While some actors become celebrities essentially overnight, Chad L. Coleman, the star of HBO's The Wire and AMC's The Walking Dead, had to work for decades before he got the recognition he deserved all along. Born and raised in Richmond, Chad Coleman had a difficult childhood. Since his parents abandoned him and his siblings when he was just a baby, he was raised in a foster home. His foster parents gave him structure and safety, so he had an opportunity to explore his talents.
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He was first drawn to acting when he attended high school and joined the All City Theatrical Troupe. There, he learned 'the method', which undoubtedly shaped his future career. However, Coleman wouldn't become a renowned actor for quite some time. His path goes all the way back to 1985 when he joined the US Army. It would take him more than a decade to get a breakthrough, but his persistance definitely paid off in the end.
6 Coleman Served In The US Army For 4 Years
Chad Coleman decided to join the US Army after he dropped out of Virginia Commonwealth University as a freshman. He served from 1985 to 1989, and has done his fair share of traveling in the meantime. "I served at the Pentagon and at Fort Leavenworth - my job was video cameraman, and that allowed me to travel to places like Korea, Japan, Alaska, Germany and the Netherlands," he said in a 2013 interview. "I learned everything: firing M-16s, working with grenades, bivouac, first-aid, concealment, doing the low-crawl, working around barbed wire, rappelling. You name it, we did it."
But once his service was done, he realized there wasn't much work for army cameramen. Determined to stick to acting, Chad Coleman took any job that would come his way.
5 A Stand-In On 'The Cosby Show'
According to Richmond Magazine, Coleman worked as a stand-in on The Cosby Show. "The stage manager treated us like pieces of meat," he recalled the experience. "We had to wear pieces of tape with the character's names, and they really hated it when I became friendly with Malcolm Jamal-Warner. It bothered me because I knew my talent. I knew I was good enough to be up there acting," he added.
He kept going to auditions and stayed active in the world of theater. Meanwhile, he worked a slew of jobs, including bartending, like many celebrities have done at one point. Slowly but surely, his hard work started to pay off.
4 Coleman Portrayed O.J. Simpson In 'Friday Night Mayhem'
The nineties weren't all that eventful for Coleman. Aside for landing a few small gigs on crime dramas, such as Law & Order and New York Undercover, he didn't get much exposure. Things started looking up at the break of the century. In 2002, he portrayed O.J. Simpson in Monday Night Mayhem, a TV movie based on Marc Gunther's and Bill Carter's 1988 book.
3 Coleman's Breakthrough On 'The Wire'
Chad Coleman joined the cast of The Wire in season 3. When he auditioned for the critically-acclaimed HBO drama, he was so nervous that he completely forgot his lines. And that's when his high school training came in handy; he improvised and managed to make a huge impression on the show's creator, David Simon.
But despite his outstanding portrayal of Dennis 'Cutty' Wise, it wasn't easy for Coleman to secure other acting jobs. "I thought I’d made it, easy breezy, and my career was about to take flight. But with that many people of color in the cast not everyone was going to get off the runway,” he told Los Angeles Times. He wasn't a celebrity just yet!
2 Minor Roles In TV Shows And Success In Theater
In the early 2000s, The Wire star had many one-off roles in crime dramas, such as Numb3rs, CSI: Miami, and Hack. He wasn't picky at all; he also dipped his toes in the sci-fi genre, acting in Life on Mars and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Then there were his appearances on sitcoms, such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and I Hate My Teenage Daughter. Meanwhile, he also received the well-deserved recognition in theater. In 2009, he starred in Joe Turner's Come and Gone, his Broadway debut.
1 Rise To Fame In 'The Walking Dead'
Today, Chad L. Coleman is not most famous for portraying Cutty on The Wire; most people know him as Tyreese from The Walking Dead. He joined the cast in season 3. According to Hollywood Reporter, Coleman knew he was auditioning for Tyreese, a fan-favorite from the comics. "What I remember most about my audition was not having a car and having to take the bus to Raleigh Studios," he said. In 2017, he joined the cast of The Orville, which only further solidified his status among the greats (and the famous).
His path to success was long, hard, and unsteady at times. But in the end, Coleman emerged victorious. Today, he is regarded a remarkable actor with incredible range.