Afton C. Williamson (born September 7, 1984) is an American actress, best known for the main role of LAPD officer Talia Bishop in the ABC series The Rookie and as Assistant District Attorney Alison Cacao Medding in the Cinemax original series Banshee.
Early life and education Williamson was born in Sylvania, Ohio, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
Career Williamson started as the understudy to Kerry Washington in the 2010 Broadway play Race before succeeding Washington in the role of Susan. Later she has made her television debut appearing in an episode of The Good Wife. Williamson later guest starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blue Bloods, and Elementary. She had recurring roles on the CBS drama A Gifted Man from 2011 to 2012 as Autumn, and the first season of the television series Nashville as Makena. From 2014 to 2015, she had a regular role in the Cinemax network original series Banshee. In film, she made her debut in the 2011 drama Pariah.
In 2016, Williamson was cast in a leading role on the VH1 drama series The Breaks. She starred as Officer Wiggins in the 2016 HBO miniseries The Night Of.
In 2018, Williamson was cast in the ABC drama series The Rookie. In 2019, Williamson quit the show citing claims of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and assault. TVLine had reported that Williamson, who portrayed Talia Bishop, would not be returning for the second season. While the outlet initially claimed that the split was amicable, Williamson, in a lengthy Instagram post, stated that she had left the series due to having "experienced racial discrimination/racially charged inappropriate comments from the hair department head", later naming the department head as Sallie Ciganovich, now known as Sallie Nicole Hotch. Williamson also alleged that she was sexually harassed by a recurring guest star, whom she identified as actor Demetrius Grosse. Williamson claimed that she had gone to the showrunners multiple times with these allegations, but was ignored.
All involved in the allegations denied them. An investigation was commissioned through the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp along with a third-party firm, EXTTI, which conducted nearly 400 hours of interviews and examined video and other evidence. The results of the investigation were published on September 17, 2019, which found that the allegations made by Williamson had no merit, and could not be proven. Williamson stood by her claims, calling the results of the investigation "heartbreaking" and postulated that the producers had lied to cover up the truth of what happened.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Director Notes 2011 Pariah Mika Dee Rees 2012 Man on a Ledge Janice Ackerman Asger Leth Abducted: The Carlina White Story Cassandra Television film2018Write When You Get WorkValamy Vega Stacy Cochran 2019 Otherhood Julia Cindy Chupack 2020 Still Here Tiffany Watson Vlad Feier
Television Year Title Role Notes 2010 Da Brick Rachel Pilot The Good Wife Yarissa Morgan Episode: "Bad Girls" 2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Isabelle Wright Episode: "Reparations" Homeland Helen Walker 3 episodes (credited as Afton C. Williamson) 2011–2012 A Gifted Man Autumn 9 episodes 2012 Blue Bloods Officer Perez Episode: "No Questions Asked" Royal Pains Heather Small Episode: "Business & Pleasure" Nashville Makena 3 episodes 2013–2015 The Following Haley Mercury / Kate 2 episodes 2014–2015 Banshee Alison Medding 8 episodes 2015 Elementary Shauna Scott Episode: "The Best Way Out Is Always Through" 2015–2016 Blindspot Kara Sloane 2 episodes 2016 The Night Of Officer Wiggins 5 episode2017 The Breaks Nikki The Blacklist Lu Lu Episode: "The Apothecary" 2018 Shades of Blue Katie Myers 7 episodes Bull ADA Gabrielle Ramsden Episode: "Witness for the Prosecution" 2018–2019 The Rookie Talia Bishop Main role (season 1)
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