Kwame Patterson

Actor Kwame Patterson's turn as a steely second-in-coming to a ruthless drug lord on "The Wire" (HBO 2002-08) led to a slew of roles in gritty, crime-driven projects like "Ray Donovan" (Showtime, 2013- ) and "The Oath" (Crackle, 2018- ).

Raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, Patterson relocated to Baltimore, Maryland as a teenager, and served in the National Guard before trying his hand at acting. After landing roles in independent, locally produced projects, Patterson landed what was initially an unnamed minor role as a lieutenant under the ruthless drug dealer Marlo Stansfield (played by Jamie Hector) on "The Wire."

But after shooting his first episode in 2006, the series' producer decided to elevate him to a recurring role, and Patterson was cast as Monk Metcalf, who served as intermediary between Stansfield and his army of dealers. After assuming control of the drug trade on Baltimore's Westside in Season Five of "The Wire," Metcalf is caught with a supply of drugs in his car, and sentenced to up to 20 years.

The critical praise showered on "The Wire" led to guest roles on other crime-driven series, including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-2015) and a recurring role on "Ray Donovan" (Showtime, 2013- ) as a hip-hop producer named ReKon who is murdered, along with his son, by gangster Cookie Brown (Omar Dorsey). He soon returned to regular work as a guest player on series, including a two-episode arc as Michael Darden, elder brother to lawyer Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown) on "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson" (FX, 2016).

In 2018, Patterson joined the cast of "The Oath," a crime drama produced by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson for Crackle.