Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his Tony, Golden Globe, and Emmy winning role as Belize in the Broadway production Angels in America and its acclaimed HBO miniseries adaptation. He also starred as Jean-Michel Basquiat in Basquiat, Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and No Time to Die, Valentin Narcisse in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, and Beetee in The Hunger Games films. Since 2016, Wright has starred as Bernard Lowe and Arnold Weber in the HBO series Westworld. Wright will portray Commissioner James “Jim” Gordon in the superhero film The Batman (2022) by Matt Reeves.
Early life
Wright was born in Washington, D.C., 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 and planned to attend law school; however, he chose to study acting instead. After attending the MFA acting program at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts for two months in 1988, he left to appear in Les Blancs at Arena Stage before transferring with it to Huntington Theatre Company and deciding to work as an actor full-time.
Career
Wright began appearing off-Broadway in New York City and Washington DC, and in 1990, he 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. In 1993 and 1994, he appeared 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 Roy Cohn as he dies of AIDS won him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
In 1996, Wright portrayed painter Jean-Michel Basquiat in the film Basquiat, to critical acclaim. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Wright appeared in both leading and supporting roles in such films as Celebrity (1998), Ride with the Devil (1999), Shaft (2000), and Boycott (2001), where he gave an AFI Award-winning performance as Martin Luther King Jr. In 2003, Wright reprised his role as Norman “Belize” Arriaga in HBO’s award-winning adaptation of Angels in America. 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. In February 2005, Wright returned to HBO Films in Lackawanna Blues. He also guest starred on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Homicide: Life on the Street.
Among his other film roles was Washington attorney Bennett Holiday in Syriana (2005). The same year, he played Bill Murray’s eccentric Ethiopian neighbor Winston in Broken Flowers. In 2005, he starred in the play This Is How It Goes. He also appeared as one of the tenants in Lady in the Water. In 2006, Wright was featured as Felix Leiter in the James Bond movie Casino Royale. He reprised the role in Quantum of Solace and will do so again in the upcoming Bond movie No Time to Die due out in October 2021.
Wright at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 28, 2007.
In 2007, Wright starred in the alien invasion suspense thriller The Invasion. In 2008, he portrayed Colin Powell in W. He portrayed Muddy Waters in Cadillac Records, 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 of the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York City.
Wright plays Beetee in The Hunger Games 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.
In March 2017, Wright appeared in a commercial for Dell Technologies.
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. 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, and was uniquely filmed entirely in Pendleton Correctional Facility near Indianapolis, Indiana. 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 as Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front. The game was released on June 19, 2020.
Personal life
Wright married actress Carmen Ejogo in August 2000. They had a son named Elijah and a daughter named Juno and lived in Brooklyn, New York. They have since divorced.
In 2004, Wright received an honorary degree from his alma mater, Amherst College.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Prosecuting Attorney | |
| 1992 | Jumpin’ at the Boneyard | Derek | |
| 1996 | Faithful | Young Man | |
| Basquiat | Jean-Michel Basquiat | ||
| 1997 | Critical Care | Bed Two | |
| 1998 | Too Tired to Die | Balzac Man | |
| Celebrity | Greg | ||
| Meschugge | Win | ||
| Blossoms and Veils | Ben | ||
| 1999 | Cement | Ninny | |
| Ride with the Devil | Daniel Holt | ||
| 2000 | Hamlet | Gravedigger | |
| Crime and Punishment in Suburbia | Chris | ||
| Shaft | Peoples Hernandez | ||
| 2001 | Ali | Howard Bingham | |
| 2002 | D-Tox | Jaworski | |
| 2004 | Sin’s Kitchen | Rex | |
| The Manchurian Candidate | Al Melvin | ||
| 2005 | Broken Flowers | Winston | |
| Syriana | Bennett Holiday | ||
| 2006 | Lady in the Water | Mr. Dury | |
| Casino Royale | Felix Leiter | ||
| 2007 | The Invasion | Dr. Stephen Galeano | |
| Blackout | Nelson | Also producer | |
| 2008 | W. | Colin Powell | |
| Quantum of Solace | Felix Leiter | ||
| Cadillac Records | Muddy Waters | ||
| 2009 | One Blood | Dan Clark | Also producer |
| 2011 | Source Code | Dr. Rutledge | |
| The Ides of March | Senator Thompson | ||
| Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close | William Black | ||
| 2013 | Broken City | Carl Fairbanks | |
| A Single Shot | Simon | ||
| The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Beetee | ||
| The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete | Henry | ||
| 2014 | Ernest & Celestine | Grizzly Judge (voice) | |
| Only Lovers Left Alive | Dr. Watson | ||
| The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | Beetee | ||
| 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | ||
| The Good Dinosaur | Poppa Henry (voice) | ||
| 2018 | Monster | Mr. Harmon | |
| The Public | Mr. Anderson | ||
| Game Night | FBI Agent Ron Henderson | Uncredited | |
| Age Out | Detective Portnoy | ||
| O.G. | Louis | ||
| Hold the Dark | Russell Core | ||
| 2019 | The Laundromat | Malchus Irvin Boncamper | |
| The Goldfinch | James “Hobie” Hobart | ||
| 2020 | All Day and a Night | J.D. | |
| 2021 | No Time to Die | Felix Leiter | Completed |
| The French Dispatch | Roebuck Wright | Completed | |
| 2022 | The Batman | James Gordon | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Separate but Equal | William Coleman | Television movie |
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Sidney Bechet | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Andre Foreman | Episode: “Garbage” |
| 1997 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Hal Wilson | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Boycott | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | Television movie |
| 2003 | Angels in America | Norman “Belize” Arriaga / Mr. Lies / Homeless Man / The Angel Europa |
6 episodes |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Mr. Paul | Television movie |
| 2007 | American Experience | Narrator | Episode: “New Orleans” |
| 2012 | House | Dr. Walter Cofield | Episode: “Nobody’s Fault” |
| 2013–14 | Boardwalk Empire | Valentin Narcisse | 11 episodes |
| 2016 | The Venture Brothers | Think Tank (voice) | Episode: “Tanks for Nuthin” |
| Confirmation | Charles Ogletree | Television movie | |
| BoJack Horseman | Cuddlywhiskers / Father (voice) | 3 episodes | |
| 2016–present | Westworld | Bernard Lowe / Arnold Weber | Main role |
| 2017 | She’s Gotta Have It | Purple “ITIS” Voice (voice) | Episode: “#NolasChoice (3 DA HARD WAY)” |
| 2019 | Sesame Street | Bernard Lowe | Segment: “Respect World” |
| Green Eggs and Ham | McWinkle (voice) | 13 episodes | |
| Rick and Morty | Tony (voice) | Episode: “The Old Man and the Seat” | |
| 2020 | Finding Your Roots | Himself | Episode: “This Land is My Land” |
| The Daily Show with Trevor Noah | Narrator | Episode dated 28 August 2020 | |
| 2021 | What If…? | The Watcher (voice) | |
| 2022 | Ark: The Animated Series | Henry Townsend | Voice role |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Last of Us Part II | Isaac Dixon (voice) | Also motion capture |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | AFI Awards | AFI Actor of the Year – Male – Movie or Mini-Series | Boycott | Won |
| 2005 | Black Movie Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Syriana | Nominated |
| 2002 | Black Reel Awards | Network/Cable – Best Actor | Boycott | Nominated |
| 2004 | Television: Best Supporting Actor | Angels in America | Won | |
| 2005 | Best Supporting Actor | The Manchurian Candidate | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Lackawanna Blues | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Syriana | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Cadillac Records | Won | ||
| Best Ensemble | Won | |||
| 2016 | Outstanding Voice Performance | The Good Dinosaur | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Outstanding Supporting Actor – Drama | Westworld | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Outstanding Actor – Drama | Westworld | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | The Ides of March | Nominated |
| 2007 | Chicago International Film Festival | Career Achievement Award | Won | |
| 2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Angels in America | Won |
| 1997 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Debut Performance | Basquiat | Nominated |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Male | Broken Flowers | Nominated | |
| 2002 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Boycott | Nominated |
| 2006 | Lackawanna Blues | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Cadillac Records | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | The Ides of March | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Angels in America | Won |
| 2017 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Westworld | Nominated | |
| 2018 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Broken Flowers | Won |
| 2002 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film | Boycott | Nominated |
| 2004 | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Angels in America | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Angels in America | Nominated |
| 2017 | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Westworld | Nominated | |
| 1994 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Angels in America: Perestroika | Won |
| 2002 | Best Actor in a Play | Topdog/Underdog | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Performance, Male | Shaft (tied with Tobey Maguire for Wonder Boys) | Won |
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Westworld | Nominated |
| 2019 | Best Actor on a Television Series | Nominated |