Carl Lumbly

Carl Lumbly is a well-respected veteran in the industry and has been working for decades. Born to Jamaican immigrants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from Macalester College in nearby St. Paul and started his first career as a journalist.

While working on a story about a workshop theatre, Carl was cast as an actor. He ended up staying with the improvisational company for two years before moving to San Francisco, where he came upon a newspaper ad seeking two Black actors for South African political plays. He ended up auditioning and booking one of the parts along with a then-unknown Danny Glover.

Carl’s acting debut came in a background role in the film Escape from Alcatraz (1979) with Clint Eastwood. His first major role was as Detective Marcus Petrie on the television series Cagney & Lacey alongside Martin Kove. He played the role for 107 episodes from 1981 to 1987.

In 1987 he portrayed Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party in the HBO television film Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8. In 1990, he reunited with Danny Glover in the critically acclaimed film To Sleep with Anger.

One of his more well-known roles is as the voice of J’onn J’onzz, otherwise known as Martian Manhunter, in the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. He voiced the character for 64 episodes across the two series from 2001 to 2006. In that same time span, he appeared in one of his other well-known roles: Marcus Dixon on the television series Alias.

After spending over a decade making smaller appearances in a variety of projects, Carl returned to the public eye in a big way with the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, playing the character of Isaiah Bradley, the original super soldier who was tested on by the United States government during World War II.
Carl received praise for his performance in the show.

In 2023, he appeared in the Mike Flanagan miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher as C. Auguste Dupin, part of the main cast. He worked with Flanagan again the following year in The Life of Chuck (2024) with Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan. The film premiered at TIFF and won the People’s Choice Award for Best Film.

In 2025, Carl reprised his role of Isaiah Bradley in Captain America: Brave New World. The film received mixed reviews, but Carl’s performance was praised and viewed as one of the highlights of the film, as well as his scenes with Anthony Mackie as Captain America.

Carl has one child with his first wife, Vonetta, who passed away in 2010. In 2015, he married Deborah Santana, but the marriage ended less than four years later in divorce.

Filmography:

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
The Life of Chuck (2024)
I’m Charlie Walker (2022)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Doctor Sleep (2019)
A Cure for Wellness (2016)
Love Twice (2016)
Quitters (2015)
Nominated (2010)
The Alphabet Killer (2008)
Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007)
Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2003)
Men of Honor (2000)
How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
South Central (1992)
Pacific Heights (1990)
To Sleep with Anger (1990)
Everybody’s All-American (1988)
Judgement in Berlin (1988)
The Bedroom Window (1987)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Lifepod (1981)
Caveman (1981)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)