Wes Chatham

Wes Chatham is an American actor born on October 11, 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is widely recognized for his performance as Amos Burton in the television series The Expanse, as well as his role as Castor in the feature films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2. Over his career, he has appeared in various prominent feature films and television dramas.

Chatham's initial exposure to acting occurred at seven years old when he was featured in television commercials for Tide. After finishing high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy, serving as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate. For four years, he worked in crash and salvage as an aviation firefighter on the flight deck of the USS Essex, eventually reaching the rank of Petty Officer Third Class.

His entry into professional acting took place three months before completing his naval tour, when director Denzel Washington chose Chatham's ship as a location for the feature film Antwone Fisher. Casting director Robi Reed selected Chatham while looking for genuine military personnel to appear in the movie. Inspired by his experience on set, Chatham decided to pursue acting as a career. Following Reed's advice, he moved to Hollywood and soon earned his first regular television role on the Showtime series Barbershop.

Chatham expanded his film resume when director Paul Haggis cast him as Corporal Steve Penning alongside Tommy Lee Jones in In the Valley of Elah. In 2009, he portrayed George W. Bush's fraternity brother, Frank Benedict, in Oliver Stone's biographical film W. He returned to television as a series regular on the CBS military action series The Unit, portraying Staff Sergeant Sam McBride, also known as Whiplash. During this period, Chatham also starred as Brian Danielson in the 2011 film Husk.

In 2011, Chatham played Carlton Phelan, the brother of Emma Stone's character, in the drama film The Help. The film's cast received a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2012 for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In May 2012, he starred in his first title role as Dillion McGwire in Joel Silver's movie The Philly Kid, performing his own stunts due to his interest in mixed martial arts. He followed this with a role in This Thing With Sarah, which screened at the San Diego Film Festival in October 2013, and completed work on Broken Horses and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

From 2015 to 2022, Chatham starred as Amos Burton in the Amazon Prime Video science fiction series The Expanse. In 2021, he launched the podcast Ty & That Guy alongside co-host Ty Franck. On the podcast, the pair analyze episodes of The Expanse and discuss genre culture, occasionally featuring guests such as Thomas Jane, Daniel Abraham, and Brett Simmons.

Chatham is married to television personality Jenn Brown, and the couple has two sons, born in 2014 and 2016. His first son was born while Chatham was traveling back by plane from Toronto during the filming of the second episode of The Expanse.