Film and television star and soap vet Frankie Faison is a native of Newport News

Actor Frankie Faison is from Newport News, VirginiaPhoto byIMDb screenshot

Frankie Faison has had a long career

Actor Frankie Russel Faison is best known for portraying Deputy Commissioner and, later, Commissioner Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire. He played Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise and Sugar Bates in the Cinemax series Banshee.

He was born on June 10, 1949, in Newport News, Virginia, and his acting career began in 1974. He was in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear, in which James Earl Jones played the title role.

Faison appeared on four soaps

Early in his career, he appeared in many films, including Cat People, Do The Right Thing, Coming to America, and Ragtime. His television credits include Oz, New York Undercover, and Cosby.

Faison is also a soap opera veteran, having appeared in Another World (Captain Hancock), The Edge of Night (Ralph Pettibone), and Search For Tomorrow (Willard Clovis). He also did two stints on All My Children as Frank Dawson (1998-1999) and Minister Bauer in 1992.