Wes Chatham


Wes Chatham is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as In the Valley of Elah, W., The Help, and The Philly Kid, and played Castor in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2. Between 2015 and 2022, he starred as Amos Burton in The Expanse.

Early life

Chatham was born on October 11, 1978 in Atlanta. At the age of 7, he got his first acting job in Tide commercials.
After graduating from high school, Chatham joined the U.S. Navy in the rating of Aviation Boatswain's Mate. He worked as an aviation firefighter on the flight deck of the, working in crash and salvage for four years, reaching the rank of Petty Officer Third Class.

Acting career

Chatham's break into acting came just three months before his tour was finished when Denzel Washington chose his ship to shoot the movie Antwone Fisher. Chatham was amongst those selected by casting director Robi Reed while Reed was searching for authentic-looking military personnel for the movie. This was Chatham's first movie-making experience, which led to further pursuit of his lifelong dream of acting. Following Antwone Fisher, Reed convinced Chatham to move to Hollywood and shortly thereafter cast him in his first series regular role on Showtime's Barbershop.
Chatham gained further attention when Paul Haggis cast him alongside Tommy Lee Jones as Corporal Steve Penning in In the Valley of Elah. In 2009, Chatham went on to work with Oliver Stone in W. as Frank Benedict, George W's fraternity brother. The following year, Chatham landed another series regular role on the hit CBS TV show The Unit. Chatham was cast as new unit team member Sergeant Sam McBride, working with David Mamet and Shawn Ryan. Chatham also starred as Brian Danielson in Brett Simmons’ Husk.
Chatham portrayed Carlton Phelan, the brother of Emma Stone's character, in the 2011 film The Help. The cast won a 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2012, Chatham landed his first title role in Joel Silver's The Philly Kid. A fan of mixed martial arts, Chatham dove into the character of Dillion McGwire, performing all of his own stunts. The film debuted in theaters May 2012. Following The Philly Kid, Chatham starred in This Thing With Sarah, which was accepted to the San Diego Film Festival in October 2013. In 2013 Chatham wrapped two studio films, Broken Horses and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.
Between 2015 and 2022, Chatham starred as Amos Burton in the Amazon Prime Video TV series The Expanse. In 2021, he started co-hosting Ty & That Guy Podcast with Ty Franck, discussing episodes of The Expanse, inspirations from genre culture, and occasionally inviting guests, including Thomas Jane, Daniel Abraham and.

Personal life

Chatham is married to TV personality Jenn Brown. Together they have two sons, John Nash, born in 2014, and Rhett Jameson, born in 2016. Chatham missed the birth of Nash, as he was filming episode 2 of The Expanse and his son was born while Chatham was in the air, flying back from Toronto, where they filmed.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003The Fighting TemptationsCashier
2007In the Valley of ElahCorporal Steve Penning
2008W.Fraternity Enforcer
2011HuskBrian
2011The HelpCarlton Phelan
2012The Philly KidDillon "The Philly Kid" McGuire
2013Baby BleedDaddyShort film
2014This Thing with SarahEthan
2014The Town That Dreaded SundownCorporal Danny Torrens
2014The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1Castor
2015Broken Horses"Ace"
2015The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2Castor
2016All I See is YouDaniel
2018Escape Plan 2: HadesJaspar Kimbral
2020TenetSWAT 3
2023SquealerJack

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005–2006BarbershopIsaac10 Episodes, as John Wesley Chatham
2005Sleeper CellFrat BoyEpisode: "Al-Faitha", as John Wesley Chatham
2009The UnitStaff Sergeant Sam McBride8 Episodes
2012Political AnimalsGunner CoxEpisode: "Lost Boys"
2012The MentalistVinceEpisode: "Cherry Picked"
2014–2017Hand of GodShane Caldwell2 Episodes
2015–2022The ExpanseAmos BurtonSeries Regular
2017The Night ShiftClarkEpisode: "Keep the Faith"
2023NCIS: HawaiʻiBrother Ellis KaneEpisode: "Shields Up"
2023AhsokaCaptain Enoch3 episodes
2025Sheriff CountryDawson RainesEpisode: "The Sixth Man"

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013Armed ResponseBlake Morgan4 episodes