Whitlock's first notable role came in 1987, when he appeared in an episode of the police procedural
Cagney & Lacey. Whitlock also made appearances on ''
Chappelle's Show and had a supporting role in the 2003 film Pieces of April. He had roles in the 2007 films 1408 and Enchanted''. Whitlock first collaborated with
Spike Lee in Lee's 2002 film
25th Hour and would later appear in his 2004 film
She Hate Me, 2012 film
Red Hook Summer, 2015 film
Chi-Raq, 2017 television show
''She's Gotta Have It, 2018 film
BlacKkKlansman, and 2020 film Da 5 Bloods''. Whitlock is best known for his role on the
HBO television series
The Wire as corrupt state senator
Clay Davis.
The Wire premiered in 2002 and ended in 2008; Whitlock had a recurring role in the show's first four seasons and was a part of the main cast in
its fifth and final season. After appearing in
The Wire, Whitlock became a well-known
character actor. He recurred on the
HBO political satire series
Veep as George Maddox, a
U.S. Secretary of Defense and presidential candidate. He played Sheriff Gene Dentler in the 2016 film ''
Pete's Dragon, a remake of the 1977 film of the same name. In the series Atlanta
, he played Raleigh Marks, the father of main character Earn Marks, who was played by series creator Donald Glover. Whitlock also toured nationally in a production of The Piano Lesson. Soon thereafter Whitlock began filming The Wire
, and Whitlock said that the phrase, with his distinct pronunciation indicated, was already present in the script. and Da 5 Bloods''. Whitlock created an academy to teach actors how to say the phrase and sold talking
bobbleheads of himself which said the phrase after a successful
Kickstarter campaign in 2015. and eventually raised over $100,000 from 1,828 backers. Prior to the bobblehead's release, Whitlock said he gave the only prototype to
The Wire showrunner
David Simon, and Simon said that he showed it to then-President
Barack Obama; Simon said that Obama enjoyed and kept it. Whitlock appeared in the documentary series
History of Swear Words. SMSU now offers the Isiah Whitlock Jr. Endowed Scholarship. He was SMSU's commencement speaker in 1999 and guest artist for the school's celebration of
Black History Month in 2007. ==Death==