
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.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Towards Zero as Frederick Treves
- 2025 · Small Town, Big Story as Chet Donald
- 2024 · Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin as Reverend Powell Sr.
- 2024 · Eric as George
- 2024 · Testament: The Story of Moses as God (voice)
- 2024 · Truelove as Ken
- 2023 · Royal Crackers as Deshaun (voice)
- 2022 · Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody as John Houston
- 2022 · BBC Proms - The Golden Age of Broadway as Singer
- 2022 · The Man Who Fell to Earth as Josiah Falls
- 2021 · Cameron Mackintosh - The First 50 Years as Self
- 2021 · La Fortuna as Jonas Pierce
- 2021 · Foundation as Abbas
- 2021 · The Royale as Wynton
- 2021 · The Irregulars as Linen Man
- 2021 · Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall as
- 2020 · Come Away as Mad Hatter
- 2020 · Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes as Voice of Count Basie
- 2020 · Da 5 Bloods as Otis
- 2019 · The Mandela Effect as Dr. Fuchs
- 2019 · Christmas Under the Stars as Clem Marshwell
- 2019 · His Dark Materials as The Master
- 2019 · Harriet as Ben Ross
- 2019 · The Opera Game as Narrator
- 2019 · An Acceptable Loss as Phillip Lamm
- 2018 · The Big Narstie Show as Self
- 2018 · Bulletproof as Ronald Pike Snr
- 2017 · Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri as Abercrombie
- 2017 · Division 19 as Perelman
- 2017 · The Blacklist: Redemption as Richard Whitehall
- 2016 · Chance as Carl
- 2016 · Chance as Carl Allan
- 2016 · Rebirth in New Orleans as Narrator
- 2016 · Fats Domino and The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll as Narrator
- 2016 · Jericho as Ralph Coates
- 2015 · Roy Orbison: One of the Lonely Ones as Roy Orbison (Voice)
- 2015 · The Benefactor as Dr. Romano
- 2015 · Marvel's Jessica Jones as Det. Oscar Clemons
- 2015 · London Spy as The American
- 2015 · The Bad Education Movie as Commander Andrews
- 2015 · Sean Connery: In His Own Words as Self
- 2015 · Show Me a Hero as Robert Mayhawk
- 2015 · Partners in Crime as Julius Hersheimmer
- 2014 · Grace as Father Michael
- 2014 · John Wick as Harry
- 2014 · The Best of Me as Morgan Dupree
- 2014 · Forever as Jerry Charters
- 2014 · The Divide as Isaiah Page
- 2014 · True Detective as Minister
- 2012 · Red Hook Summer as Da Good Bishop Enoch Rouse
- 2011 · Death in Paradise as Marlon Croft
- 2011 · Searching for Sonny as The Narrator
- 2011 · Person of Interest as Alonzo Quinn
- 2010 · Legacy as Ola Adenuga
- 2010 · Blue Bloods as Nathan Anderson
- 2010 · Locked In as Frank
- 2010 · Treme as Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux
- 2009 · Nativity! as Studio Boss
- 2009 · Doctor Who: Dreamland as Night Eagle (voice)
- 2009 · Turnipseed as A.B. Turnipseed
- 2009 · Brief Interviews with Hideous Men as Subject #31
- 2009 · Archer as Popeye (voice)
- 2009 · Chess in Concert as Walter de Courcy
- 2009 · Endgame as Nelson Mandela
- 2008 · Marley & Me as Editor
- 2008 · Life on Mars as Captain Bellow
- 2008 · Gigantic as Roger Stovall
- 2008 · The Poker House as Maurice
- 2008 · Sympathetic Details as Carson
- 2007 · The Wire: The Last Word as Self
- 2007 · The Wire Odyssey as Self
- 2007 · Damages as Dave Pell
- 2007 · Tapping the Wire as Self
- 2007 · Meadowlands as
- 2006 · The One Show as Self - Guest
- 2006 · Freedomland as Reverend Longway
- 2005 · Law & Order: Trial by Jury as Rex da Silva
- 2003 · James Brown: Soul Survivor as
- 2003 · Head of State as Fundraiser Demo-Tape Man
- 2002 · The Wire as Lester Freamon
- 2002 · The Wire as Detective Lester Freamon
- 2001 · Waking the Dead as Howard Boorstin
- 2000 · The Corner as Fat Curt
- 1999 · Notting Hill as 'Helix' Lead Actor
- 1998 · Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh as Moe
- 1997 · Oz as Afsana
- 1997 · Jonathan Creek as Hewie Harper
- 1997 · Midsomer Murders as Frank Wainwright
- 1994 · Chandler & Co. as
- 1993 · Death Train as Whitlock
- 1992 · The Nicholas Brothers: We Sing and We Dance as Narrator
- 1992 · Between the Lines as
- 1992 · A Masculine Ending as Theo Sykes
- 1991 · Murder Most Horrid as American
- 1989 · A Casualty of War as Grover T. Fleming
- 1989 · Red King, White Knight as Jones
- 1987 · Up Line as Alex du Bois
- 1986 · American Masters as Self - Narrator
- 1986 · Mona Lisa as Anderson
- 1981 · Outland as Sgt. Ballard
- Future · The Boroughs as Art
- 1984 · Facelift as Bob Jangles
- 1980 · Silver Dream Racer as Cider Jones
- Future · Sexual Healing as Harvey Fuqua
- 1984 · King as Stevie
- 1983 · Saigon: Year Of The Cat as Soldier
- 1980 · Number on End as Yankee Billy
- 1979 · The Music Machine as Laurie
- 1977 · The Professionals as President Ojuka