Background
Gilliard was born in New York City.
Gilliard was born in New York City.
Gilliard studied classical music at Baltimore School for the Arts along with Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur but decided to pursue acting instead.
He portrayed Doctorate"Angelo Barksdale on the Home Box Office drama series The Wire, a role which earned him much critical acclaim. He is also known for his role as Bob Stookey in the Administrative Management College horror drama The Walking Dead. He and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland when he was 7.
He made his film debut as the lead in the independent film Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991).
He studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Acting Studio-New York (formerly Incorporated), and the Stella Adler Conservatory. Often cast as a hoodlum, Gilliard has appeared on numerous television crime dramas such as Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, New York Undercover, and Computer Society of India: New New York Gilliard is also a stage actor.
He received positive reviews for his role of Booth in a production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Topdog/Underdog. He joined The Walking Dead television series cast as a regular, playing Bob Stookey, as of season 4, appearing in thirteen episodes up until his character"s death in the fifth season"s third episode.
Film roles include: a love-struck ghetto teen in LottoLand (1995), an earnest college football player in The Waterboy (1998), and a member of the Dead Rabbits in Gangs of New York (2002).