acclaim for his theatre work both on and off Broadway.

Born in South Bend, IN, in 1954, Isiah Whitlock Jr. first attended Southwest Minnesota State University on a football scholarship before injury caused him to switch his attention to drama instead. After graduating in 1976, he moved to San Francisco where he became a valuable member of the prestigious American Conservatory Theater. While following debuts on the small-screen in "Cagney & Lacey" (CBS 1981-88) and big-screen in "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990), he was cast as the sympathetic doctor in "Goodfellas" (1990) and landed bit parts in the likes of "Eddie" (1996), "Everyone Says I Love You" (1996) and "The Spanish Prisoner" (1997).

After playing a slave in miniseries "Liberty: The American Revolution" (PBS 1997), Whitlock secured minor roles in redemption tale "Harlem Aria" (1999) and relationship comedy "A Fish In the Bathtub" (1999) and earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Joe in Christopher Shinn's off-Broadway play "Four" before appearing as Agent Flood in Spike Lee's "25th Hour" (2002) a role he would also later reprise in "She Hate Me" (2004) and "Red Hook Summer" (2012). While having played various different characters in "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010), Whitlock also began to crop up on its spin-off shows "Criminal Intent" (NBC 2001-2011) and "Special Victims Unit" (NBC 1999-).

Whitlock's profile then rocketed when he took on the role of Clay Davis, the corrupt Maryland State senator renowned for his idiosyncratic profanity, on the critically-acclaimed "The Wire" (HBO 2002-08). Whitlock continued to add to his CV during his sporadic five-season stint on the show, appearing as Eugene in Thanksgiving comedy drama "Pieces Of April" (2003), the hotel engineer in Stephen King adaptation "1408" (2007) and Ethan Banks in Disney self-parody "Enchanted" (2008), while also later popping up in the likes of "Cadillac Records" (2008), "Brooklyn's Finest" (2009) and "Twelve" (2010).

Following a recurring role in short-lived conspiracy drama "Rubicon" (AMC 2010), Whitlock then co-starred as insurance agent Ronald Wilkes in indie comedy "Cedar Rapids" (2011), made several appearances in "Onion SportsDome" (Comedy Central 2011), "Smash" (NBC 2012-13) and "Louie" (FX 2010-15) and landed supporting parts in big-screen comedies "Why Stop Now" (2012), "Thanks For Sharing" (2012) and "Newlyweeds" (2013). Whitlock then appeared as lottery-winning gas station attendant Bob Harris in the swiftly-cancelled "Lucky 7" (ABC 2013), before showing up as cantankerous Defense Secretary George Maddox in the political satire "Veep" (HBO 2012-).