# Wood Harris
**Wood Harris** (born Sherwin David Harris, 1969) is an American actor best known for playing drug kingpin [Avon Barksdale](https://www.edgepedia.org/avon-barksdale) on the HBO crime series *The Wire* (2002–08) and for a career of supporting roles in films including *Remember the Titans*, *[Paid in Full](https://www.edgepedia.org/paid-in-full-2002-film)*, *Dredd*, *Ant-Man*, and the *Creed* trilogy. He works under his childhood nickname, "Wood".[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365445/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and origin | Sherwin David Harris, born 1969 in Chicago, Illinois, to John and Mattie Harris; works under the nickname "Wood"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365445/) |
| Signature role | Avon Barksdale, the Westside Baltimore drug kingpin of *The Wire* (HBO, 2002–08)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) |
| Film debut | Motaw in *Above the Rim* (1994), opposite Tupac Shakur[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) |
| Education | B.A. in Theatre Arts from Northern Illinois University; MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program, Tisch School of the Arts[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Wood-Harris/) |
| Recurring franchise role | Tony "Little Duke" Burton in *Creed* (2015), *Creed II* (2018), and *Creed III* (2023)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) |
| Family | Brother of actor Steve Harris, known for ABC's *The Practice*; the two shared their first on-screen scene in *BMF* (2021)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365445/) • [5](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/bmf-steve-harris-wood-harris-first-scene-season-1-episode-5-1234736521/) |
| Real-life figures played | Jimi Hendrix (*Hendrix*, 2000), Julius Campbell (*Remember the Titans*, 2000), Azie "AZ" Faison (*Paid in Full*, 2002), Spencer Haywood (*Winning Time*, 2022)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) • [6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full) |
## Early life and training
Harris grew up in a working-class family on Chicago's west side and has described his background as lower-middle class and blue-collar.[7](https://www.youthaward.org/wood-harris/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) He was a college basketball player at [Northern Illinois University](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-illinois-university), where he earned a degree in theater arts from its School of Theater and Dance.[8](https://andscape.com/features/cultureplay-wood-harris-the-breaks/) While still in college he was cast in his first film, *[Above the Rim](https://www.edgepedia.org/above-the-rim)*; the frequent absences that filming required led the university to expel him from the program, and he was readmitted after fellow students protested the severity of the punishment.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) He later earned a master's degree from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Wood-Harris/) • [8](https://andscape.com/features/cultureplay-wood-harris-the-breaks/)
## Breakthrough roles, 1994–2000
Harris made his feature film debut in 1994 playing Motaw, an antagonistic streetball player, in *Above the Rim*, which starred [Tupac Shakur](https://www.edgepedia.org/tupac-shakur).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) • [6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full) He then built his resume with small television parts, including appearances on the police drama *NYPD Blue* and the prison series *Oz*, where he played Officer Gordon Wood.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/wood-harris/)
The year 2000 brought two widely seen performances: a lead as guitarist [Jimi Hendrix](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimi-hendrix) in the Showtime telemovie *Hendrix*, and the role of high school football player Julius Campbell opposite [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington) in the box-office hit *Remember the Titans*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) Harris has said the Hendrix role was the first time he played a real person and that it prepared him for later biographical portrayals.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full)
## The Wire and the 2000s
In 2002 Harris began his best-known role as Avon Barksdale, the drug kingpin whose organization is the target of the wiretap investigation that drives the first season of *The Wire*; he remained a series regular through the show's run to 2008.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) • [10](https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/64615/1/ulflmeromaniuk_tm.pdf) The same year he played former Harlem drug dealer Azie "AZ" Faison, known as Ace, in *Paid in Full*.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full)
After *The Wire* ended, Harris worked steadily in independent and studio films, including *Next Day Air* (2009), *Just Another Day* (2009), and *Dough Boys* (2009), and took guest roles on series such as *House*, *Southland*, and *Hawaii Five-0*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/) He also worked as a producer on *Next Day Air* and *Just Another Day*.[11](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/wood-harris/credits/3030227033/) In 2012 he appeared in the science-fiction action film *Dredd* and performed in a Broadway production of *A Streetcar Named Desire* with an all-African-American cast.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/)
## Later film and television work
Harris joined two major franchises in the 2010s: he played Gale in Marvel's *Ant-Man* (2015) and Tony "Little Duke" Burton, the trainer at the Delphi Boxing Academy, in *Creed* (2015), *Creed II* (2018), and *Creed III* (2023).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) On television he played Brooke Payne in *The New Edition Story* (2017), cocaine supplier Pat in 50 Cent's *BMF* (2021), and [Spencer Haywood](https://www.edgepedia.org/spencer-haywood), the Hall of Fame forward who challenged NBA eligibility rules, in HBO's *Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty* (2022).[8](https://andscape.com/features/cultureplay-wood-harris-the-breaks/) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/wood-harris/) • [6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full)
In *BMF* episode five he shared his first-ever on-screen scene with his older brother Steve Harris, who plays a corrupt detective; the two had appeared together in *Justified* season five but had never played a scene against each other.[5](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/bmf-steve-harris-wood-harris-first-scene-season-1-episode-5-1234736521/) More recent credits include Shell Gordon in *Lady in the Lake* (2024), Eric Edwards in Netflix's *[Forever](https://www.edgepedia.org/forever-2025-tv-series)* (2025), and Laredo in [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson)'s *One Battle After Another* (2025).[9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/wood-harris/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris) He is set to reprise Little Duke in *Delphi*, the Amazon Prime Video series set in the *Rocky* and *Creed* universe.[12](https://as.com/meristation/series/delphi-la-nueva-serie-del-universo-rocky-ya-tiene-actores-principales-y-confirma-el-regreso-de-un-personaje-de-las-peliculas-f202605-n/)
## Basketball and approach to acting
Harris has kept basketball close to his work. He played for Northern Illinois University, tore his [Achilles tendon](https://www.edgepedia.org/achilles-tendon) playing the sport, and has said that during NBA season he watches little besides sports.[8](https://andscape.com/features/cultureplay-wood-harris-the-breaks/) On *The Wire* he drew on that background in the first-season "Game Day" episode, in which Avon Barksdale's Westside squad faces [Proposition Joe](https://www.edgepedia.org/proposition-joe)'s Eastside team; the game was filmed with a real Baltimore streetball player, Maurice Blanding, recruited as a ringer.[13](https://andscape.com/features/the-wire-oral-history-game-day/)
He has described a consistent method for portraying real people, from Hendrix through Julius Campbell, Ace, and Spencer Haywood: researching documentaries and writing about the subject, then speaking with the person directly when they are alive. For *Winning Time* he talked with Haywood about how the aftermath of the 1971 Supreme Court eligibility decision affected his life, and said his main goal was to avoid doing a disservice to a man who, in Harris's words, deserves to be understood.[6](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full)
## References
1. [Wood Harris, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365445/)
2. [Wood Harris, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wood-harris/)
3. [Wood Harris Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/wood_harris)
4. [Wood Harris bio, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Wood-Harris/)
5. [BMF's Steve Harris Unpacks First-Ever Scene Opposite Brother Wood Harris, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/bmf-steve-harris-wood-harris-first-scene-season-1-episode-5-1234736521/)
6. [Wood Harris Reminisces on The Wire, Acting With Cam'ron and Tupac, and Playing Spencer Haywood in Winning Time, GQ](https://www.gq.com/story/wood-harris-winning-time-spencer-haywood-avon-barksdale-the-wire-20th-anniversary-paid-in-full)
7. [Wood Harris, Youth Award interview](https://www.youthaward.org/wood-harris/)
8. [From 'The Wire' to 'The Breaks,' Wood Harris always wins Most Authentic, Andscape](https://andscape.com/features/cultureplay-wood-harris-the-breaks/)
9. [Wood Harris, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/wood-harris/)
10. [Meromi, T. (thesis): The Wire season one and the Avon Barksdale investigation, Universidade de Lisboa](https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/64615/1/ulflmeromaniuk_tm.pdf)
11. [Wood Harris List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/wood-harris/credits/3030227033/)
12. ['Delphi', la nueva serie del universo 'Rocky', confirma el regreso de Wood Harris como Little Duke, MeriStation (AS)](https://as.com/meristation/series/delphi-la-nueva-serie-del-universo-rocky-ya-tiene-actores-principales-y-confirma-el-regreso-de-un-personaje-de-las-peliculas-f202605-n/)
13. ['The Wire' — Game Day oral history, Andscape](https://andscape.com/features/the-wire-oral-history-game-day/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames H to Ha*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license