Jeffrey Wright
Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. He is well known for his Tony-, Golden Globe–, and Emmy-winning role as Belize in the Broadway production of "Angels in America" and its acclaimed HBO miniseries adaptation. He has 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;" Beetee Latier in "The Hunger Games" films; Isaac Dixon in the video game "The Last Of Us Part II;" and the Watcher in the Marvel  Cinematic Universe (MCU) animated series "What If...?" Since 2016, he has starred as Bernard Lowe in the HBO series "Westworld". He portrayed James Gordon in the superhero film "The Batman" (2022) by Matt Reeves. Early life. Wright was born on December 7, 1965 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, planning to attend law school, but chose instead to study acting. 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 the Huntington Theatre Company and deciding to be an actor full-time. Career. Film, Television & Theater. Wright began appearing off-Broadway in New York City and Washington DC. In 1990 he appeared in his first major film as an attorney in "Presumed Innocent", starring Harrison Ford. In 1991, he joined John Houseman's national touring repertory company The Acting Company in 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, he appeared in 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, he reprised his role as Norman "Belize" Arriaga in HBO's award-winning adaptation of "Angels in America," garnering him an Emmy award and 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, he returned to HBO Films in "Lackawanna Blues," and guest-starred on "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" and "". In 2005, he played Washington attorney Bennett Holiday in "Syriana" and Bill Murray's eccentric Ethiopian  neighbor Winston in "Broken Flowers," starred in the play "This Is How It Goes," and appeared as one of the tenants in "Lady in the Water". In 2006, he appeared as Felix Leiter in the James Bond movie "Casino Royale". He reprised the role in "Quantum of Solace" and "No Time to Die". 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 "", 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. In 2021, Wright portrayed food writer Roebuck Wright in the film "The French Dispatch" by Wes Anderson. Wright voices the Watcher in the Disney+ animated series "What If...?", which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Charity & Business Ventures. Wright is chairman and co-founder of  Taia, LLC and Taia Peace Foundation and Vice Chairman of Taia Lion Resources, Inc, a gold-exploration company looking to create a conflict-free gold mining operation in Sierra Leone. Personal life. Wright married actress Carmen Ejogo in August 2000. They have 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.