Robert Wisdom
Robert Ray Wisdom is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in The Wire, Norman "Lechero" St. John in Prison Break, Uriel in Supernatural, and as Jim Moss in Barry. He has been honored with an NAACP Image Award.
Early life
Wisdom was born on September 14, 1953 in Washington, D.C. to immigrant Jamaican parents. He is a graduate of St. Albans School and Columbia University, where he was a star sprinter on the university's track team. He had turned down athletic scholarships in track and field to attend Columbia, becoming interested in acting as a senior after taking acting classes as a hobby.Career
Wisdom's first major acting roles were at the Bush Theatre in London, later acting throughout England and Scotland. He appeared in four of the five seasons of the HBO program The Wire as Howard "Bunny" Colvin. Wisdom had initially auditioned for the role of Stringer Bell. He has also starred in the 2004 films Barbershop 2: Back in Business and Ray, and the 2007 film Freedom Writers. He landed a regular role on season 3 of Prison Break playing the role of a Panamanian drug kingpin named Lechero. He also had recurring roles in the television series Supernatural, Happy Town, and Burn Notice. Wisdom was once a producer for NPR's All Things Considered.From 2012 to 2013, Wisdom was a series regular in season one of the ABC drama series Nashville, as Coleman Carlisle.
From 2022 to 2023, Wisdom starred in the HBO black-comedy series Barry, as Jim Moss, for which he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | The Bill | Johnny Olina-Olu | Episode: "Street Smart" |
| 1993 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Waiter | Episode: "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" |
| 1995 | Sahara | Sergeant Major Tambul | Television film |
| 1996 | The Sentinel | Lieutenant Williams | Episode: "The Debt" |
| 1996 | If These Walls Could Talk | Policeman | Television film |
| 1997–1999 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Daniel Euwara | Recurring cast, guest |
| 1997–1999 | Cracker | Detective Danny Watlington | Main cast |
| 1998 | Arli$$ | - | Episode: "His Name Is Arliss Michaels" |
| 1998 | Dharma & Greg | Prospero | Episode: "It Takes a Village" |
| 1999 | Wasteland | Professor James | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000 | For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story | Oscar Valdez | Television film |
| 2001 | ER | Dr. Hammond | Episode: "Piece of Mind" |
| 2001 | The District | Mr. Broyles | Episode: "To Serve and Protect" |
| 2002 | NYPD Blue | Eric Green | Episode: "Safari, So Good" |
| 2002 | Live from Baghdad | Bernard Shaw | Television film |
| 2003 | The Agency | Mr. Banga | Episode: "Absolute Bastard" |
| 2003 | Kingpin | Rolando | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Boomtown | Daryl "Chronic" Norcott | Episode: "Execution" |
| 2003 | Judging Amy | D.A. Matthews | Episode: "Tricks of the Trade" |
| 2003–2008 | The Wire | Howard "Bunny" Colvin | Guest, main cast |
| 2004 | Century City | - | Episode: "Only You" |
| 2005 | Inconceivable | Earl Godcheaux | Episode: "Balls in Your Court" |
| 2007 | Close to Home | Reverend Scofield | Episode: "Eminent Domain" |
| 2007 | The Nine | Clarence Jones | Episode: "Man of the Year" |
| 2007–2008 | Prison Break | Norman "Lechero" St. John | Main cast |
| 2008–2009 | Supernatural | Uriel | Recurring cast |
| 2009 | NCIS | Warden Gene Halsey | Episode: "Caged" |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Bonds | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2009 | How I Met Your Mother | McCracken | Episode: "Murtaugh" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Father Theo Burdett | Episode: "Hell" |
| 2010 | Happy Town | Roger Hobbs | Main cast |
| 2010 | Hawthorne | Calvin Jenkins | Episode: "Afterglow" |
| 2010–2011 | Burn Notice | Vaughn Anderson | Recurring cast, guest |
| 2011 | Nikita | CIA Director Abbott | Episode: "Pandora" |
| 2011 | Prime Suspect | Chuck Reingold | Episode: "Shame" |
| 2012 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Cop Actor | Episode: "Paul Rudd Wears a Red Lumberjack Flannel Shirt" |
| 2012–2013 | Nashville | Coleman Carlisle | Main cast, guest |
| 2013 | Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Hamilton | Episode: "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" |
| 2014 | Legends | Conrad Tomlin | 2 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | Chicago P.D. | Commander Ron Perry | Recurring cast |
| 2015 | 12 Monkeys | Jeremy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015–2019 | Ballers | Dennis Jerret | Recurring cast |
| 2016–2017 | Rosewood | Gerald Kelly | Guest: season 1, recurring cast: season 2 |
| 2016–2017 | Flaked | George Flack | Recurring cast |
| 2017 | Seven Bucks Digital Studios | Dennis Jerret | Episode: "Get Pumped Up for "Ballers" Season 3 with the Rock" |
| 2018–2020 | The Alienist | Cyrus Montrose | Main cast |
| 2019 | Blue Bloods | Inspector Andre Clifford | Episode: "Blues" |
| 2019 | The Fix | Buck Neal | Recurring cast |
| 2019 | The Hot Zone | Col. Vernon Tucker | Recurring cast |
| 2019 | Watchmen | Seymour | Recurring cast |
| 2020 | Helstrom | Caretaker | Main cast |
| 2021 | The Big Leap | Earl Reyes | Recurring cast |
| 2022 | Black Bird | Edmund Beaumont | Recurring cast |
| 2022–2023 | Barry | Jim Moss | Recurring cast, main cast ; Nominee Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
| 2023 | Accused | Mitch Becker | Episode: "Scott's Story" |
| 2023 | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Dak’Rah | Episode: "Under the Cloak of War" |
| 2025 | The Terminal List: Dark Wolf | Jed Haverford | Recurring role |