William Catlett is an American actor and producer.
Catlett was born in Alexandria, Virginia.[1] His father had ambitions to be an actor before he joined the military and worked in government.
His early television credits include The Mentalist on CBS as well as Insecure and Brothers in Atlanta on HBO. He appeared in the 2018 Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil television series Love Is, for which he was also in the writers room. He played the lead role in Issa Rae’s YouTube series First and Black & Sexy TV’s That Guy. Catlett produced Giants for Issa Rae Presents, the short film Stages, in which he also stars, and the television series Garden Hills.[2] He later worked again with Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil on Black Lightning.[3]
He appeared in the 2020 film Charm City Kings. In 2021, he could be seen with Kevin Hart, Wesley Snipes, and Billy Zane in Netflix comedy thriller True Story.[1] For that role, he earned a NAACP Image Awardsnomination.[4] He appeared in Lovecraft Country. In 2023, he appeared in A.V. Rockwell film A Thousand and One as Lucky.[5] [6]
He plays Rickles in the 2024 comedy horror film Abigail alongside Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera.[7] [8] He is a series regular in the Apple TV+ series Constellation, playing Paul.[9] [10]
He is the founder of Catlett Academy. [5]
| Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-2015 | That Guy | Mike | 17 episodes | |
| 2013 | The Mentalist | Patient | Episode: "Red, White and Blue" | |
| 2014-2015 | First | Charles | 15 episodes | |
| 2015 | Born Again Virgin | Anderson | Episode: "Off to See the Wizard" | |
| 2017 | Giants | Flip | 4 episodes | |
| 2018 | Love Is | Yair | 10 episodes | |
| 2018-2021 | Black Lightning | Lala | 23 episodes | |
| 2020 | Charm City Kings | Rivers | ||
| Force of Nature | Griffin | |||
| Lovecraft Country | Verton Freeman | Episode: "Rewind 1921" | ||
| 2021 | True Story | Herschel | 7 episodes | |
| 2022 | The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey | Ezra Bundle | Episode: "Sensia" | |
| The Devil You Know | Drew | |||
| First | Charles | |||
| 2023 | A Thousand and One | Lucky | ||
| 2024 | Constellation | Paul Lancaster | 7 episodes | |
| Abigail | Rickles | |||
| TBA | Color Book | Post-production |