John Clarence Stewart (born August 16, 1988) is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Simon on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (2020-21). Prior to that, Stewart was recognized for portraying Alex Wesley on Luke Cage (2016–18) and Lionel on What/If (2019).

Early life

Stewart was born in 1987 in Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[1][2][3] 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. 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.^[4][5] Thereafter he performed educational theatre for Kaiser Permanente, along with many plays at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre including The Whipping Man, Choir Boy and A Christmas Carol. He also taught at the theatre's summer camp. While working on Choir Boy, John understudied the production at Manhattan Theatre Club (which co-produced with Alliance Theatre). John premiered the role of Tray in brownsville song (b-side for tray) at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Before moving to New York, John also performed in Bull Durham, a musical adaptation of the film by Ron Shelton, at the Alliance. At 24 years old he moved to New York City and then to Los Angeles to further pursue acting.^[3]

Career

Stewart made his professional debut portraying John in The Whipping Man (2013) at the Alliance Theatre. He performed in additional productions by the theatre and starred as Tray in brownsville song (b-side for tray) (2014) at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and as Wanre in Fit for a Queen (2016) at the Classical Theatre of Harlem.^[6][7][8]

In 2015, Stewart made his television debut in Gotham as Officer Griffin Katz. He continued appearing in guest roles on several television shows, with his first major television role as Alex Wesley in Luke Cage (2016–2018). In 2019 he gained further recognition for portraying Lionel in the Netflix series What/If (2019). His breakthrough role came in 2020 portraying Simon in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.^[9]

Filmography

Television