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. 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. Faison's next role came in TV, in the short-lived series
Hot Hero Sandwich in 1979. Faison did not make it to the big screen until 1980, when he appeared in
Permanent Vacation as "Man in Lobby". A string of small roles followed until 1986, when he played the part of Lt. Fisk in
Manhunter. Also that year, he appeared in the comedy
The Money Pit, as an unruly
construction worker, and in the
Stephen King film
Maximum Overdrive. In 1988, he appeared alongside
Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones in
Coming to America in the role of a landlord, and won a minor role in the 1989
Spike Lee film
Do the Right Thing. Faison also appeared in 1996's ''
The Rich Man's Wife as Detective Ron Lewis. He also appeared in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair'' as Detective Paretti. Faison is notable for being the most frequent actor to appear in adaptations of Thomas Harris'
Hannibal books: along with
Manhunter, he also appeared as Lecter's jailer Barney in
The Silence of the Lambs, the sequel
Hannibal, and the prequel
Red Dragon. During the 1990–1991 season, he starred in the
Fox situation comedy
True Colors with
Stephanie Faracy and
Nancy Walker about an interracial couple. He was replaced by
Cleavon Little for the second season of the program. In 1991, Faison again appeared alongside Hopkins in the film
Freejack, which also starred
Mick Jagger and
Maximum Overdrive co-star
Emilio Estevez. In 1998, he was a regular on the science-fiction TV show
Prey. In 1992, he played the patriarch Bailey in the
Cheryl West play
Before It Hits Home. In the 2003 film
Gods and Generals, Faison played the role of Jim Lewis, a freed slave, who shares his religious faith and optimism with CSA General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson as the general's personal cook. In 2004, he starred as JoJo Anderson in
The Cookout and appeared in
White Chicks. Faison had a starring role as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner
Ervin Burrell on the
HBO drama
The Wire. Faison appeared in
Tyler Perry's
Meet the Browns, a movie about a single mom who takes her family to Georgia for the funeral of her father—a man she never met. There, her clan is introduced to the crass, fun-loving Brown family. Faison played the role of Brown and Vera's brother, L.B. Brown. In 2009, he was in the ensemble cast of
John Krasinski's adaptation of
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men playing the son of a toilet attendant who caustically recounts his father's experiences in one of the titular monologues. Faison played
Richard Evans on
One Life to Live from 2009 through 2012. He appeared in episodes of
Blue Bloods, which also stars
Tom Selleck, as an assistant police commissioner. His main film role in this period was as Harlan in the film
Adam. He also appeared in a third-season episode of
Lie to Me. Faison played the role of Sugar Bates, a prizefighter turned tavernkeeper, on the Cinemax program
Banshee. He appeared as Henry "Pop" Hunter in the
Netflix series
Luke Cage, and played a supporting role in the 2016
Amazon Studios original special
An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win. In 2017, Faison appeared in the music video for "Holding On" by
The War on Drugs, from their fourth album
A Deeper Understanding. ==Filmography==