Why Torry From Yellowstone Looks So Familiar
The Duttons and their enemies on "Yellowstone" show how ruthless the process of land acquisition can become. These varying factions aren't content with merely taking one another to court to get their hands on land. It quite literally becomes a matter of life and death, as evidenced by the Season 3 finale of the series when several members of the Dutton family were targeted. Fortunately, they all made it out of that scenario alive, but not everyone can be as lucky.
You might remember Torry (Wolé Parks) as the head of security and bodyguard for Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston). Dan's a billionaire whose primary objective is to take the Yellowstone ranch away from the Duttons, but in the process, he gets tangled up with the Becks (Terry Serpico and Neal McDonough). The Becks hire mercenaries to take out Dan, but Torry's the one who ultimately pays with his life.
Torry may have been gone from the show since Season 2, but he made an impact. And the actor who played him has more than kept busy in the years since his time on "Yellowstone" ended.
He played Cade on The Vampire Diaries
Wolé Parks has acted steadily since the late 2000s, appearing in a slew of high-profile projects, although often in a limited capacity. Some of his earlier credits include the likes of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "NCIS," and "Limitless," to name a few. However, he finally had a chance to prove what he was capable of (and that he makes an outstanding villain) when he landed the part of Cade on "The Vampire Diaries."
He showed up throughout eight episodes on the show's eighth season as the world's first psychic. In death, he assumed the mantle of the Devil and created what's known as Hell, where he punishes the wicked. However, in "Detoured On Some Random Backwoods Path to Hell," Seline (Kristen Gutoskie) summons Cade so that she may try to bargain for her and Sybil's (Nathalie Kelley). A few episodes later, Cade truly proves he's the Devil by consuming Seline and Sybil in hellfire.
Wolé Parks showed off his funnier side on Superstore
Suffice to say, playing the Devil and security personnel for the wealthy elite didn't exactly give Wolé Parks a ton of room to prove he could crack a joke. Luckily, that all changed when he landed the part of Scott on "Superstore." It wasn't a huge role, but it led to plenty of humorous moments.
Scott's a construction worker doing a job around Cloud 9. It's at this point he strikes up a friendship of sorts with Mateo (Nico Santos). While Mateo flirts with Scott and sees the budding relationship as more than it actually is, it only turns out that Scott talks with Mateo so that he can get access to the employee bathroom, as opposed to the porta-potty construction guys are supposed to use. When Mateo catches wise to him, Scott jumps ship to other employees, putting his charm to work in other ways.
He became a superhero on Superman & Lois
Wolé Parks normally hasn't lasted longer than a single season on a TV show, but that all changed when he landed the role of Captain Luthor, a.k.a. John Henry Irons, a.k.a. Steel, on The CW's "Superman & Lois." He was introduced back in the pilot, but as tends to be the case with superhero television origin stories, it takes him a little while to eventually assume his superpowered mantle. John Henry Irons may have initially seen Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) as a threat to reality, but he recognizes the superhero is actually a savior or Earth over time. The two eventually team up to stop bad guys.
For Parks, it was a distinct honor to take on such an iconic character and one whom he's been a fan of for a while. As he mentioned in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "I remember when that comic came out. I was about 10 or 11. And I remember seeing that as a kid. And you know how it is: Back then, there wasn't a lot of diverse representation. So for this little Black kid to see this Black guy who was a superhero in his own right, that was amazing. I felt overwhelmed and appreciative."
Steel's time on "Superman & Lois" isn't over yet, and this could very well become the role Parks becomes most known for even outside of his work on "Yellowstone."