Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin (born November 29, 1966) is an American actor. He was incarcerated for armed robbery at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, where he participated in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program and learned acting. He portrayed a fictionalized version of himself in the 2023 film Sing Sing. His performance earned him nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the BAFTA Awards, Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Gotham Awards, and Independent Spirit Awards. Additionally, Maclin was nominated for the 2025 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Early life and education Maclin was born in Tennessee and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. He attended Mount Vernon High School and earned an associate degree in behavioral psychology from Mercy University.
Career When he was 29, Maclin was sentenced to 17 years at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility for armed robbery. During his incarceration, Maclin participated in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Since his release, Maclin has worked as a youth counselor, creative arts specialist, and gang intervention specialist at Lincoln Hall Boys Haven in Somers, New York.
He made his feature film debut in Sing Sing, portraying a younger version of himself. Maclin's performance has received critical acclaim. For the role, Maclin earned nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the 30th Critics' Choice Awards, 34th Gotham Awards, 40th Independent Spirit Awards, 29th Satellite Awards, and 78th British Academy Film Awards; he won the Gotham. He also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 78th British Academy Film Awards & 97th Academy Awards, alongside co-writers Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, and John "Divine G" Whitfield.
Filmography YearTitleRoleNotes2023Sing SingHimselfAlso writer and executive producerPost-production
Awards and nominations Year Awards Category Nominated work Result Ref.2024The Astra AwardsBest Supporting ActorSing Singrowspan=1 Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationBest Supporting ActorGotham AwardsOutstanding Supporting Performancerowspan=1 Social Justice Tribute San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle AwardsBest Adapted Screenplay Seattle Film Critics Society AwardsBest Supporting Actor Academy AwardsBest Adapted Screenplayrowspan=1 2025Independent Spirit AwardsBest Supporting PerformanceBritish Academy Film AwardsBest Actor in a Supporting RoleBest Adapted ScreenplayCritics' Choice Movie AwardsBest Supporting ActorAARP Movies for Grownups AwardsBest Supporting ActorBest EnsembleSatellite AwardsBest Supporting Actorrowspan=1 Best Adapted Screenplay
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