John Earl Jelks

Drama Series - 1999, 16 episodes • as Mr. Achok

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Drama Series - 2010, 16 episodes • as Ray Bell

A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.

Drama Series - 2015, 16 episodes • as Dr. Dennis Washington

An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's most explosive hospital and the courageous team of doctors who hold it together. They will tackle unique new cases inspired by topical events, forging fiery relationships in the pulse-pounding pandemonium of the emergency room.

Drama Series - 2014, 16 episodes • as Sam Whitehead

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

Drama Series - 2017, 16 episodes • as Perry Cardwell

Picking up one year after the events of the final broadcast episode of "The Good Wife", an enormous financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia Rindell, while simultaneously wiping out her mentor and godmother Diane Lockhart's savings. Forced out of her law firm, now called "Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert, Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum & Associates", they join Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago's preeminent law firms.

Drama Series - 2018, 16 episodes • as Horace Reynolds

The new medical director breaks the rules to heal the system at America's oldest public hospital. Max Goodwin sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care, but the doctors and staff are not so sure he can succeed. They've heard this before. Not taking "no" for an answer, Dr. Goodwin's instinctive response to problems large and small is four simple words: "How can I help?" He has to disrupt the status quo and prove he'll stop at nothing to breathe new life into this underfunded and underappreciated hospital, returning it to the glory that put it on the map.

Drama Series - 2020, 16 episodes • as Kirby Watkins

A romantic comedy anthology series which follows a different protagonist each season on the journey from first love to last love, with each half-hour episode chronicling one of their relationships.

Drama Series - 2022, 16 episodes • as James Hilliard

Regina Haywood is the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

Drama Series - 2019, 16 episodes • as Judd Waltrip

In the early 1990s, a recently widowed, impoverished Orlando water park employee schemes and cons her way up the ranks of the multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme which ruined her financially in the first place.

Drama Series - 2019, 16 episodes • as Professor Verne

Wiped clean of memories and thrown together, a group of strangers fight to survive harsh realities -- and the island that traps them.

Movie - 2008, 2h 15m • as Detective Dillard

Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four American soldiers who are members of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II.

Movie - 2024, 2h 15m • as La'Ron

A Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Together, they struggle and learn that forgetting might be a greater challenge than forgiving.

Movie - 2018, 2h 15m • as John Lamere

Angel is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, she embarks on a journey with her 10 year-old sister that could destroy their future.

Movie - 2013, 2h 15m • as Lt. Ike

A psychological thriller set in the world of underground dubstep, Snap is the story of Jim Whitman, a brilliant but painfully introverted musician who develops a crush on a young social worker.

Movie - 2015, 2h 15m • as Larry

An estranged father and son reconnect after 11 years when they discover that they share the same apartment complex. The cause for the disconnect was the father inability to deal with his sons lifestyle.

Movie - 2021, 2h 15m • as Thomas

Business executive Jazmin Carter is known for two things: turning fledgling businesses into profit producers and avoiding Christmas in Harlem, the neighborhood where she grew up.

Movie - 2025, 2h 15m • as Arthur/Nico Jones

The life of a deaf African American woman in the early 1900s parallels with another living in the 1990s.

Movie - 1991, 2h 15m • as Craig Watkins (as John Jelks)

This innovative drama, set in Ohio, traces an African American couple's search for intimacy and friendship. The spirited, African-identified Yasmine Allen is a writer and single mother who has been dating saxophone teacher Craig Watkins for a month. Wishing to end her self-imposed celibacy following her son's birth, Yasmine has reached a turning point in the relationship-but Craig, the Big Lug, wants to take it slow. Sage advice from friends and family members remind them, "sex is a powerful thang." Like her highly acclaimed CYCLES, Davis's film incorporates animation as well as Afro-Haitian dance in a rich exploration of the lives of African Americans.

Movie - 1985, 2h 15m • Main Cast Role

Subjected to Jim Crow laws and an overtly racist white population that still sees Blacks as property, an African American family in the South sends its sons away to a better life. Visualizing the migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban, industrial North in sepia tones, director Iverson White’s period film captures the atmosphere of early 20th century America.

Movie - 1986, 2h 15m • as (as John Jelks)

This charming tale focuses on Willa Ledbetter, an African American middle-aged school teacher in Watts, and her longing to visit her parent's homeland of Cuba. In the face of unexpected political and familial pressures to forego her dream, Willa struggles to make her decision. The title of the film refers to the shape of the island - the crocodile being its national symbol - and the menace socialist Cuba represents to many people in Willa's world.