Robert Wisdom

Robert Ray Wisdom is an American actor widely recognized for his television and film performances. He is particularly known for portraying Howard "Bunny" Colvin on the HBO drama series The Wire, as well as for his prominent roles in Prison Break, Supernatural, and Barry. Over the course of his career, Wisdom has earned industry recognition, including an NAACP Image Award.

Wisdom was born on September 14, 1953, in Washington, D.C., to Jamaican immigrant parents. He attended St. Albans School before pursuing higher education at Columbia University, choosing the institution over track and field athletic scholarships. During his college years, he was a star sprinter on Columbia's track team. Wisdom developed an interest in acting during his senior year after taking performance classes as a hobby.

Before transitioning fully to acting, Wisdom worked as a producer for the National Public Radio program All Things Considered. He launched his early acting career in the United Kingdom, performing in major stage roles at London's Bush Theatre and subsequently working in theatrical productions across England and Scotland.

Wisdom's television career gained major momentum with his casting in The Wire. Although he originally auditioned for the character Stringer Bell, he was ultimately cast as Howard "Bunny" Colvin, appearing across four seasons of the show. In 2007, he joined the cast of Prison Break for its third season, portraying a Panamanian drug kingpin named Norman "Lechero" St. John. He followed this with recurring television roles, including the angel Uriel in Supernatural, as well as appearances in Happy Town and Burn Notice.

In film, Wisdom appeared in several feature projects during the mid-2000s, including Barbershop 2: Back in Business, the biographical drama Ray, and Freedom Writers. Between 2012 and 2013, he was a main cast member on the first season of the ABC drama series Nashville, portraying the character Coleman Carlisle.

More recently, Wisdom starred as Jim Moss in the HBO dark comedy series Barry from 2018 to 2023. For his work on the show from 2022 to 2023, he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series alongside his castmates.