Gbenga Akinnagbe

Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe ( , ; born December 12, 1978) is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the TV series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the series The Deuce, both from HBO.

Early life Akinnagbe was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents,

Career Akinnagbe played Ben Ellis in the episode "Contenders" on the TV series Numb3rs. In the summer of 2006, Akinnagbe performed the role of "Zim" in the NYC Fringe Festival's "Outstanding Play" award-winning production of Modern Missionary. In 2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and starting in 2004 began a frequent recurring role. In 2008, during the show's fifth and final season, he was promoted to a series regular.

In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which was released by Sony in June 2009. Akinnagbe made a guest appearance on a season 10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode entitled Hell as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier living in New York, facing deportation. Akinnagbe's former The Wire castmate Robert Wisdom also appeared in that episode as Father Theo Burdett. In 2010, in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in the world premiere play The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre.

He was in the movie Lottery Ticket and appeared on The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton.

He starred in leading roles in two independent films, as Jack in Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and as James in Big Words, directed by Neil Drumming. He appeared as a drug lord in the USA series Graceland and starred as Tom in The Following. He also starred as CIA Agent Erik Ritter in 24: Live Another Day. In October 2016, he began shooting the feature film Starbright.

In March 2020, Akinnagbe was cast in The Old Man.

Other ventures Akinnagbe is the owner of Enitan, a Brooklyn-based furniture business, where he designs vintage furniture with Dutch wax-resist fabrics that are a fashion staple in West Africa.

Personal life Gbenga has had two articles published in The New York Times, one detailing a trip to Nepal to climb the Himalayas, and the other outlining the medical procedures he underwent to correct his severely flat feet.

Akinnagbe filed a criminal complaint alleging that journalist Lola Adesioye grabbed his buttocks on two occasions in 2020. Adesioye was arrested on May 26, 2021, jailed for 28 hours, and charged with forcible touching, sexual abuse, and harassment. Her attorney described Akinnagbe's allegations as "a blatant, brazen lie". In October 2021, the case was dismissed.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2005 They're Made Out of Meat Merlin Short 2007 The Savages Jimmy Man-Up Q Short 2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Wallace 2010 Edge of Darkness Darcy Jones Lottery Ticket Lorenzo 2011 Red & Blue Marbles Cabal 2012 Overnight TMJ Paranormal Abduction Alex Chandler 2013 Big Words James Home Jack Hall Sweet, Sweet Country Ernesto Short 2014 Render to Caesar Dipo Fort Bliss Sgt. Butcher Mall Michel Phantom Halo Roman 2015 Knucklehead Langston 2016 Detour Michael Independence Day: Resurgence Agent Travis 2017 Crown Heights Sampson Detroit Aubrey Pollard Sr. Mindhack Sun Moon Heart, Baby George 2018 Egg Wayne All the Devil's Men Samuelson 2019 Goldie Richard Rogers and Tilden Marcus Short DC Noir Detective Mitch Brooks The Sun Is Also a Star Samuel Kingsley 2020 16 Bars Deacon Pitch Black Panacea Carl (voice) Short 2021 Passing Dave Freedland 2023 Asphalt City Verdis Fast Charlie Beggar Mercado 2024 Rob Peace Carl Robertson The Thicket Eustace Howard 2025 A House of Dynamite Major General Steven Kyle2026 Starbright Strange Post-production Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 2004–08 The Wire Chris Partlow Recurring cast (seasons 3–4), main cast (season 5) 2005 Barbershop Yinka Main cast 2006 Conviction Gary Wade/Calvin 2 episodes 2007 Numb3rs Ben Ellis Episode: "Contenders" 2008 Cold Case Victor Nash '05/'08 Episode: "Street Money" 2009 Fringe Akim Episode: "The No-Brainer" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Elijah Okello Episode: "Hell" Dark Blue Dante Rollings Episode: "August" Maggie Hill Elliot Springer TV movie 2010–15 The Good Wife Pastor Isaiah Easton Recurring cast (seasons 1–2, 5) 2011 Blue Bloods Pierre Episode: "All That Glitters" Chase John Macon Episode: "The Man at the Altar" Brooklyn Shakara Emeka Nwandu Episode: "Pilot" A Gifted Man Dr. Leo 'Bax' Baxter 2 episodes 2011–12 Nurse Jackie Kelly Slater Recurring cast (seasons 3–4) 2012 The Unknown Vincent Episode: "Life Sentence" Damages Walid Cooper Recurring cast (season 5) Elementary Jeremy Lopez Episode: "The Leviathan" 2012–14 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Father Biobaku 2 episodes 2013 Graceland Jeremiah Bello Recurring cast (season 1) The Funtime Gang Inmate TV movie 2014 24: Live Another Day Erik Ritter Main cast 2015 The Following Tom Reyes Recurring cast (season 3) 2015–16 Limitless Quentin Walker 2 episodes 2016 Madam Secretary Chris Santumari Episode: "Desperate Remedies" 2017 Mercy Street Saga Episode: "House of Bondage" 2017–18 The Deuce Larry Brown Main cast 2020 Evil Lando Mutabazi Episode: "Justice x 2" 2021 FBI: Most Wanted James Johnson Episode: "Criminal Justice" Modern Love Jordan Episode: "The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy" 2021–23 Wu-Tang: An American Saga Mook Recurring cast (season 2–3) 2022 The Blacklist Boukman Baptiste Episode: "Boukman Baptiste (No. 164)" 2022–24 The Old Man Julian Carson Main cast 2023 Power Book II: Ghost Ron Samuel Jenkins Recurring cast (season 3) 2024 GeniusEarl LittleEpisode: "Graduation"

Theater