1. Frankie Russel Faison was born on June 10,1949 and is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire, as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and as Sugar Bates in the Cinemax series Banshee.
Frankie Faison studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi fraternity.
Frankie Faison went on to obtain a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1974.
Frankie Faison started his acting career in 1974 in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of King Lear, with James Earl Jones in the title role.
Frankie Faison later appeared opposite Jones in the Broadway premiere of Fences, for which he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Frankie Faison did not make it to the big screen until 1980, when he appeared in Permanent Vacation as "Man in Lobby".
Frankie Faison appeared in 1996's The Rich Man's Wife as Detective Ron Lewis.
Frankie Faison appeared in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair as Detective Paretti.
Frankie Faison is notable for being the most frequent actor to appear in adaptations of Thomas Harris' Hannibal books: along with Manhunter, he appeared as Lecter's jailer Barney in The Silence of the Lambs, the sequel Hannibal, and the prequel Red Dragon.
Frankie Faison was replaced by Cleavon Little for the second season of the program.
In 1991, Frankie Faison again appeared alongside Hopkins in the film Freejack, which starred Mick Jagger and Maximum Overdrive co-star Emilio Estevez.
Frankie Faison had a starring role as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner Ervin Burrell on the HBO drama The Wire.
Frankie Faison played Richard Evans on One Life to Live from 2009 through 2012.
Frankie Faison appeared in episodes of Blue Bloods, which stars Tom Selleck, as an assistant police commissioner.
Frankie Faison appeared in a third-season episode of Lie to Me.
Frankie Faison played the role of Sugar Bates, a prizefighter turned tavernkeeper, on the Cinemax program Banshee.
In 2017, Frankie Faison appeared in the music video for "Holding On" by The War on Drugs, from their fourth album A Deeper Understanding.