Frankie Faison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frankie Faison
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Faison in 2016
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Frankie Russel Faison
June 10, 1949 Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
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| Education | Illinois Wesleyan University (BA) New York University (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse(s) | Samantha Jupiter Faison |
| Children | 3 |
Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949) is an American actor who has appeared in many popular movies and TV shows. He is well-known for playing Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter movies, such as The Silence of the Lambs. He also played Commissioner Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire and Sugar Bates in the show Banshee.
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Early Life and School
Frankie Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia. His parents were Carmena and Edgar Faison. He loved acting from a young age and decided to study drama in college.
He went to Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. After earning his first degree, he moved to New York City. There, he attended New York University's famous Tisch School of the Arts. He graduated in 1974 with a Master of Fine Arts degree, which is an advanced degree for artists.
Acting Career
Starting on Stage and Screen
Faison began his acting career in 1974. His first major role was in a New York Shakespeare Festival play, King Lear, where he acted alongside the famous actor James Earl Jones. He later worked with Jones again on Broadway in the play Fences. His performance was so good that he was nominated for a Tony Award, a big honor in theater.
Faison's first movie role was in 1980 in Permanent Vacation. He then had small parts in several films. In 1986, he appeared in the comedy The Money Pit and the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive. In 1988, he acted with Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones in the hit comedy Coming to America, playing a landlord. The next year, he was in Spike Lee's important film Do the Right Thing.
The Hannibal Lecter Movies
One of Faison's most famous roles is Barney Matthews, the jailer who guards the character Hannibal Lecter. He is the only actor to appear in four movies based on the Hannibal books by Thomas Harris.
- Manhunter (1986)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- Hannibal (2001)
- Red Dragon (2002)
His role as the kind and professional Barney made him a familiar face to millions of movie fans around the world.
Success on Television
Besides movies, Faison has had a very successful career in television. From 1990 to 1991, he starred in the Fox comedy series True Colors, which was about a family of mixed races.
His most famous TV role came in 2002 when he joined the HBO show The Wire. He played Ervin Burrell, the police commissioner of Baltimore. He was a main character for the first four seasons of the show.
From 2013 to 2016, Faison played Sugar Bates, a former boxer who owns a tavern, in the action series Banshee. He also appeared as Henry "Pop" Hunter in the Netflix superhero series Luke Cage.
More Recent Work
Faison has continued to work steadily in movies and television. In 2004, he appeared in the comedies The Cookout and White Chicks. In 2008, he was in Tyler Perry's movie Meet the Browns.
He has also had guest roles on many popular TV shows, including Blue Bloods, Grey's Anatomy, and The Good Wife. In 2017, he appeared in a music video for the band The War on Drugs.
In 2019, he starred in the movie The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, playing the main character, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. His performance in this film received great praise from critics. More recently, he appeared in the movies The Grudge (2020) and Till (2022).
See also
In Spanish: Frankie Faison para niños
