Glynn Turman
Acting • Born 1947-01-31
Biography
Glynn Russell Turman, born on January 31, 1947, in New York City, is a revered American stage, television, and film actor as well as a writer, whose career spans decades. He gained early recognition for his role as Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 film "Cooley High." Turman's talent shone on Broadway, earning a Tony Award for "The Great White Hope." He's renowned for TV work in "The Wire," math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor on the NBC sitcom "A Different World," fictional Baltimore mayor Clarence Royce on the HBO drama series "The Wire" and "House of Lies." His filmography includes impactful roles in "Gremlins" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." With a captivating presence, Turman continues to enthrall audiences, showcasing remarkable versatility and depth in his performances.
Filmography
128 credits
Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
Movie • 1975
Theo
80 for Brady
Movie • 2023
Mickey
Freedom Song
Movie • 2000
T-Bone Lanier
Sahara
Movie • 2005
Dr. Frank Hopper
The Killing Floor
Movie • 2017
Self
Men of Honor
Movie • 2000
Chief Floyd
Outlaw Johnny Black
Movie • 2023
Bullseye Black
How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Movie • 1998
Dr. Shakespeare
Rustin
Movie • 2023
A. Philip Randolph
Cooley High
Movie • 1975
Leroy "Preach" Jackson
Burlesque
Movie • 2010
Harold Saint
Super 8
Movie • 2011
Dr. Woodward
J.D.'s Revenge
Movie • 1976
Isaac / 'Ike'
Out of Bounds
Movie • 1986
Lieutenant Delgado
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2
Movie • 2024
Light It Up
Movie • 1999
Principal Allan Armstrong
John Dies at the End
Movie • 2013
Detective Lawrence 'Morgan Freeman' Appleton
The River Niger
Movie • 1976
Jeff Williams
The Legend of Glynn Turman
Movie • 2022
G.T.
The Inkwell
Movie • 1994
Spencer Phillips
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich
Movie • 1977
Nigeria
Preaching To The Pastor
Movie • 2009
Bishop Hightower
The Devil You Know
Movie • 2022
Lloyd Cowans
Kings of the Evening
Movie • 2008
Clarence Brown
Secrets of a Married Man
Movie • 1984
Jesse
Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery
Movie • 2008
Sheriff Bob Monroe
Buffalo Soldiers
Movie • 1997
Sgt. Joshua 'Joyu' Judges Ruth
Fire & Ice
Movie • 2001
Robert Aimes Sr.
The Pastor's Secret
Movie • 2012
Thomasine & Bushrod
Movie • 1974
Jomo J. Anderson
Someone Else's Child
Movie • 1994
Judge Roullard
Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom
Movie • 1985
Joshua
Is That Black Enough for You?!?
Movie • 2022
Self
Subterfuge
Movie • 1996
Stallworth Hubbs
The Seat Filler
Movie • 2004
Derrick's Dad
The Blue Knight
Movie • 1975
Edwin Beall
Act Like You Love Me
Movie • 2013
David Lofton
Five on the Black Hand Side
Movie • 1973
Gideon
Minstrel Man
Movie • 1977
Harry Brown Jr.
A Hero's Journey: The Making of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Movie • 2024
Self - Chiron
Deep Cover
Movie • 1992
Russell Stevens Sr.
Honky
Movie • 1971
Sailor at Bus Station
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Movie • 1996
Coach Powell
The Richard Pryor Special?
Movie • 1977
Booster Johnson
Carter's Army
Movie • 1975
Pvt. George Brightman
Together Brothers
Movie • 1974
Dr. Johnson
The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
Movie • 1974
City Teacher
Movie • 2012
Kevin Sawyer
Race
Movie • 2016
Harry E. Davis
Takers
Movie • 2010
Chief Detective Duncan
The Obama Effect
Movie • 2012
Slim Sugar
Thornwell
Movie • 1981
James Thornwell
The Serpent's Egg
Movie • 1977
Monroe
Attica
Movie • 1980
Raymond Franklin
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
Movie • 2017
Self
August 28: A Day in the Life of a People
Movie • 2017
Penitentiary II
Movie • 1982
Charles Johnson
Gremlins
Movie • 1984
Roy Hanson
Bumblebee
Movie • 2018
General Whalen
Solace
Movie • 2018
Clay (Pastor Davis)
Ask Max
Movie • 1986
Lloyd Lyman
Windows on the World
Movie • 2019
Lou
The Visit
Movie • 2001
Parole Board Member Reingold
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Movie • 2020
Toledo
Sextuplets
Movie • 2019
Leland
The Way Back
Movie • 2020
Doc
Justine
Movie • 2019
Papa Don
AWOL
Movie • 1972
Mohammed G.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen
Movie • 2020
Self - Presenter
Air Rage
Movie • 2001
Ted Bigelow
The Tapestry
Movie • 1976
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Movie • 2021
Self
In Search of America
Movie • 1971
Bodhi
Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold
Movie • 1978
Preston de Cordiva
Uncle P
Movie • 2007
Dr. Niles
STRAW
Movie • 2025
Richard
Dakota's Summer
Movie • 2014
Isaac Benson
The Grand Baby
Movie • 1983
A Different World
TV • 1987
Colonel Brad Taylor
Touched by an Angel
TV • 1994
Sheriff Ernie Guthrie
The Twilight Zone
TV • 1985
(segment "Paladin of the Lost Hour")
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Dr. Young
Room 222
TV • 1969
Millennium
TV • 1996
James Glen
In Treatment
TV • 2008
Alex Prince, Sr.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
TV • 2001
Roy Hines
Hail to the Chief
TV • 1985
Secretary of State LaRue Hawkins
The Paper Chase
TV • 1978
The Tony Randall Show
TV • 1976
Women of the Movement
TV • 2022
Mose Wright
House of Lies
TV • 2012
Jeremiah Kaan
Revolution
TV • 2012
David Kipling
Power Book II: Ghost
TV • 2020
Gabriel
The Wire
TV • 2002
Clarence Royce
FlashForward
TV • 2009
Senator Noland
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
TV • 2022
Pa (voice)
FBI: Most Wanted
TV • 2020
Terry Daniels
Centennial
TV • 1978
Nate Person
Suits
TV • 2011
Vic
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
TV • 2023
Mr. Brunner / Chiron
How to Get Away with Murder
TV • 2014
Nathaniel Lahey
The Red Line
TV • 2019
Nathan Gordon
Alcatraz
TV • 2012
Emmitt Little
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
TV • 2022
Sheriff Nate Craven
The Big Cigar
TV • 2024
Walter
Criminal Minds
TV • 2005
Charles Johnson
T. J. Hooker
TV • 1982
Norman Powell
The Bernie Mac Show
TV • 2001
Carl
Mr. Mercedes
TV • 2017
Judge Bernard Raines
black-ish
TV • 2014
Billy Blade
American Gods
TV • 2017
Reverend Hutchins
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Stan Lassiter
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Earl Browder
Fargo
TV • 2014
Doctor Senator
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Ben Coleman
The Defenders
TV • 2010
Judge Bob Owens
ER
TV • 1994
Mr. Holmes
The Neighborhood
TV • 2018
Otis
NCIS: Los Angeles
TV • 2009
James Pierce
Paradise
TV • 2025
Fred Collins
The Magnificent Seven
TV • 1998
Achilles Thompson/Hector Thompson
Freddy's Nightmares
TV • 1988
Dr. Redman
Hot Pursuit
TV • 1984
Mitch Simpson
Graves
TV • 2016
Matlock
TV • 1986
Dennis Orlando
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
TV • 2023
Chiron
Scrubs
TV • 2001
George