Jeffrey Wright

American Actor
Jeffrey Wright is an acclaimed American actor who has won numerous awards, including a Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe. He is known for his roles in films like Basquiat, Shaft, and The Hunger Games, as well as TV shows like Boardwalk Empire and Westworld. With a diverse and acclaimed career spanning stage, film, and television, Jeffrey Wright has established himself as one of the most versatile and talented actors of his generation.

About Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater where he gained prominence for his role in the Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1993), for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised his role in the acclaimed 2003 HBO miniseries adaptation, earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

His first starring film role was as Jean-Michel Basquiat in Basquiat (1996). His other notable films include Shaft (2000), Syriana (2005), Lady in the Water (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), The Ides of March (2011), and Rustin (2023). He also acted in the Wes Anderson films The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023), and has played Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and No Time to Die (2021), Beetee Latier in The Hunger Games films, and Jim Gordon in The Batman (2022). He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in American Fiction (2023).

Wright earned acclaim for his role as Valentin Narcisse in the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2013-2014) and robot programmer Bernard Lowe in the HBO series Westworld (2016-2022), the latter of which earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He also played as Isaac Dixon in the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) and the Watcher in the Marvel Studios animated series What If…? (2021-present).

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Frequently asked questions about Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright was born on December 7, 1965.

Jeffrey Wright has received a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award.

Jeffrey Wright’s breakout role was in the Broadway production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America in 1993, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Jeffrey Wright’s first starring film role was as Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1996 film Basquiat.

Some of Jeffrey Wright’s other notable films include Shaft (2000), Syriana (2005), Lady in the Water (2006), Cadillac Records (2008), The Ides of March (2011), and Rustin (2023).

Jeffrey Wright has played Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and No Time to Die (2021), and he has played Beetee Latier in The Hunger Games films.

Jeffrey Wright received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in American Fiction (2023).

Quotes by Jeffrey Wright

And it’s one reason why I don’t go to a lot of movies – they’re more and more dominated by corporate values and fiscal concerns as opposed to cinematic concerns.

Jeffrey Wright

For lack of any clearer idea, I just started acting one day. It had been in the back of my head for a while, but I think in some ways I was afraid to do it, and finally I just stepped up.

Jeffrey Wright

I like New York because you’re kind of forced to smell everybody else’s funk. So it keeps you biologically attached to the world around you.

Jeffrey Wright

I like to do theater and hopefully be effective. Most actors, at least contemporary actors of my generation, can’t do it. They don’t have the chops.

Jeffrey Wright

I think I was afraid of what I might say when I got onto someone’s stage or in front of someone’s camera.

Jeffrey Wright

I’m not sure whether Los Angeles borders on the ocean or on oblivion. I always feel that I’m two steps away from the other side when I’m out there. It’s more like a vacation place or a place to visit than a place to hunker down.

Jeffrey Wright

Shaft was a pop culture figure along t he lines of, I guess, Dirty Harry – except that he wasn’t as much of a racist. So yeah, I was always a fan.

Jeffrey Wright

The great thing about movies is that they’re collaborative. And the worst thing is that they’re collaborative.

Jeffrey Wright

Too often a story is examined through biased eyes, without a sensitivity for everyone who forged it. It’s seen from the point of view of the great white savior, and rarely is the perspective of the slave a part.

Jeffrey Wright

Well, I look at it like this: When you go to a restaurant, the less you know about what happens in the kitchen, the more you enjoy your meal. If the soup tastes good, everything’s cool, and you don’t necessarily want to know what’s in it. The same thing holds true with movies.

Jeffrey Wright