John Clarence Stewart

John Clarence Stewart (born August 16, 1988) is an American actor and singer. Stewart was first recognized for portraying Alex Wesley in Luke Cage (2016–2018) and Lionel in What/If (2019).

John Clarence Stewart
Born
John Clarence Stewart

(1988-08-16) August 16, 1988
Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.
Alma materColumbus State University (BFA)
Kennesaw State University (BA)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2013–present

In 2020, he had his breakthrough for and began portraying Simon in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, the role for which he is best known.

Early life

Stewart was born in 1987 in Stone Mountain, Georgia.[1][2][3] He initially attended Shiloh High School before transferring to George Walton Academy on a football scholarship for one year. His senior year he transferred back to Shiloh High School after realizing he wasn't talented enough for football. He performed in his school musical Once on This Island. He attended Columbus State University, graduating in 2009 with a BFA in Performance Theater. He then attended Kennesaw State University, graduating in 2012 with a BA in Theater and Performance Studies and Dance.[4][5] Thereafter he performed educational theatre for Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta. At 24 years old, he moved to New York City and then to Los Angeles to further pursue acting.[3]

Career

Stewart made his professional debut portraying John in The Whipping Man (2013) at the Alliance Theatre. He performed in a couple more of the theatre's productions and also starred as Tray in Brownsville Song (B-Side for Tray) (2014) at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and as Wanre in Fit for a Queen (2016) at the Classical Theatre of Harlem.[6][7][8]

In 2015, Stewart made his television debut in Gotham as Officer Griffin Katz. He continued appearing in guest roles on several television shows and his first major television role was as Alex Wesley in Luke Cage (2016–2018). In 2019, he gained further recognition for portraying Lionel in the Netflix TV series What/If (2019). In 2020, he made his breakthrough portraying Simon in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.[9]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Gotham Officer Griffin Katz Episode: "All Happy Families Are Alike"
2015 The Mysteries of Laura Clint Episode: "The Mystery of the Crooked Clubber"
2015 Blue Bloods Officer Keith Roosevelt Episode: "The Bullitt Mustang"
2016–2018 Luke Cage Alex Wesley 13 episodes
2017 The Good Fight Leigh Hunter Episode: "Inauguration"
2017 Skin Deep Marcus 4 episodes
2019 Hawaii Five-0 Hilo Episode: "Ke ala o ka pu"
2019 What/If Lionel Main role
2020–present Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Simon Main role

References
  1. Alexander, Andrew (November 15, 2019). "10 Years of ArtsATL: John Clarence Stewart goes from Alliance to Marvel's "Luke Cage"". ArtsATL. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  2. NewsDesk (May 4, 2020). "John Clarence Stewart Talks Avoiding Tropes and Black Men Showing Vulnerability". ExBulletin. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. Ho, Rodney (May 1, 2020). "INTERVIEW: Atlanta native John Clarence Stewart on playing Simon on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  4. "John Clarence Stewart - LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. July 7, 2020.
  5. Scott, Thomas A. (October 14, 2014). "Kennesaw State University Oral History Project" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2020.
  6. "John Clarence Stewart theatre profile". AboutTheArtists. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  7. "Script in Hand Series". Westport County Playhouse. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. "10 Years of ArtsATL: John Clarence Stewart goes from Alliance to Marvel's "Luke Cage"". ArtsATL. November 15, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  9. "Simon: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Character". NBC. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
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