John Clarence Stewart


John Clarence Stewart is an American actor and singer. Stewart was first recognized for portraying Alex Wesley in Luke Cage and Lionel in What/If. In 2020, he began portraying Simon in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, the role for which he is best known.

Early life

Stewart was born in 1988 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. 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. 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.

Career

Stewart made his professional debut portraying John in The Whipping Man at the Alliance Theatre. He performed in a couple more of the theatre's productions and also starred as Tray in Brownsville Song at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and as Wanre in Fit for a Queen at the Classical Theatre of Harlem.
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. In 2019, he gained further recognition for portraying Lionel in the Netflix TV series What/If. In 2020, he made his breakthrough portraying Simon in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

Filmography

Television