
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Department: Acting
Biography
Isiah Whitlock, Jr. (September 13, 1954 – December 30, 2025) was an American actor. He is most famous for his role on the HBO television series, The Wire as corrupt state senator Clay Davis. In 2011, Whitlock played an insurance agent named Ronald Wilkes in the film Cedar Rapids. Wilkes is a self-described fan of The Wire and does an impersonation of character Omar Little. Whitlock has said that the references to the series were written in before he became involved in Cedar Rapids. He is also notable for appearing in Spike Lee films She Hate Me and 25th Hour as Agent Amos Flood. In all three projects, Whitlock established a catchphrase from his characters' distinct pronunciation of the word "shit" ("sheee-it"). He appeared as Eugine, a supporting role, in the 2003 film Pieces of April. He had a bit part in Goodfellas as a doctor who gives Henry Hill a Valium while attending to his brother. In 2007, he played Ethan Banks in Enchanted. Whitlock made appearances on Chappelle's Show and played various characters on Law & Order and its' spinoff, Law & Order: SVU. He also appeared in promotional spots for the Wii video game Punch-Out!! portraying the character Doc Louis.
Known For

Pieces of April
2003

Kettle of Fish
2006

Gun Hill Road
2011

Cedar Rapids
2011

Detachment
2011

Lightyear
2022

Harlem Aria
1999

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014

Thanks for Sharing
2013

Jump Tomorrow
2001

Why Stop Now?
2012

Triggered
2022

Newlyweeds
2013

WW3
2001

The Wire Odyssey
2007

Home
2013

Cocaine Bear
2023

Eddie
1996

Seneca
2019

25th Hour
2002

Lost Holiday
2019

A Jersey Tale
2004

Main Street
2010

Pete's Dragon
2016

Europa Report
2013

GoodFellas
1990

Cadillac Records
2008

Chi-Raq
2015

Red Hook Summer
2012

Person to Person
2017

Everyone Says I Love You
1996

Duane Hopwood
2005

Twelve
2010

Beautiful Ohio
2006

1408
2007

The Old Man & the Gun
2018

Not Fade Away
2012

23 Blast
2014

Choke
2008

CHiPs
2017

All Square
2018

BlacKkKlansman
2018

She Hate Me
2004

The Spanish Prisoner
1997

Corporate Animals
2019

A Christmas Carol
1981

Da 5 Bloods
2020

I Care a Lot
2021

Lying and Stealing
2019

Cars 3
2017

The Lost Husband
2020

Brooklyn's Finest
2010

Enchanted
2007

A Fish in the Bathtub
1999

Gremlins 2: The New Batch
1990

Jerome's Bouquet
2013

Sloan Hearts Neckface
2020

Run with the Hunted
2019

The Body Is Water
—

Hoppers
2026

Stealing Martin Lane
2005

I Hate Valentine's Day
2009

Under New Management
2009

Third Watch
1999

Law & Order
1990

The Wire
2002

New Amsterdam
2008

Ed
2000

NYPD Blue
1993

Your Honor
2020

Madigan Men
2000

The Jury
2004

The Unusuals
2009

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

The Blacklist
2013

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001

Lucky 7
2013

Lucifer
2016

Elementary
2012

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

The Mist
2017

Gotham
2014

Oceano
1989

The Carmichael Show
2015

Law & Order
1990

Law & Order
1990

The Residence
2025

History of Swear Words
2021

Law & Order
1990

The Good Cop
2018

Law & Order
1990

Apple & Onion
2018

Law & Order: Criminal Intent
2001

FBI
2018

Liberty!
1997

Veep
2012

Smash
2012

She's Gotta Have It
2017

Woke
2020

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

BoJack Horseman
2014

The Good Wife
2009

Wonderland
2000

Atlanta
2016

Lucas Bros. Moving Co.
2013