Biography
The handsome supporting actor and S.U.N.Y. graduate Seth Gilliam is most recognizable from gritty crime dramas on HBO. He started acting in the early '90s with small roles in feature films, most notably in the comedy
Mad Dog and Glory. Also appearing in made-for-TV movies, his first starring role was in
Assault at West Point as Johnson Whittaker, the first African-American cadet admitted to West Point. His next sizable role was in the Merchant Ivory production
Jefferson in Paris, the story of Thomas Jefferson's affair with the 15-year-old slave girl Sally Hemmings. After appearing in a few scenes in
Courage Under Fire and
Starship Troopers, he made a successful move to HBO as Officer Clayton Hughes in the prison drama
Oz. A few years later, he played Detective Ellis Carver in the crime series
The Wire. He returned to feature filmmaking for the chest-baring role of Marcus in
Punks, a comedy about the black gay male scene in West Hollywood. In 2002, he appeared in the third part of
Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity: Three Portraits. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide