Clarke Peters (born April 7, 1952 as Peter Clarke) is an American-British actor, singer, writer and director best known for his roles as detective Lester Freamon and Albert "Big Chief" Lambreaux on the HBO dramas The Wire and Treme, respectively. More recently, Peters has portrayed Alonzo Quinn on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest and Isaiah Page on The Divide.
In 1973, he moved to London, and changed his name to Clarke Peters due to Equity rules. While in London, he formed a soul band, The Majestics, and worked as a backup singer on such hits as "Love and Affection" by Joan Armatrading, "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave, and some David Essex songs. However, music was not Peters' main ambition, and he preferred to work in the theater.
His first West End theatre musical roles, which he received with assistance from his friend Ned Sherrin, were I Gotta Shoe (1976) and Bubbling Brown Sugar (1977). Other West End credits include Blues in the Night, Porgy and Bess, The Witches of Eastwick, Chicago, and Chess. In 1981, Peters starred in the Sean Connery space Western Outland as the treacherous Sgt. Ballard, and had an almost wordless role as Anderson, a vicious pimp in Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa in 1986.
After writing several revues with Sherrin, In 1990 Peters wrote the revue Five Guys Named Moe, which received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. He followed this up with Unforgettable, a musical about Nat King Cole, which received scathing reviews. He also starred in the 2010 UK production of Five Guys Named Moe.
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