Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Belize in the Broadway production of ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...
'', for which he would win a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
, and its
HBO miniseries adaptation, for which he would win an
Emmy and
Golden Globe.
He has also starred as
Jean-Michel Basquiat in ''
Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...
;''
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the ...
in the ''
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
'' films ''
Casino Royale'', ''
Quantum of Solace'' and ''
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
;''
Valentin Narcisse
Dr. Valentin Narcisse is a fictional character from the HBO TV series '' Boardwalk Empire'', portrayed by Jeffrey Wright. He is a prominent and highly educated underworld figure based in Harlem, New York and a Black nationalist orator, active in ...
in the
HBO series ''
Boardwalk Empire;''
Beetee Latier in ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...
'' films;
Isaac Dixon in the video game ''
The Last Of Us Part II
''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after ''The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable chara ...
;'' and
the Watcher in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU) animated series ''
What If...?'' Since 2016, he has starred as Bernard Lowe in the HBO series ''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
''. He portrayed
James Gordon in the superhero film ''
The Batman
Batman is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman or The Batman may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
Characters
* Batman (Terry McGinnis)
* Batman (Thomas Wayne)
* Batman (Earth-Two)
* Batma ...
'' (2022) by
Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attenti ...
.
Early life
Wright was born on December 7, 1965 in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the son of Barbara Evon (Whiting), a customs lawyer, and James Charles Wright, Jr., who died when he was a child.
[.
] He graduated from
St. Albans School and attended
Amherst College, receiving a bachelor's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, planning to attend law school, but chose instead to study acting. After attending the
MFA acting program at the
New York University Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ar ...
for two months in 1988, he left to appear in ''
Les Blancs'' at
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is ...
before transferring with it to the
Huntington Theatre Company
The Huntington Theatre Company is a professional theatre located in Boston, Massachusetts and the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, under the direction of Managing Director Michael Maso. It is notable for its longstanding artist ...
and deciding to be an actor full-time.
Career
Film, television, and theater
Wright began appearing
off-Broadway in New York City and Washington DC. In 1990 he appeared in his first major film as an attorney in ''
Presumed Innocent'', starring
Harrison Ford. In 1991, he joined
John Houseman's national touring repertory company
The Acting Company
The Acting Company is a professional theater company that tours the United States annually, staging and performing one or two plays in as many as fifty cities, often with runs of only one or two nights. Drama critic Mel Gussow has called it "the ma ...
in productions of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and
Athol Fugard's ''
Blood Knot
''Blood Knot'' is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard. Its single-performance premier was in 1961 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the playwright and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zacharia ...
''. In 1993 and 1994, he appeared as Norman "Belize" Arriaga in
Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...
's award-winning play ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...
''. His portrayal of a
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
nurse forced to take care of
Roy Cohn as he dies of
AIDS won him the
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
In 1996, Wright portrayed painter
Jean-Michel Basquiat in the film ''
Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...
'', to critical acclaim. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as ''
Celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
'' (1998), ''
Ride with the Devil'' (1999), ''
Shaft'' (2000), and ''
Boycott'' (2001), where he gave an
AFI Award
The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsi ...
-winning performance as
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
In 2003, he reprised his role as Norman "Belize" Arriaga in
HBO's award-winning adaptation of ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...
,'' garnering him an
Emmy award and a
Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries. In 2004, he appeared in
Jonathan Demme's remake of ''
The Manchurian Candidate
''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy.
Th ...
''. In February 2005, he returned to
HBO Films
HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non- ...
in ''
Lackawanna Blues
''Lackawanna Blues'' is an American play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson that premiered in 2001. It was later adapted as a television movie that aired in 2005. The play dramatizes the character of the author's primary caregiver when he was growi ...
,'' and guest-starred on ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...
'' and ''
Homicide: Life on the Street''.
In 2005, he played Washington attorney Bennett Holiday in ''
Syriana
''Syriana'' is a 2005 American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, loosely based on Robert Baer's 2003 memoir '' See No Evil''. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wrig ...
'' and
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...
's eccentric
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
n neighbor Winston in ''
Broken Flowers,'' starred in the play ''
This Is How It Goes
''This Is How It Goes'' is a play by Neil LaBute set in small town America, about the repercussions of an interracial love triangle. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 2005 and also was produced in the West End in 2005.
Plot and concept
High ...
,'' and appeared as one of the tenants in ''
Lady in the Water
''Lady in the Water'' is a 2006 American fantasy psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who produced with Sam Mercer. The film features the starring cast of Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard with Bob Balaban ...
''. In 2006, he appeared as
Felix Leiter
Felix Leiter is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming in the ''James Bond'' books, films and other media. The character is an operative for the CIA and Bond's friend. After losing a leg and his hand to a shark attack, Leiter joined the ...
in the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
movie ''
Casino Royale''. He reprised the role in ''
Quantum of Solace'' and ''
No Time to Die
''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy film and the twenty-fifth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, starring Daniel Craig in his fifth and final portrayal of fictional British MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Cary ...
''.
In 2007, Wright starred in the alien invasion suspense thriller ''
The Invasion''. In 2008, he portrayed
Colin Powell in ''
W.'' He portrayed
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
in ''
Cadillac Records
''Cadillac Records'' is a 2008 American biographical drama film written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-compan ...
'', a biopic, loosely based on the rise and fall of
Chess Records. In 2010, Wright played Jacques Cornet in the world premiere run of ''
A Free Man of Color'' at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...
of the
Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York City.
Wright plays
Beetee
The following is a list of characters in ''The Hunger Games'' novels, a series of young adult science fiction novels by Suzanne Collins whose original trilogy was later adapted into a series of four feature films. The actors who portray these c ...
in ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...
'' film series, starting with ''
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'', released in November 2013. He also landed the role of Dr. Valentin Narcisse in season 4 of ''
Boardwalk Empire'', starting in the fall of 2013. Wright was nominated for three Emmys for his performance as Bernard Lowe in HBO's ''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
''.
In March 2017, Wright appeared in a commercial for
Dell Technologies
Dell Technologies Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Round Rock, Texas. It was formed as a result of the September 2016 merger of Dell and EMC Corporation (which later became Dell EMC).
Dell's products incl ...
.
In 2018, Wright produced the HBO documentary ''We Are Not Done Yet,'' which gives voice to war veterans who, through a USO-sponsored arts workshop at
Walter Reed National Military Hospital, discover the power and healing of shared experience to unite and find resilience in the face of
post-traumatic stress
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
. That same year, Wright starred in
HBO's ''
O.G.,'' a film about a man confronting his past crime and preparing to leave prison after decades behind bars. The film was directed by
Madeleine Sackler
Madeleine Sackler is an American filmmaker, heiress, and member of the Sackler family. She received an Emmy in 2015 and was nominated for a second one in 2020. Her grandfather, Raymond, was one of the three Sackler brothers who created and owned ...
, and was uniquely filmed entirely in
Pendleton Correctional Facility
The Pendleton Correctional Facility, formerly known as the Indiana Reformatory, is a state prison located in Fall Creek Township, Madison County, near Pendleton and about northeast of Indianapolis. Established in 1923, it was built to replace ...
near
Indianapolis,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. The film was not only shot in a working prison, many prisoners and staff were recruited as actors for the film, including Wright's co-star, Theotus Carter, who plays Beecher, a younger prisoner that Louis, (Wright's character) takes under his wing, which threatens Louis' release date. During shooting Wright was sometimes mistaken for a prisoner by other real prisoners and guards. The film debuted on HBO on February 25, 2019. Nick Paumgarten of ''The''
''New Yorker'' said, "The performances are exceptionally strong, both by the free-to-leave professional actors (especially Jeffrey Wright, who plays Louis, the 'O.G.' of the title, an older inmate on the verge of release) and by the incarcerated neophytes." Ben Kenigsberg of the
''New York Times'' said, "Jeffrey Wright gives a rich, imposing performance as the former 'mayor' of Pendleton Correctional Facility."
Wright starred in the video game ''
The Last of Us Part II
''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Set five years after ''The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable chara ...
'' as Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front. The game was released on June 19, 2020.
In 2021, Wright portrayed food writer Roebuck Wright in the film ''
The French Dispatch
''The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun'', or simply ''The French Dispatch'', is a 2021 American anthology comedy drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo Gui ...
'' by
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...
.
Wright voices
the Watcher in the
Disney+
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
animated series ''
What If...?'', which is set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU).
Charity and business ventures
Wright is chairman and co-founder of Taia, LLC and Taia Peace Foundation and Vice Chairman of Taia Lion Resources, Inc, a gold-exploration company looking to create a conflict-free
gold mining
Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, ...
operation in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
.
Personal life
Wright married actress
Carmen Ejogo
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973) in August 2000. They have a son named Elijah and a daughter named Juno and lived in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York.
They have since divorced.
[Zahed, Ramin]
"'Selma' allows Carmen Ejogo to play Coretta Scott King a second time"
''LATimes.com'', 18 December 2014 (retrieved 26 December 2014).
In 2004, Wright received an honorary degree from his alma mater,
Amherst College.
[Amherst Magazine Summer 2004: College Row]
Amherst Magazine, Summer 2004
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Audio
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jeffrey
1965 births
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male Shakespearean actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Amherst College alumni
Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
Drama Desk Award winners
Living people
Male actors from Washington, D.C.
New York University alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni
Tony Award winners