Clarke Peters

Clarke Peters, born Peter Clarke on April 7, 1952, in New York City, is an American actor, writer, and director who has spent much of his adult life in the United Kingdom. The second of four sons, he grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and had his first theater experience at age 12 in a school production of My Fair Lady. By 14 he had developed serious ambitions to work in the theater, and he graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in 1970.

Peters' professional career began in Europe. In 1971, his older brother helped him secure work as a costume designer for a Paris production of the musical Hair, in which Peters later performed as a cast member. He relocated to London in 1973, adopting the stage name Clarke Peters after discovering that Equity already had members registered under his birth name. During his early years in London he formed a soul band called The Majestics and worked as a backup singer, contributing to recordings including Joan Armatrading's "Love and Affection," Heatwave's "Boogie Nights," and several David Essex songs. His West End stage career began with assistance from his friend Ned Sherrin, leading to roles in I Gotta Shoe (1976) and Bubbling Brown Sugar (1977). Additional West End credits include Blues in the Night, Porgy and Bess, The Witches of Eastwick, Guys and Dolls, Chicago, and Chess.

As a writer, Peters collaborated with Sherrin on several revues before authoring the book for Five Guys Named Moe in 1990, a musical revue that received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. He subsequently wrote Unforgettable, a musical about Nat King Cole. Peters also starred in the 2010 British production of Five Guys Named Moe.

His Broadway career spans 1996 to 1999 and includes Five Guys Named Moe, The Iceman Cometh, and Chicago. His performance in The Iceman Cometh earned him the Theatre World Award in 1999. In Chicago, Peters portrayed the lawyer Billy Flynn, a role he also played in the revival's 2000 and 2003 productions. In 2016, he received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. His regional theater work includes Driving Miss Daisy, The Wiz, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Carmen Jones, and The Amen Corner. In September 2011, Peters played the title role in a Sheffield Crucible Theatre production of Othello opposite his Wire co-star Dominic West, who portrayed Iago. At the 2014 New York Shakespeare in the Park festival, he played Gloucester in King Lear.

Peters is widely recognized for his television work, particularly his portrayal of Detective Lester Freamon in the HBO series The Wire, which ran from 2002 to 2008. Both The Wire and the HBO miniseries The Corner, in which Peters played a drug addict named Fat Curt, were created by David Simon. Peters also starred in Simon's HBO series Treme from 2010 to 2013, playing Mardi Gras Indian chief Albert Lambreaux. Additional television credits include the FX series Damages as Dave Pell, a recurring role as Alonzo D. Quinn in the CBS series Person of Interest from 2012 to 2013, two episodes of Life on Mars as NYPD Captain Fletcher Bellow, and a guest appearance as Professor Mark Ramsay in the pilot of Covert Affairs. He also appeared in the British series Holby City as Derek Newman and voiced a role in the Doctor Who animated episode Dreamland.

His film career began with Silver Dream Racer in 1980, followed by the Sean Connery space Western Outland in 1981, in which he played the treacherous Sgt. Ballard. He appeared in Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa in 1986 as Anderson, a pimp described as nearly wordless in the role. Later film credits include Notting Hill (1999), Endgame (2009), in which he played Nelson Mandela, John Wick (2014), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Harriet (2019), and Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods (2020), the last of which earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Peters has five children from three relationships. With his first wife, Janine Martyne, he has a daughter, China Clarke, an architect, and a son, Peter Clarke, a tattoo artist. A subsequent relationship with Joanna Jacobs produced two sons: Joe Jacobs, an actor, and Guppy, who died of a kidney tumor in 1992 at the age of four. With his second wife, Penny Ephson, he has a son named Max, who performed as the young Michael Jackson in the West End production of Thriller – Live. As of 2012, Peters divided his time between a house in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore, purchased in 2006 during production of The Wire, and a home in London. He is a follower of the Brahma Kumaris.