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Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American multiple award-winning film and stage actor. This handsome, sturdy stage-trained performer worked in regional theater and on and off-Broadway before landing the starring role as the radiant but doomed young graffiti writer-turned-fine artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the biopic "Basquiat" (1996). Painter-filmmaker Julian Schnabel cast Wright in the role because the actor's relative obscurity brought little baggage to the general public's perception of the performance. Those familiar with NYC theater were already well aware of Wright thanks to his Tony Award-winning portrayal of Belize, the flamboyant, no-holds-barred nurse of Roy Cohn, in Tony Kushner's 1994 landmark drama "Angels in America: Perestroika.” Quite possibly the most underrated and underexposed actor of his caliber and generation, Jeffrey Wright's undeniable talent and ability to successfully bring to life any role he undertakes is on a par with the most praised and revered A-list actors in the business. Born and raised in Washington DC, Wright graduated from the prestigious Amherst college in 1987. Although he studied Political Science while at Amherst, Wright left the school with something that would prove to be more valuable: a love for acting. Shortly after graduating he won an acting scholarship to NYU, but dropped out after only two months to pursue acting full time. With roles in 1990's Presumed Innocent, and the Broadway production of Angels in America, (in which he won a well deserved Tony award), within a relatively short time Wright was able to show off his exceptional talent and ability on both stage and screen alike. His first major on-screen performance came in 1996 in the Julian Schnabel directed film Basquiat. Wright's harrowing performance as the late painter Jean Michele Basquiat was critically acclaimed for its haunting accuracy and raw emotion. With a Tony, a Golden Globe, and an AFI award under his belt, the intensity of Wright's skill has been proven over and over again. Hopefully the near future will bring an influx of more varied lead roles for black actors so that Wright can continue to astonish his colleagues, critics and fans alike with the intensity of his skill. Wright was born in Washington, D.C. to a mother who worked as a customs lawyer. He graduated from St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) and attended Amherst College, receiving a bachelor's degree in political science and planning to continue on to law school; however, he decided to study acting instead. After receiving an acting scholarship from New York University and attending the school for two months, he decided to leave and become a full time actor. Jeffrey Wright began appearing off-Broadway in New York City and Washington, D.C., and in 1990 appeared in his first major film as an attorney in Presumed Innocent, which starred Harrison Ford. In 1991, Wright joined John Houseman's national touring repertory company The Acting Company with productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Athol Fugard's Blood Knot. Wright continued with his stage performances and in 1994 was cast as Norman 'Belize' Arriaga in Tony Kushner's award-winning play Angels in America. His portrayal of a gay nurse forced to take care of a homophobic Roy Cohn as he lay dying from AIDS won him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. In 1996, Wright had another breakthrough performance on the big screen, portraying painter Jean-Michel Basquiat in the film Basquiat. The film depicts the real-life tribulations of a young artist who gained tremendous success in the white-dominated New York art scene until he died of heroin overdose at the age of 27. Wright's performance was again critically acclaimed and the movie gave him the chance to work alongside veterans such as Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Dennis Hopper, David Bowie, and Christopher Walken. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s Wright gave memorable performances in both leading and supporting roles. His more mentionable roles were in movies such as Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998), Shaft (2000), and Boycott (2001), where he gave another critically acclaimed performance as Martin Luther King, Jr. and was awarded the AFI Award for his portrayal. In 2003 Wright reprised his role as Norman 'Belize' Arriaga in HBO's award-winning adaptation of Angels in America starring alongside screen veterans Al Pacino, Emma Thompson and Meryl Streep and directed by Mike Nichols. His performance garnered him an Emmy award as well as a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries. In 2004, he appeared in Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate opposite Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Liev Schreiber. In February 2005, Wright returned to HBO Films in his friend George C. Wolfe's directorial debut, Lackawanna Blues, which starred many notable African-American actors. He also guest starred on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Homicide: Life on the Street. Among his most notable film roles was the Washington attorney Bennett Holiday in Stephen Gaghan's Syriana (2005), where he was the co-lead along with George Clooney and Matt Damon. The same year he played Bill Murray's eccentric Ethiopian neighbor Winston in Jim Jarmusch's existential road movie, Broken Flowers. In 2005, he starred in the play This Is How It Goes, alongside Ben Stiller and Amanda Peet. He also appeared as one of the tenants in M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water. In 2006, Jeffrey Wright featured as Felix Leiter in the 21st James Bond movie, Casino Royale. This makes him the first African-American man to play the character in an official Bond film (Bernie Casey played Leiter in the unofficial Never Say Never Again). He is set to reprise the role in Quantum of Solace, making him only the second actor to appear as Leiter twice since David Hedison played the character in Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill. Wright married Carmen Ejogo in August 2000. They have a young son named Elijah and live in Brooklyn, New York. In 2004, Wright received an honorary degree from his alma mater Amherst College. Studied Political Science at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1987. Won Broadway's 1994 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for Tony Kushner's "Angels In America: Perestroika," a role he recreated in the television mini-series version, "Angels in America" (2003). In 2002, he was nominated for Tony's Best Actor (Play) Award for "Topdog/Underdog." Attended New York University on a theatre scholarship, but dropped out after only two months to act full time. He received an honorary degree from Amherst College in 2004. Although he alters aspects of his physical appearance for each role, his voice is often unrecognizable from one role to the next. The voices of Belize, with his intelligent, acerbic wit in "Angels in America" (2003), to Peoples Hernandez whose vicious macho confidence is conveyed through his Latino accent in Shaft (2000) to Al Melvin The Manchurian Candidate (2004), whose deep grumblings heartbreakingly represent the state of a destroyed man. His cousin, Brian Wright, was the boy who portrayed young 'Basquiat' at the beginning of that film. The production team needed a child to portray Basquiat who also looked like Jeffrey Wright. Because of this, Jeffrey asked his cousin to do the job. Graduated from prestigious St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, DC. Is friends with Adrian Pasdar. Has one son, Elijah. The only original cast member from the play Angels In America to appear in the film version "Angels in America" (2003). Father died when he was a year old and was raised by his mother, who was a lawyer before working at the U.S. Customs Department, and his aunt, a one-time nurse. In 2006, became the first African American to play Felix Leiter in an official James Bond film. Plys CIA Agent Felix Leither in Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). This makes him only the second actor in the history of the Bond franchise to play the role more than once. David Hedison had previously played the role twice, in Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989). |
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