Photo of Laurence Fishburne
Acting

Laurence Fishburne

Profession
Acting
Born
July 30, 1961 · Augusta, Georgia, USA

Biography

Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award and Tony Award winner known for his roles on stage and screen. He has frequently portrayed forceful, militant, and authoritative characters. Some of Fishburne's best-known roles are Morpheus in The Matrix series (1999–2003), Jason "Furious" Styles in the John Singleton drama film Boyz n the Hood (1991), Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in Francis Ford Coppola's war film Apocalypse Now (1979), and "The Bowery King" in the John Wick film series (2017–present). For his portrayal of Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), 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 on film when he appeared in Oliver Parker's 1995 film adaptation of the Shakespeare play. He has also received five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead nomination for his performance in Deep Cover (1992). Other film credits of Fishburne include Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple (1985), Spike Lee's School Daze (1988), Abel Ferrara's King of New York (1990), Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003), Steven Soderbergh's Contagion (2011), and Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying (2017). He has also gained a wider audience with the blockbuster films Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). On television, he starred as Dr. Raymond Langston on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2008–2011) and as Special Agent Jack Crawford in the NBC thriller series Hannibal (2013–2015), and had a recurring role as Earl "Pops" Johnson in the ABC sitcom Black-ish (2014–2022).

Known for

The Matrix poster
The Matrix
Film · 1999 · ★ 8.3
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice poster
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Film · 2016 · ★ 6.0
Man of Steel poster
Man of Steel
Film · 2013 · ★ 6.7
John Wick: Chapter 2 poster
John Wick: Chapter 2
Film · 2017 · ★ 7.3
Passengers poster
Passengers
Film · 2016 · ★ 7.0
Ant-Man and the Wasp poster
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Film · 2018 · ★ 6.9
The Matrix Reloaded poster
The Matrix Reloaded
Film · 2003 · ★ 7.1
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum poster
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Film · 2019 · ★ 7.4
The Matrix Revolutions poster
The Matrix Revolutions
Film · 2003 · ★ 6.8
Apocalypse Now poster
Apocalypse Now
Film · 1979 · ★ 8.3
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer poster
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Film · 2007 · ★ 5.6
John Wick: Chapter 4 poster
John Wick: Chapter 4
Film · 2023 · ★ 7.7

Filmography