John Earl Jelks

John Earl Jelks (also credited as John Jelks) is an American actor. Working extensively in theatre, Jelks is also known for screen roles, including in films such as Compensation (1999), Miracle at St. Anna (2008), Enter the Dangerous Mind (2013), Night Comes On (2018),[1] and television series such as True Detective (2019),[2] The I-Land (2019),[3] and On Becoming a God in Central Florida (2019).[4][5][6]

John Earl Jelks
Born	July 16, 1959
Nationality	American
Education	City College of San Francisco
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Naomi Jelks (deceased)
Children	Jamal, Jabari, Jamila
Awards	Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (2007 nomination)

In 2007, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Sterling Johnson, in August Wilson's Radio Golf.[7][8] In 2014, Jelks won a double Obie Award for Fetch Clay, Make Man and Sunset Baby. For First Breeze of Summer, Jelks also won the AUDELCO Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, in addition to the production winning.

Early life

Jelks' family was originally from Mississippi. He spent much of his childhood in California and Illinois,[9] including in Chicago.[10]

Career

Jelks began acting at 18 while attending the City College of San Francisco, a public community college. He began his career in 1979 when he acted in his first play, Pinocchio Jones, which also starred Cindy Herron and was performed at Balboa High School. He went on to act in several plays, not acquiring an agent until he had been performing on stage for 7 years.[10][11]

Stage acting

For a decade, from 1989-1999, Jelks performed in the independent play The Diary of Black Men.[12] In 2002, Jelks performed The Piano Lesson at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre.[13][9] Later that year, Jelks performed Joe Turner's Come and Gone (directed by Marion McClinton) at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre and again at the Penumbra Theatre, where he later became a company member.[14][15][16]

In 2004, Jelks made his Broadway debut[10] in the August Wilson play Gem of the Ocean, which starred Phylicia Rashad.[17] Gem of the Ocean was the first installment in Wilson's decade-by-decade ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the 20th century. Directed by Kenny Leon, the production took place at the Walter Kerr Theatre and has received five Tony Award nominations.

Jelks collaborated again with August Wilson in the 2007 premiere of the play Radio Golf at the Cort Theatre on Broadway. The final installment of the Pittsburgh Cycle, the production received 3 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play and Best Featured Actor in a Play for both Jelks and Anthony Chisholm.[18][19]

In 2010, Jelks performed in the world premiere of the stage version of The Shawshank Redemption at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.[10] The play was based on the Stephen King novel that had been successfully adapted for the screen by Frank Darabont. Jelks played the part of Red in the production directed by Peter Sheridan and adapted for the stage by Owen O'Neil and Dave Johns.[20]

Jelks has worked extensively in other Broadway and regional productions including Magnolia (2009), Fetch Clay, Make Man (2010),[21][22] The Break of Noon (2010), Two Trains Running (2013), Sunset Baby (2013), Holler If Ya Hear Me (2014), ToasT (2015), The Piano Lesson (2016), and Head of Passes (2016).[23][24]

In 2014, Jelks conducted acting workshops and performed in the play The Meeting at the Terra Sancta Theater in Amman, Jordan.[25]

From 2016 to 2018 Jelks performed in 3 productions of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat, playing the part of Brucie, a middle-aged man unemployed for 2 years after losing his factory job.[26][27][28] The play was performed in New York at the Public Theater Martinson Hall in 2016, before moving to Studio 54 in 2017. Jelks returned in 2018 for a run at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.[24][29][26]

Screen acting

Jelks first starring screen role came in the 1999 film Compensation, which premiered at Sundance.[30] The film depicts two Chicago love stories, one set in the 1900s and one in the 1990s, with both couples played by the same actors. Jelks played the dual roles of Arthur Jones and Nico Jones.[31]

He has also appeared in Spike Lee's 2008 World War II historical film Miracle at St. Anna, and in Jordana Spiro's 2018 drama Night Comes On, which premiered at Sundance. In 2019, he acted in series 3 of HBO's anthology crime drama series True Detective, Netflix's science-fiction thriller miniseries The I-land, as well as a recurring role in the Showtime comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida.[32][33][4]

Personal life

Jelks is a widower, having lost his wife of 12 years, Naomi, in a traffic accident in 2002. The couple had 3 children, sons Jamal, Jabari, and daughter Jamila. The loss of his wife had led Jelks to consider leaving acting, but he eventually decided to remain in the career for his children. He dedicated his performance in the play Gem of the Ocean to his late wife.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	A Powerful Thang	Craig Watkins	Credited as John Jelks
1999	Compensation	Arthur Jones / Nico Jones
2008	Miracle at St. Anna	Detective Dillard
2010	The Start of Dreams	Self	Documentary Film, Credited as John Jelks
2013	Enter the Dangerous Mind	Lt. Ike
2018	Night Comes On	John Lamere	Credited as John Jelks

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mr. Achok	1 episode
2011	Da Brick	Jermaine Dansby Sr.	Television Film, Credited as John Jelks
2012	Blue Bloods	Ray Bell	1 episode
2019	True Detective	Sam Whitehead	1 episode
2019	The Good Fight	Perry Cardwell	1 episode
2019	The I-Land	Professor Verne	2 episodes
2019	On Becoming a God in Central Florida	Judd Waltrip	5 episodes

Short film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Dark Exodus		Credited as John Jelks
1986	Crocodile Conspiracy		Credited as John Jelks
2014	The Miraculous	Man from the Desert	Credited as John Jelks
2015	Tough	Larry	Credited as John Jelks

Stage

Year	Play	Role	Production	Notes
1989-1999	The Diary of Black Men	Muslim
2002	The Piano Lesson	Boy Willie	Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
2002	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Herald Loomis	Kansas City Repertory Theatre
2002	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Herald Loomis	Penumbra Theatre
2004	Gem of the Ocean	Citizen Barlow	Walter Kerr Theatre	Production won NAACP Theatre Award and Ovation Award
2007	Radio Golf	Sterling Johnson	Cort Theatre	Nominated - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play
2008	The First Breeze of Summer[34][35]	Harper Edwards	Signature Theatre Company	Production won AUDELCO Award
2009	Magnolia	Thomas	Goodman Theatre
2010	The Shawshank Redemption	Red	Gaiety Theatre
2010	Fetch Clay, Make Man	Brother Rashid	McCarter Theatre Center
2010	The Break of Noon	Detective Lawyer	The Geffen Playhouse, MCC Theater
2013	Two Trains Running	Wolf	Two River Theater Company
2013	Fetch Clay, Make Man	Brother Rashid	New York Theatre Workshop	Obie Award, Production Nominated for 11 AUDELCO Awards
2013	Sunset Baby		LAByrinth Theater Company[36][37]	Obie Award
2014	Holler If Ya Hear Me	Street Preacher	Palace Theatre
2015	ToasT	Stackolee	The Public Theater
2016	The Piano Lesson	Doaker	McCarter Theatre Center[38]
2016	Head of Passes	Creaker	Berkeley Repertory Theatre
2016	Sweat	Brucie	The Public Theater
2017	Sweat	Brucie	Studio 54
2018	Sweat	Brucie	Mark Taper Forum
2019	Floyd's	Montrellous	The Guthrie Theater[39]

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2008	Midnight Club: Los Angeles	Doc (Voice)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Title	Notes
2007	Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play	Radio Golf	nominated
2008	AUDELCO Award	First Breeze of Summer
2014	Obie Award - Performance Gold Star	Sunset Baby and Fetch Clay, Make Man

References

1. Lodge, Guy (Feb 4, 2018). "Film Review: 'Night Comes On'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
2. Napoli, Jessica (February 4, 2019). "Whodunnit on 'True Detective' Season 3? An Investigation". TV Insider. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
3. Newboles, Alec (August 29, 2019). "Netflix Drops Trailer for Mini-Series 'The I-Land'". mxdwn.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
4. "John Earl Jelks". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
5. "John Earl Jelks". IBDB. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
6. "The 100 Best Black Movies of the 21st Century". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
7. Rooney, David (May 11, 2007). "Radio Golf". Variety. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
8. "Actor: John Earl Jelks". Geffen Playhouse. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
9. "John Earl Jelks". Broadway World. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
10. Donloe, Darlene (Feb 2, 2011). "Jelks and Chimo Keep It Goin' "˜Til Break of Noon". thisstage.la. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
11. "About". John Earl Jelks. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
12. "There & back again". newsreview.com. July 5, 2001. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
13. "August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" Digs Deep Into the Past, Features Powerful Lessons on Family, History, Perseverance". Town Topics. 2016-01-20. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
14. Walker, Steve (May 16, 2002). "Boarding House Rules". The Pitch. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
15. "Regional Reviews: Minneapolis/St. Paul". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
16. "Members". Penumbra Theatre. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
17. Murray, Matthre (December 6, 2004). "Gem of the Ocean". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
18. Brantley, Ben (2007-05-09). "In the Rush to Progress, the Past Is Never Too Far Behind". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
19. Ernio, Hernandez (Jul 8, 2005). "Wilson Vets Anthony Chisolm and John Earl Jelks Return for Los Angeles Radio Golf". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
20. "THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION In Dublin Set To Close May 29". Broadway World. May 21, 2010. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
21. Gans, Andrew (Oct 13, 2013). "Fetch Clay, Make Man, with Nikki M. James, K. Todd Freeman, John Earl Jelks, Richard Masur, Ends Off-Broadway Run Oct. 13". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
22. Levitt, Hayley (September 11, 2013). "Fetch Clay, Make Man". Theater Mania. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
23. Stewart, Zachary (March 28, 2016). "Head of Passes". Theater Mania. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
24. "John Earl Jelks". About the Artists. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
25. "Martin Luther King Meets Malcolm X in "The Meeting"". U.S. Embassy in Jordan. March 31, 2014. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
26. Lee, Ashley (Aug 30, 2018). "For actor John Earl Jelks, two years of 'Sweat' yield no easy answers in Trump's America". LA Times. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
27. Lenker, Maureen Lee (September 6, 2018). "Sweat at the Mark Taper is a sucker punch to the gut: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
28. Isherwood, Charles (2016-11-03). "The Jobs Are Gone in 'Sweat.' So Are People's Hopes". NY Times. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
29. Gordon, David (December 30, 2019). "The 10 Best Broadway Plays of the Decade". Theater Mania. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
30. "Compensation (1999)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
31. "Compensation". UCLA L.A. Rebellion. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
32. "Kirsten Dunst Stars in the Trailer for On Becoming a God in Central Florida". Broadway World. Jul 16, 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
33. Hermanns, Grant (September 27, 2019). "On Becoming a God in Central Florida Season 2 a Go at Showtime". Coming Soon. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
34. Rooney, David (Aug 21, 2008). "The First Breeze of Summer". 2008. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
35. "The First Breeze Of Summer". Theater Life. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
36. Hetrick, Adam (Nov 6, 2013). "Labyrinth Theater's Sunset Baby, Featuring Tony Nominee John Earl Jelks, Begins Nov. 6". Broadway. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
37. Hetrick, Adam (Nov 6, 2013). "Labyrinth Theater's Sunset Baby, Featuring Tony Nominee John Earl Jelks, Begins Nov. 6". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
38. Levitt, Hayley (December 21, 2015). "Casting Announced for August Wilson's The Piano Lesson at McCarter Theatre Center". Theater Mania. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
39. McLernon, Lianna Matt (August 6, 2019). "Review: "Floyd's" at the Guthrie". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 2020-04-17.

External links

• John Earl Jelks
• John Earl Jelks on IMDb