Carl Gilliard

18 Apr, 1958 | Chicago, Illinois

Actor

Biography

Birth Name: Carl Rousseau Gilliard Carl is a native of Chicago, attended high school in Detroit (Osborn High) and received his degree from Michigan State University. Carl initially worked as a radio newscaster at WGPR (107.5) in Detroit before accepting a sales position with the Eastman Kodak Company in Detroit. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a position with the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group as a District Manager which took him first to Grand Rapids, and then to Kalamazoo Michigan, where Carl was re-introduced to theatre at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre. In 1985, Carl re-located to Los Angeles, where he became a notable fixture on the LA Theatre circuit. As an actor, Carl has appeared in over 2 dozen plays mesmerizing audiences with his trademark baritone voice and fearless character portrayals. He has appeared in "The River Niger", "Livin' Fat", "Bubblin' Brown Sugar", "Zooman & The Sign", "South Of Where We Live", "Jeffrey's Plan" & "The Ninth Wave". His theatre work paved the way for his numerous television & film roles in sitcoms such as "Freddie", "Barbershop", "Family Matters", "Martin", "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air & "Roc as well as other appearances in "24", Michael Mann's, "Robbery Homicide Division", "Alias", "Cold Case", "Sleeper Cell", "Strong Medicine", "Hunter", "Mike Hammer", "Sherman Oaks" and features such as "Nothin' 2 Lose", "Chatroom", "Contact", "The Luau" , "Coach Carter", the Wes Craven's thriller, "Red Eye" , the upcoming prison drama, "The Mannsfield 12", directed by Craig Ross, Jr. & the romantic comedy, "Divine Intervention", directed by Van Elder. Carl has also appeared in numerous television commercials for IBM, GM, Burger King, Pepto Bismol, Bank One, Habitat For Humanity, Nicoderm, Saturn, Miller Beer & the hilarious "dropped call" campaign for Cingular. Through Carl's various experiences in film, television & theatre, he is quickly forging his niche as a Producer with keen discernment for developing and discovering new screenplays by new and exciting writers. In collaboration with partner, Tony Winters, he produced the Pan African Audience Award winning feature "Retiring Tatiana". Carl's first outing as director is the poignant drama, "Section 8".