Acting
Clarke Peters
Peter Clarke (born April 7, 1952), known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American actor, writer, and director, who has spent much of his adult life in the United Kingdom. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series The Wire (2002–2008) and Albert Lambreaux in the television series Treme (2010–2013). He also wrote the book for the musical revue Five Guys Named Moe (1990). Peters is also known for his roles in the films Silver Dream Racer (1980), Endgame (2009), John Wick (2014), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Harriet (2019), and Da 5 Bloods (2020), the lattermost of which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Peters was born Peter Clarke, the second of four sons, in New York City, and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. At the age of 12, he had his first theater experience, in a school production of My Fair Lady. He began to have serious ambitions to work in the theater at the age of 14. He graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in 1970. In 1971, Peters' older brother enabled him to work as a costume designer for a production of the musical Hair in Paris, in which Peters later starred. In 1973, Peters moved to London and changed his name to Clarke Peters, because Equity already had a few namesake members. While in London, he formed a soul band, The Majestics, and worked as a backup singer on such hits as "Love and Affection" by Joan Armatrading, "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave, and some David Essex songs. However, music was not Peters' main ambition, and he preferred to work in the theater. His first West End theatre musical roles, which he received with assistance from his friend Ned Sherrin, were I Gotta Shoe (1976) and Bubbling Brown Sugar (1977). Other West End credits include Blues in the Night, Porgy and Bess, The Witches of Eastwick, Guys and Dolls, Chicago, and Chess. Peters starred in the Sean Connery space Western Outland (1981) as the treacherous Sgt. Ballard, and he played an almost wordless role as Anderson, a vicious pimp in Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa (1986). Peters is familiar to television viewers as Detective Lester Freamon in the HBO series The Wire. Peters also starred in the HBO mini-series The Corner, portraying a drug addict named Fat Curt, as well as the FX series Damages, as Dave Pell. Both The Wire and The Corner were created by writer and former The Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon. Peters also stars in Simon's HBO series Treme, in the role of Mardi Gras Indian chief Albert Lambreaux. Peters appeared in two episodes of the American time-travel/detective TV series Life on Mars (2008) as NYPD Captain Fletcher Bellow. He also appeared in the British show Holby City, as Derek Newman, the father of nurse Donna Jackson. He voiced a part in the Doctor Who animated episode Dreamland, and in the In Plain Sight episode "Duplicate Bridge" as a man in Witness Protection named Norman Baker/Norman Danzer. In 2010, Peters read Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption for BBC 7. In that year, he also had a guest appearance as Professor Mark Ramsay in the pilot episode of the USA Network TV series Covert Affairs. From 2012 to 2013, Peters had a recurring role as Alonzo D. Quinn in the CBS TV series Person of Interest.
Filmography
The Boroughs
Series · 2026
Small Town, Big Story
Series · 2025
Towards Zero
Series · 2025
Watson
Series · 2025
Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin
Film · 2024
Testament: The Story of Moses
Series · 2024
Truelove
Series · 2024
Eric
Series · 2024
Royal Crackers
Series · 2023
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
Film · 2022
BBC Proms - The Golden Age of Broadway
Film · 2022
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Series · 2022
Cameron Mackintosh - The First 50 Years
Film · 2021
Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall
Film · 2021
The Royale
Film · 2021
The Irregulars
Series · 2021
Foundation
Series · 2021
La Fortuna
Series · 2021
Come Away
Film · 2020
Da 5 Bloods
Film · 2020
Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes
Film · 2020
Bumps
Film · 2020
The Mandela Effect
Film · 2019
Harriet
Film · 2019
Christmas Under the Stars
Film · 2019
An Acceptable Loss
Film · 2019
The Opera Game
Film · 2019
His Dark Materials
Series · 2019
Bulletproof
Series · 2018
The Big Narstie Show
Series · 2018
Love Is___
Series · 2018
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Film · 2017
Division 19
Film · 2017
The Blacklist: Redemption
Series · 2017
Rebirth in New Orleans
Film · 2016
Fats Domino and The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll
Film · 2016
Jericho
Series · 2016
Chance
Series · 2016
Chance
Series · 2016
The Benefactor
Film · 2015
Sean Connery: In His Own Words
Film · 2015
Roy Orbison: One of the Lonely Ones
Film · 2015
The Bad Education Movie
Film · 2015
London Spy
Series · 2015
Marvel's Jessica Jones
Series · 2015
Show Me a Hero
Series · 2015
Partners in Crime
Series · 2015
John Wick
Film · 2014
The Best of Me
Film · 2014
Grace
Film · 2014
The Divide
Series · 2014
True Detective
Series · 2014
Forever
Series · 2014
Red Hook Summer
Film · 2012
Searching for Sonny
Film · 2011
Person of Interest
Series · 2011
Death in Paradise
Series · 2011
Locked In
Film · 2010
Legacy
Film · 2010
Treme
Series · 2010
Blue Bloods
Series · 2010
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Film · 2009
Nativity!
Film · 2009
Endgame
Film · 2009
Chess in Concert
Film · 2009
Turnipseed
Film · 2009
Archer
Series · 2009
Doctor Who: Dreamland
Series · 2009
Marley & Me
Film · 2008
Gigantic
Film · 2008
The Poker House
Film · 2008
Sympathetic Details
Film · 2008
Life on Mars
Series · 2008
In Plain Sight
Series · 2008
The Wire: The Last Word
Film · 2007
The Wire Odyssey
Film · 2007
Tapping the Wire
Film · 2007
Damages
Series · 2007
Meadowlands
Series · 2007
Freedomland
Film · 2006
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Series · 2005
James Brown: Soul Survivor
Film · 2003
Head of State
Film · 2003
The Wire
Series · 2002
K-PAX
Film · 2001
Waking the Dead
Series · 2001
The Corner
Series · 2000
Notting Hill
Film · 1999
Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh
Film · 1998
Oz
Series · 1997
Midsomer Murders
Series · 1997
Jonathan Creek
Series · 1997
Chandler & Co
Series · 1994
Death Train
Film · 1993
The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance
Film · 1992
A Masculine Ending
Film · 1992
Between the Lines
Series · 1992
Murder Most Horrid
Series · 1991
Red King, White Knight
Film · 1989
A Casualty of War
Film · 1989
Menace Unseen
Series · 1988
Blind Justice
Series · 1988
Up Line
Film · 1987
Up Line
Series · 1987
Mona Lisa
Film · 1986
American Masters
Series · 1986
Boon
Series · 1986
King
Film · 1984
Facelift
Film · 1984
Travelling Man
Series · 1984
Saigon: Year of the Cat
Film · 1983
Studio
Series · 1983
Outland
Film · 1981
Number on End
Film · 1980
Silver Dream Racer
Film · 1980
The Music Machine
Film · 1979
The Professionals
Series · 1977
Play for Today
Series · 1970
Sexual Healing
Film
Untitled Roald Dahl Series
Series