Glynn Turman

ActorProducerWriterDirector Jan 31 (age 79) New York City, New York, USA 1969–2026 (57 year career)

6.4 avg rating

Biography

Glynn Russell Turman, born on January 31, 1947, in New York City, is a revered American stage, television, and film actor as well as a writer, whose career spans decades. He gained early recognition for his role as Leroy "Preach" Jackson in the 1975 film "Cooley High." Turman's talent shone on Broadway, earning a Tony Award for "The Great White Hope." He's renowned for TV work in "The Wire," math professor and retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor on the NBC sitcom "A Different World," fictional …

Known For

Film

The Wire

Clarence Royce

Film

Gremlins

Roy Hanson

Film

Super 8

Dr. Woodward

Film

Bumblebee

General Whalen

Film

Men of Honor

Chief Floyd

Film

Burlesque

Harold Saint

Film

Race

Harry E. Davis

Film

STRAW

Richard

Filmography

Acting (128)

Movies (79)

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2

2026 Upcoming

Jun 4

STRAW

2025

as Richard

7.7

A Hero's Journey: The Making of Percy Jackson and the Olympians

2024

as Self - Chiron

6.1

Rustin

2023

as A. Philip Randolph

80 for Brady

as Mickey

Outlaw Johnny Black

as Bullseye Black

The Legend of Glynn Turman

2022

as G.T.

Is That Black Enough for You?!?

as Self

The Devil You Know

as Lloyd Cowans

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist

2021

as Self

8.2

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

as Toledo

The Way Back

as Doc

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen

as Self - Presenter

Sextuplets

as Leland

Windows on the World

as Lou

Justine

as Papa Don

Bumblebee

as General Whalen

Solace

as Clay (Pastor Davis)

4.7

The Killing Floor

2017

as Self

August 28: A Day in the Life of a People

2017

1.0

Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart

as Self

Race

as Harry E. Davis

Dakota's Summer

as Isaac Benson

John Dies at the End

as Detective Lawrence 'Morgan Freeman' Appleton

Act Like You Love Me

as David Lofton

The Pastor's Secret

City Teacher

as Kevin Sawyer

The Obama Effect

as Slim Sugar

Super 8

as Dr. Woodward

Burlesque

as Harold Saint

Takers

as Chief Detective Duncan

6.2

Preaching To The Pastor

2009

as Bishop Hightower

1.0

Murder 101: The Locked Room Mystery

2008

as Sheriff Bob Monroe

7.0

Kings of the Evening

2008

as Clarence Brown

Uncle P

as Dr. Niles

Sahara

as Dr. Frank Hopper

The Seat Filler

as Derrick's Dad

The Visit

as Parole Board Member Reingold

Air Rage

as Ted Bigelow

Fire & Ice

as Robert Aimes Sr.

Men of Honor

as Chief Floyd

Freedom Song

as T-Bone Lanier

Light It Up

as Principal Allan Armstrong

6.7

How Stella Got Her Groove Back

1998

as Dr. Shakespeare

5.8

Buffalo Soldiers

1997

as Sgt. Joshua 'Joyu' Judges Ruth

5.4

Subterfuge

1996

as Stallworth Hubbs

6.3

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

as Coach Powell

The Inkwell

as Spencer Phillips

Someone Else's Child

as Judge Roullard

Deep Cover

as Russell Stevens Sr.

6.8

A Different World

1987

as Colonel Bradford Taylor

9.0

Out of Bounds

1986

as Lieutenant Delgado

5.3

Ask Max

1986

as Lloyd Lyman

6.0

Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom

1985

as Joshua

Gremlins

1984

as Roy Hanson

7.1

Secrets of a Married Man

as Jesse

The Grand Baby

Penitentiary II

as Charles Johnson

Thornwell

as James Thornwell

Attica

as Raymond Franklin

Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold

1978

as Preston de Cordiva

3.8

The Serpent's Egg

1977

as Monroe

6.2

The Richard Pryor Special?

1977

as Booster Johnson

7.0

Minstrel Man

1977

as Harry Brown Jr.

A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich

as Nigeria

The River Niger

as Jeff Williams

J.D.'s Revenge

as Isaac / 'Ike'

The Tapestry

Cooley High

as Leroy "Preach" Jackson

6.9

The Blue Knight

1975

as Edwin Beall

Carter's Army

1975

as Pvt. George Brightman

4.0

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men

1975

as Theo

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat

Thomasine & Bushrod

as Jomo J. Anderson

Together Brothers

as Dr. Johnson

Five on the Black Hand Side

1973

as Gideon

6.8

AWOL

1972

as Mohammed G.

Honky

1971

as Sailor at Bus Station

4.3

In Search of America

1971

as Bodhi

3.0

Television (49)

Paradise

2025

as Fred Collins

7.4

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Official Podcast

as Self - Guest

The Big Cigar

as Walter

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

2023

as Mr. Brunner / Chiron

7.3

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder

2022

as Pa (voice)

5.6

Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities

2022

as Sheriff Nate Craven

7.5

Women of the Movement

as Mose Wright

FBI: Most Wanted

as Terry Daniels

Power Book II: Ghost

as Gabriel

The Red Line

as Nathan Gordon

The Neighborhood

as Otis

Mr. Mercedes

as Judge Bernard Raines

American Gods

as Reverend Hutchins

Graves

Late Night with Seth Meyers

as Self

Fargo

as Doctor Senator

black-ish

as Billy Blade

How to Get Away with Murder

as Nathaniel Lahey

Alcatraz

as Emmitt Little

House of Lies

as Jeremiah Kaan

Revolution

as David Kipling

Suits

as Vic

The Defenders

as Judge Bob Owens

NCIS: Los Angeles

as James Pierce

FlashForward

as Senator Noland

In Treatment

as Alex Prince Sr.

Criminal Minds

as Charles Johnson

The Wire

as Clarence Royce

The Wire

as Clarence Royce

Scrubs

as George

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

as Roy Hines

The Bernie Mac Show

as Carl

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

as Dr. Young

7.9

The Magnificent Seven

1998

as Achilles Thompson/Hector Thompson

Millennium

as James Glen

as Mr. Holmes

Touched by an Angel

as Sheriff Ernie Guthrie

Freddy's Nightmares

as Dr. Redman

A Different World

as Colonel Brad Taylor

Matlock

as Dennis Orlando

The Twilight Zone

as (segment "Paladin of the Lost Hour")

7.8

Hail to the Chief

1985

as Secretary of State LaRue Hawkins

Murder, She Wrote

as Ben Coleman

Hot Pursuit

as Mitch Simpson

T. J. Hooker

as Norman Powell

The Paper Chase

Centennial

as Nate Person

The Tony Randall Show

Room 222

Crew (11)

Movies (4)

Women of Theatre, New York

2022

Executive Producer

The Legend of Glynn Turman

2022

Writer

Justine

2019

Executive Producer

6.4

You Look Familiar: Vernée Watson

Executive Producer

10.0

Television (7)

House of Lies: Fridays at Galweather

2012

Director

Homeboys in Outer Space

Director

The Wayans Bros.

Director

The Parent 'Hood

Director

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Director

A Different World

Director

Dynasty

Director