Wood Harris

Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his role as Motaw in the Jeff Pollack film Above the Rim, before portraying high school football player Julius Campbell in the Walt Disney Pictures film Remember the Titans (2000) and Jimi Hendrix in the Showtime television film Hendrix (2000). He attained further recognition for his portrayal of drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama The Wire (2002–2008). Harris also played the role of cocaine dealer Ace, based on the life of Azie Faison, in the crime film Paid in Full (2002).

His other notable film work includes the dark comedy Next Day Air (2009), the science fiction films Dredd (2012) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017), the Marvel Studios superhero film Ant-Man (2015), and the sports drama Creed (2015), along with its sequels Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023). In 2025, he portrayed Laredo in the film One Battle After Another.

On television, Harris starred as Barry Fouray on the VH1 series The Breaks (2016–2017), Brooke Payne on the BET miniseries The New Edition Story (2017), Damon Cross on the Fox series Empire during its fifth and sixth seasons, and the drug lord "Pat" in the Starz series BMF (2021–2025).

Early life and education Harris, who is of African American heritage, was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of seamstress Mattie and bus driver John Henry Harris. He is the younger brother of actor Steve Harris. He was given the nickname "Wood" by friends in his neighborhood because "Sherwin" was too difficult for some to pronounce. Harris discovered a passion for the arts as early as age twelve when he focused on drawing and painting.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts from Northern Illinois University (NIU), where he also played on the school's basketball team. At one point, Harris was dismissed from NYU for tardiness; however, his classmates successfully petitioned to have him reinstated. In 2002, he starred in the Dame Dash produced cult-classic film Paid in Full, based on the true story of three Harlem drug dealers with Harris playing the real-life kingpin Azie Faison.

He starred as Avon Barksdale, loosely based on the real-life Nathan Barksdale, in the HBO's original series The Wire. He also produced his own debut album, Beautiful Wonderful, which was intended for release in 2005.

In June 2008, director Martin Guigui revealed that Harris was cast as Nate "Sweetwater" Clifton in Sweetwater, a movie about the first black player in the NBA; however, the movie was not released until 2023 with another actor in the starring role.

In 2009, Harris starred in the film Just Another Day, as a successful fictional rapper named A-maze. The film centers on a clash between a young up-and-coming rapper and an older one at the top of his game, the former played by Jamie Hector (whose character Marlo Stanfield had a similar role with respect to Harris' character in The Wire). In 2012, Harris narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 film Benji. In the same year he also played Harold "Mitch" Mitchell in the Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams; alongside Blair Underwood, Nicole Ari Parker, and Daphne Rubin-Vega. In 2015, he reunited with The Wire cast member Michael B. Jordan for his role as Tony "Little Duke" Evers in Creed, reprising the role in its sequels.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Above the Rim Motaw 1997 As Good as It Gets Cafe 24 Busboy 1998 Celebrity Al Swayze The Siege Officer Henderson 2000 Committed Chicky The Gold Cup Clayton Are You Cinderella? - Short Remember the Titans Julius Campbell Train Ride Will 2002 Paid in Full Ace 2004 Joy Road Tony Smalls 2005 Dirty Brax 2006 Southland Tales Dion Element The Heart Specialist Dr. Sidney Zachary 2007 4 Life Dayvon Video 2008 Jazz in the Diamond District Gabriel Marx 2009 Not Easily Broken Darnell Gooden Dough Boys Julian France Next Day Air Guch Just Another Day A-Maze 2012 The Babymakers Darrell Dredd Kay 2015 Ant-Man Gale Creed Tony "Little Duke" Evers 2017 Once Upon a Time in Venice Prince 9/11 Michael Blade Runner 2049 Nandez 2018 Creed II Tony "Little Duke" Evers Gangland: The Musical Reeby 2020 Always and Forever Danny 2021 Ransun Games Henchman #1 Space Jam: A New Legacy Coach C 2023 Creed III Tony "Little Duke" Evers Shooting Stars Dru Joyce II 2025 One Battle After Another Laredo TBA Weekend Warriors Post-production

Television

Documentary

Year Title 2012 Benji