Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Isiah Whitlock Jr.

• Isiah Whitlock Jr. grew up in South Bend, Indiana, United States.

• During high school, he played football and was known as one of the team’s best players.

• His performance in football helped him secure an athletic scholarship to attend Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota, where he initially pursued the sport at the collegiate level.

• Isiah continued playing football for some time; however, later injuries made him step away from the sport.

• While in college, his involvement in a stage production of The Crucible sparked a strong interest in acting, leading him to focus on theatre instead of athletics.

• After graduating in 1976, he relocated to San Francisco to pursue formal training in acting.

• Isiah later became associated with the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where he further developed his skills as a stage performer.

• In the early 1990s, he relocated to Chelsea, Manhattan, in New York City.

• He was a member of the Atlantic Theater Company in Chelsea, where he starred in ‘Farragut North’ and appeared in multiple off-Broadway roles.

• Isiah played various roles in NBC’s series ‘Law & Order’ (1995-2004).

• His work as ‘State Sen. R. Clayton ‘Clay’ Davis’ in the crime drama television series ‘The Wire’ (2002-2008), which aired on HBO.
  

• He appeared in many other television series, such as Comedy Central’s ‘Chappelle’s Show’ (2003), AMC’s ‘Rubicon’ (2010), CBS’s ‘The Good Wife’ (2011), Fox’s ‘Gotham’ (2015), and Netflix’s ‘The Good Cop’ (2018).

  

• Isiah also worked in many short films, including ‘Honey Trap’ (2005), ‘The Man in My House’ (2007), ‘Speed Grieving’ (2009), and ‘Sloan Hearts Neckface’ (2020).

  

• In 2002, Isiah appeared as ‘Agent Flood’ in the film ’25th Hour.’

  

• In 2003, he appeared as ‘Eugene’ in the film ‘Pieces of April.’

  

• In 2007, he played the role of ‘Ethan Banks’ in the film ‘Enchanted.’

  

• Isiah appeared in many other films, including ‘Gun Hill Road’ (2011), ‘Not Fade Away’ (2012), ‘Chi-Raq’ (2015), ‘Lost Holiday’ (2019), and ‘Cocaine Bear’ (2023).

  

• In 2017, Isiah lent his voice to the character ‘River Scott’ in the animated sports comedy-adventure film ‘Cars 3.’

  

• In 2022, he voiced the character ‘Commander Burnside’ in the animated science-fiction film ‘Lightyear.’

  

• Isiah worked as a voice artist for a few animated television series as well, including ‘Lucas Bros. Moving Co.’ (2014), ‘BoJack Horseman’ (2018), and ‘Apple & Onion’ (2020).

  

• On 30 December 2025, Whitlock passed away at a hospital in New York City due to an illness.