Chris Chalk is an actor from North Carolina who has played several main roles, appeared in major films, and played on Broadway. Among his best-known roles are that of Paul Drake in HBO’s recent remake of Perry Mason, Lucius Fox in Gotham, and Gary Cooper in The Newsroom. He played Clemens in the landmark movie 12 Years a Slave and also had a role in the $470 million-grossing movie Godzilla vs Kong. He co-starred alongside Denzel Washington in a Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences. Chalk’s own award cabinet includes ensemble prizes for 12 Years a Slave and When They See Us. For the former, the cast received the Ensemble of the Decade Award at the Gold Derby Awards.

Born in 1977, Chalk came to acting in the early 2000s, getting his first roles in the mid-2000s with he likes of Rent and The Good Wife. He landed his first recurring role in 2011, playing Tom Walker in Homeland. In 2013, he appeared in what may still be the biggest movie he has so far appeared in: the heartbreaking 12 Years a Slave. The film won many, many awards, and Chalk shared in all the ensemble awards that it won. Around the same, he was appearing in his biggest television role until that point: Gary Cooper in The Newsroom, a popular political drama on HBO. This was quickly followed by major roles in the likes of Gotham, Complications, and Underground.

Alongside Perry Mason, Chalk’s other recent television role is Marcus in the thriller series Shining Girls.