Quick Facts
Biography
Clifton Powell (born March 16, 1956) is an American actor, who primarily plays supporting roles in films, such as in Ray (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture nomination.
Career
Powell has appeared in more than one hundred films, beginning in the 1980s. His credits include Menace II Society (1993), Dead Presidents (1995), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), Rush Hour (1998), Next Friday (2000), and its 2002 sequel, Friday After Next, Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004), and Ray (2004). He played Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1999 television film Selma, Lord, Selma. Powell also has had many supporting roles in smaller direct-to-video films in 2000s and 2010s.
On television, Powell had the recurring roles on Roc, South Central, and Army Wives, and well as guest-starred on In the Heat of the Night, Murder, She Wrote, NYPD Blue, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In 2016, Powell was cast as main antagonist in the Bounce TV first prime time soap opera, Saints & Sinners opposite Vanessa Bell Calloway and Gloria Reuben.
Powell is also known for his voice acting role as the antagonist Big Smoke from the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2017, he appeared in the second season of My Step Kidz.
Personal life
Powell was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Mayfair Mansions in Northeast D.C. Powell is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Powell is married to his wife Kimberly with whom he has two children.
Selected filmography
Film
- Colors (uncredited) (1988)
- House Party (1990)
- Deep Cover (1992)
- 3 Ninjas (1992)
- Menace II Society (1993)
- Dead Presidents (1995)
- First Time Felon(1997)
- Buffalo Soldiers (1997)
- Deep Rising (1998)
- Phantoms (1998)
- Caught Up (1998)
- Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)
- Rush Hour (1998)
- Foolish (1999)
- Selma, Lord, Selma (1999)
- Hot Boyz (1999)
- The Breaks (1999)
- No Tomorrow (1999)
- Next Friday (2000)
- Lockdown (2000)
- Crime Partners (2000)
- The Brothers (2001)
- Bones (2001)
- Friday After Next (2002)
- Civil Brand(2002)
- Play'd: A Hip Hop Story (2002)
- Love Chronicles (2003)
- Never Die Alone (2004)
- Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004)
- Ray (2004)
- The Gospel (2005)
- Who Made the Potato Salad? (2006)
- Norbit (2007)
- First Sunday (2008)
- Street Kings (2008)
- Love for Sale (2008)
- Before I Self Destruct (2009)
- Five.K.One (2009)
- Preacher's Kid (2009)
- Just Another Day (2009)
- Something Like a Business (2010)
- Street Kings 2: Motor City (2011)
- 35 and Ticking (2011)
- Blood Ransom (2014)
- Hunting Season (2016)
- All Eyez on Me (2017)
- Misguided Behavior (2017)
Television
- In the Heat of the Night (1993)
- Murder She Wrote (1993–1995)
- South Central (1994)
- Roc (1992–1994)
- The Jamie Foxx Show (1997) Episode: The Employee Formerly Known as Prince
- In the House (1998) Episode: Working Overtime: Part 2
- The Parkers (2000) Episode: "A Simple Plan-Mr. Alexander
- The Practice (2002)
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2003)
- House (2005)
- Eve (2006)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2006)
- Numb3rs (2007)
- Cold Case (2008)
- Army Wives (2009–2010)
- The Boondocks (2010) Episode: "A Date with the Booty Warrior"
- The Mentalist (2011)
- Awake (2012) Episode: "Guilty"
- Unsupervised (2012)
- Black Dynamite (2012)
- The Soul Man (2015) Episode: "Tell It Like It Isn't"
- Saints & Sinners (2016–present)
- Tales (2017)
- Black Lightning (TV Series) (2018)
- Dogstar: High School 2 (2018)
- Hawaii Five-O (2018)
Video games
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (voice of Big Smoke) (2004)