Coleman had a starring role on the
HBO series
The Wire as reformed criminal
Dennis "Cutty" Wise. In 2002, Coleman starred as
O. J. Simpson in TNT's television movie
Monday Night Mayhem. Coleman also had a guest role in the
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series on Fox. He also had a small role in ''
Carlito's Way: Rise to Power. Coleman was also involved with the development of Left 4 Dead 2'', as a voice actor for the character Coach. In 2009, Coleman appeared in a revival of
August Wilson's play ''
Joe Turner's Come and Gone on Broadway and also had a starring role in the Norwegian TV series Buzz Aldrin, What Happened To You In All The Confusion?'', based on the novel by
Johan Harstad. The series aired in Europe in November 2011. He guest starred in the
In Plain Sight episode "
Whistle Stop" as an ex-boxer/witness suffering from pugilistic dementia, and in the
Lie to Me episode "
The Canary's Song" as a coal miner. He has also guest starred in five episodes of ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia between 2010 and 2019 as the character "Z". In the third season, Tyreese was a recurring character. Coleman was upgraded to series regular and main cast member at the start of the fourth season and retained this status for its fifth season until his character was killed off in the mid-season premiere. On November 20, 2014, he was announced to play Fred Johnson, a.k.a. "The Butcher of Anderson Station", a former Marine caught in a power struggle between Earth and Mars on the science-fiction series The Expanse''. Coleman also played Mingo in the 2016 re-imagining of
Roots, on the History Channel. Mingo is a stern, no-nonsense slave/cock trainer for Tom Lea, who keeps the Lea plantation afloat. He befriends Chicken George and they bond like father and son. Additionally, Coleman is executive producer, as well as visual inspiration for the character Mr. Osi of the futuristic graphic novel series
Treadwater. In 2016, he played the role of
Tobias Church on
Arrow. He played the recurring role of Klyden, Second Officer Bortus's mate, on
The Orville (2017–22). In 2019, Coleman recurred in the first two seasons of
All American as Corey James. He then played
Bruno Mannheim in the
superhero drama television series
Superman & Lois (2023–24). ==Personal life==