- Jeffrey Wright
"For the Austalian film director, see
Geoffrey Wright ."Infobox actor
name = Jeffrey Wright
birthdate = birth date and age|1965|12|7
birthplace =Washington D.C. , USA
occupation =Actor
spouse =Carmen Ejogo (2000-present)
yearsactive =
academyawards =
emmyawards = Supporting Actor - Miniseries/Movie
2004 "Angels in America"
goldenglobeawards =
2004 "Angels in America"
tonyawards = Best Featured Actor in a Play
1994 ""Jeffrey Wright (born
December 7 ,1965 ) is an American multiple award-winningfilm and stageactor .Biography
Early life
Wright was born in
Washington, D.C. to a mother who worked as a customs lawyer. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/94/Jeffrey-Wright.html Jeffrey Wright Biography (1965?-) ] ] He graduated fromSt. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) and attendedAmherst College , receiving a bachelor's degree inpolitical science and planning to continue on tolaw school ; however, he decided to studyacting instead. After receiving an actingscholarship fromNew York University and attending the school for two months, he decided to leave and become a full time actor.Career
Jeffrey Wright began appearing
off-Broadway inNew York City andWashington, D.C. , and in1990 appeared in his first major film as anattorney in "Presumed Innocent", which starredHarrison Ford . In 1991, Wright joinedJohn Houseman 's national touring repertory companyThe Acting Company with productions of "A Midsummer Night's Dream " and Athol Fugard's "Blood Knot ". Wright continued with his stage performances and in1994 was cast as Norman 'Belize' Arriaga inTony Kushner 's award-winning play "Angels in America ". His portrayal of a gaynurse forced to take care of a homophobicRoy Cohn as he lay dying fromAIDS won him theTony 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 asGary Oldman ,Willem Dafoe ,Dennis Hopper ,David Bowie , andChristopher 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 asMartin Luther King, Jr. and was awarded theAFI Award for his portrayal. In 2003 Wright reprised his role as Norman 'Belize' Arriaga inHBO 's award-winning adaptation of "Angels in America" starring alongside screen veteransAl Pacino ,Emma Thompson andMeryl Streep and directed byMike Nichols . His performance garnered him anEmmy award as well as aGolden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor in aMiniseries . In 2004, he appeared inJonathan Demme 's remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" oppositeDenzel Washington ,Meryl Streep , andLiev Schreiber . In February 2005, Wright returned toHBO Films in his friendGeorge C. Wolfe 's directorial debut, "Lackawanna Blues ", which starred many notableAfrican-American actors. He alsoguest star red on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles " and "".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 withGeorge Clooney andMatt Damon . The same year he played Bill Murray's eccentric Ethiopian neighbor Winston inJim Jarmusch 's existential road movie, "Broken Flowers ".In 2005, he starred in the play "
This Is How It Goes ", alongsideBen Stiller andAmanda Peet . He also appeared as one of the tenants inM. Night Shyamalan 's "Lady in the Water ".In 2006, Jeffrey Wright featured as
Felix Leiter in the 21stJames 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 sinceDavid Hedison played the character in "Live and Let Die" and "Licence to Kill ". [cite news |title='Bell' man takes on Bond |publisher=Variety |date=2008-01-02 |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978340.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 |accessdate=2008-01-02]In 2007, Jeffrey was re-united with his Casino Royale co-star,
Daniel Craig , for the alien invasion suspense thriller, "The Invasion", withNicole Kidman .Personal life
Wright married
Carmen Ejogo in August 2000. They have a young son named Elijah and live inBrooklyn ,New York . In 2004, Wright received anhonorary degree from his alma materAmherst College .Wright was arrested, along with others including actor
Josh Brolin , onJuly 12, 2008 after a bar fight while filming "W." inShreveport, Louisiana .Filmography
* "W." (2008)
* "Cadillac Records " (2008)
* "Quantum of Solace " (2008)
* "Blackout" (2007)
* "The Invasion" (2007)
* "Casino Royale" (2006)
* "Lady in the Water " (2006)
* "Broken Flowers " (2005)
* "Lackawanna Blues " (2005)
* "Syriana " (2005)
* "The Topdog Diaries" (2004)
* "The Manchurian Candidate" (2004)
* "Angels in America" (2003)
* "Eye See You" (2002)
* "Ali" (2001)
* "Boycott " (2001)
* "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia " (2000)
* "Shaft" (2000)
* "Hamlet" (2000)
* "Meschugge" (2000)
* "Ride with the Devil" (1999)
* "Cement" (1999)
* "Too Tired To Die" (1998)
* "Celebrity" (1998)
* "Critical Care" (1997)
* "Too Tired to Die" (1997)
* "Basquiat " (1996)
* "Faithful" (1996)
* "Jumpin at the Boneyard" (1992)
* "Presumed Innocent" (1990)Awards and nominations
*
Toronto Film Critics Association :2000 Best Supporting Actor: "Shaft"*
American Film Institute :2001 Best Male Actor in a Television Movie or Mini-Series - "Boycott "*
Golden Globe :2003 Best Supporting Actor - "Angels in America"*
Emmy Awards :2003 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - "Angels in America";Nominations
*Independent Spirit Award :1996 Best Debut Performance - "Basquiat "References
External links
*imdb|0942482
*ibdb|65714
* [http://www.felixleiter.com/category/actors/wright/ Jeffrey Wright] at [http://www.felixleiter.com/ FelixLeiter.com]
* [http://www.hbo.com/films/angelsinamerica/cast/wright.html HBO cast page for "Angels in America"]
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