Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor, playwright, producer, screenwriter, and film director. He is known for playing Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy, Jason “Furious” Styles in the 1991 drama film Boyz n the Hood, Tyrone “Mr. Clean” Miller in the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, and most recently in the John Wick series, 2 and 3, as “The Bowery King”.
For his portrayal of Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It, Fishburne was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Two Trains Running (1992), and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in TriBeCa (1993). Fishburne became the first African American to portray Othello in a motion picture by a major studio when he appeared in Oliver Parker’s 1995 film adaptation of the Shakespeare play.
Fishburne starred in several cult classics, including Deep Cover and King of New York. From 2008 to 2011, he starred as Dr. Raymond Langston on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and from 2013 to 2015 starred as Special Agent Jack Crawford in the NBC thriller series Hannibal. In 2013, he portrayed Perry White in the Zack Snyder-directed Superman reboot Man of Steel and in 2016 reprised his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as part of the DC Extended Universe. Fishburne played Bill Foster in the film Ant-Man and the Wasp, released in 2018 as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Born in Augusta, GA, he and his mother (a divorced teacher) moved the family to Brooklyn, NY, which he considers his hometown. Fishburne landed a regular role on “One Life to Live” when he was 10. His movie debut was in “Cornbread, Earl and Me” (1975). When he was 14, he began work on “Apocalypse Now” after lying about his age. For the next several years, he was offered only small roles. He eventually landed a part on “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
On the set, he met John Singleton who later directed him in his breakthrough role as the father in “Boyz N the Hood” (1991). Before this, though, in 1988, he played a critically acclaimed character in an early Spike Lee film/musical, “School Daze.” In 1992, Fishburne won a Tony for his role in August Wilson’s play, “Two Trains Running,” and in 1994, his performance as Ike Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It” earned him an Oscar nomination. That same year his television appearance in the premiere episode of “Tribeca” landed Fishburne an Emmy.
In 1995, he starred in “The Tuskegee Airmen,” for which he received an NAACP Image Award, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and Cable Ace nominations for Best Actor in a Mini-Series. In 1996, he starred in “Fled” and in the critically acclaimed film “Othello” in the title role. He was the first African-American to play the Moorish king in a major screen release and follows a noble tradition of such actors as Sir Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles in the role.
In 1997, Fishburne received an Emmy nomination and an NAACP Image Award for his starring role in the HBO drama “Miss Evers’ Boys,” of which he was executive producer. “Miss Evers’ Boys” was awarded five Emmys, including “Outstanding film made for Television Movie” and the President’s Award, which honors a program that illuminates a social or educational issue.
Fishburne also starred in “Event Horizon” and “Hoodlum,” which he produced. His other film appearances include “Searching For Bobby Fischer,” “Cadence,” “Just Cause,” “Bad Company,” “Deep Cover,” and “Higher Learning,” for which he also received an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture.
He has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in film, television and theater having worked in over 75 projects in all performance mediums.
Fishburne has recently completed production on the “The Matrix: Reloaded” and “The Matrix: Revolutions,” the follow-up films to the 1999 “The Matrix.” In 2003, Fishburne starred in Dreamworks’ “Biker Boyz.” He also completed the film “Mystic River,” directed by Clint Eastwood. He has also been part of the cast to televisions “Blackish” comedy series.
A reviewer once wrote about Fishburne, “He takes a director’s talents and gives them heroic size. He knows the power of taking your time. He knows the power of silence. He knows the power of concentration.”
In 2016, Fishburne reprised his role as White in the sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and appeared in the science fiction/romance movie Passengers.
In 2017, he appeared in the neo-noir action thriller film John Wick: Chapter 2 as The Bowery King, in his first collaboration with Keanu Reeves since The Matrix trilogy. Also in 2017, Fishburne starred in the comedy-drama Last Flag Flying, as the character Rev. Richard Mueller. In 2018, Fishburne played Bill Foster in Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, directed by Peyton Reed. The film was released July 6.
Written by Dianne Washington