Frankie R. Faison
| Frankie Faison | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Frankie Russel Faison June 10, 1949 Newport News, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Mandel (1988–present) |
| Children | 3 |
Frankie Russel Faison (born June 10, 1949), often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell in HBO's TV series The Wire and as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise.
Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena (née Gantt) and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity. He also attended NYU's Graduate Acting Program, graduating in 1974.
Faison started his acting career in 1974 in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear, with James Earl Jones in the title role. Faison's next role came in TV, in the short-lived series Hot Hero Sandwich in 1979. Faison did not make it to the big screen until 1980, when he appeared in Permanent Vacation as "Man in Lobby". A string of small roles followed until 1986, when he played the part of Lt. Fisk in Manhunter. Also that year, he appeared in the comedy The Money Pit, as an unruly construction worker, and in the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive. In 1988, he appeared alongside Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones in Coming to America in the role of a landlord and won a minor role in the 1989 Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing. Faison is notable for being the most frequent actor to appear in adaptations of Thomas Harris' Hannibal books: along with Manhunter, he also appeared as Lector's jailer Barney in The Silence of the Lambs, the sequel Hannibal and the prequel Red Dragon.
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