Clarence Gilyard, American actor and educator
Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. (born December 24, 1955) is an American university professor, actor, and author who has been featured in movies, television programs and regional theatre since 1980. He is sometimes credited as Clarence A. Gilyard.

Gilyard is known for his roles as second private investigator and right-hand man Conrad McMasters to Ben Matlock (played by Andy Griffith) on the legal drama series Matlock from 1989 to 1993; Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind movie trilogy; Cordell Walker's (played by Chuck Norris) Texas Ranger partner, James "Jimmy" Trivette, in the 1990s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger; Theo, the terrorist computer expert in Die Hard; and Lieutenant (junior grade) Marcus "Sundown" Williams in Top Gun.