Laurence Fishburne
Born: 1961-07-30 in Augusta, Georgia, USA
Known For: Acting
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).
Filmography
2025
- The Astronaut as General William Harris
- The Amateur as Henderson
- Sneaks as The Collector (voice)
- Wick Is Pain as Self
- Number One on the Call Sheet as Self
- Megadoc as Self
2024
- Transformers One as Alpha Trion (voice)
- Slingshot as Captain Franks
- Cellar Door as Emmett
- Megalopolis as Fundi Romaine
- Clipped as Doc Rivers
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl's Lab ... (Creator)
2023
- John Wick: Chapter 4 as Bowery King
- Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as Foster (voice)
2022
- The School for Good and Evil as School Master
- Bonnie as Self
- All the Old Knives as Vick Wallinger
- Is That Black Enough for You?!? as Self
- black-ish: A Celebration – An ABC News Special as Self
- The Cave of Adullam ... (Producer)
2021
- What If...? as Dr. Bill Foster / Goliath (voice)
- The Ice Road as Goldenrod
- Death to 2021 as Narrator (voice)
- Under the Stadium Lights as Harold Christian
- MacGruber as General Barrett Fasoose
- Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy as Self
2020
- History's Greatest Mysteries as Self - Host
- Our Lady of 121st Street as Rooftop
- Death to 2020 as Narrator (voice)
- #FreeRayshawn as Steven Poincy
- Ricky Powell: The Individualist as Self
2019
- The Witcher as Regis
- John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum as Bowery King
- mixed-ish as Pops Johnson
- Imprisoned as Daniel Calvin
- Where'd You Go, Bernadette as Paul Jellinek
- Running with the Devil as The Man
2018
- grown-ish as Pops Johnson
- Ant-Man and the Wasp as Dr. Bill Foster
- The Mule as Special Agent in Charge
- Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us' as Self
2017
- John Wick: Chapter 2 as Bowery King
- Last Flag Flying as Reverend Richard Mueller
- Madiba as Nelson Mandela
- Year Million as Narrator
2016
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as Perry White
- Standoff as Sade
- Passengers as Gus Mancuso
- Roots as Alex Haley
- The Snowy Day as Narrator (voice)
2015
- The Muppets as Self
- Jay Leno's Garage as Self
- Sean Connery: In His Own Words as Self
- August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand as Self
- Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining Red Dragon as Self
2014
- The Signal as Dr. Wallace Damon
- black-ish as Pops Johnson
- Rudderless as Del
- Ride Along as Omar
2013
- Hannibal as Jack Crawford
- Man of Steel as Perry White
- Khumba as Seko (voice)
- The Frame as Perry White
- The Colony as Briggs
2012
- Slavery by Another Name as Narrator
2011
- Contagion as Ellis Cheever
- A Man's Story as Self
- Have a Little Faith as Henry Covington
- Thurgood as Thurgood Marshall
- The Enduring Significance of 'Boyz n the Hood' as Self
2010
- Conan as Self
- Predators as Noland
- Top Gear
- Rappin' With The Rickster as Self
- Predators: Moments of Extraction as Noland (voice)
2009
- Armored as Baines
- The Black List: Volume Two as Self
2008
- 21 as Cole Williams
- Tortured as Archie Green
- Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence as Self
- Days of Wrath as Mr. Stafford
2007
- TMNT as Narrator (voice)
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as Norrin Radd / Silver Surfer (voice)
- The Death and Life of Bobby Z as Tad Gruzsa
- King: Man of Peace in a Time of War as Self
- America's Game: 1986 New York Giants as Narrator
2006
- Mission: Impossible III as Theodore Brassel
- Bobby as Edward Robinson
- Akeelah and the Bee as Dr. Larabee
- Five Fingers as Ahmat
- America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions as Narrator (voice)
- The Making of 'Event Horizon' as Self
2005
- The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self
- Assault on Precinct 13 as Marion Bishop
- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang as Bear in Genaros Beer Commercial (voice) (uncredited)
- Ashes and Snow as Narrator (voice)
2004
- The Matrix Recalibrated as Self
- The Matrix Reloaded Revisited as Self
- The Matrix Revolutions Revisited as Self
- Return to Source: The Philosophy of The Matrix as Morpheus
- The Matrix Reloaded: Car Chase as Self
- Mystic River: Beneath the Surface as Self
2003
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self
- The Matrix Reloaded as Morpheus
- Mystic River as Whitey Powers
- The Matrix Revolutions as Morpheus
- Biker Boyz as Smoke
- The Matrix Reloaded: Pre-Load as Self
- The Soul of a Man as Self - Narrator
- Friendly Fire: Making of an Urban Legend as Self
- Behind the Action in 'Biker Boyz' as Self
- The Blues as Self - Narrator
- A History of Sex as Self
- Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty as Self
- MTV Reloaded as Morpheus (archive footage)
- Mystic River: From Page to Screen as Self
2002
- CSI: Miami as CSI Dr. Ray Langston
2001
- The Matrix Revisited as Self - Morpheus
- Osmosis Jones as Thrax (voice)
- Spooge as Self
2000
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as Raymond Langston
- Once in the Life as 20 / 20 Mike
- Michael Jordan to the Max as Narrator (voice)
- Welcome to Hollywood as Laurence Fishburne
- Sex and the Matrix as Morpheus (archive footage)
1999
- The Matrix as Morpheus
- Making 'The Matrix' as Self
1998
- Always Outnumbered as Socrates Fortlow
- The Magic Hour as Self
1997
- The View as Self
- Black Hollywood as Self
- Event Horizon as Miller
- Hoodlum as Bumpy Johnson
- Miss Evers' Boys as Caleb Humphries
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
- Fled as Piper
1995
- Higher Learning as Professor Maurice Phipps
- Just Cause as Sheriff Tanny Brown
- Othello as Othello
- Bad Company as Nelson Crowe
- The Tuskegee Airmen as Hannibal Lee
- MADtv as Self
1994
- Inside the Actors Studio as Self
1993
- What's Love Got to Do with It as Ike Turner
- Searching for Bobby Fischer as Vinnie
- TriBeCa
1992
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- Deep Cover as Russell Stevens Jr. / John Hull
1991
- Class Action as Nick Holbrook
- Boyz n the Hood as Furious Styles
- Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse as Self
- The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry as Self
1990
- King of New York as Jimmy Jump
- Cadence as Roosevelt Stokes
- The Civil War as Various
- Decoration Day as Michael Waring, DOD Man
1988
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark
- School Daze as Vaughn 'Dap' Dunlap
- Red Heat as Lt. Stobbs
- Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special as Cowboy Curtis
1987
- Cherry 2000 as Glu Glu Lawyer
- Gardens of Stone as Sgt. Flanagan
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as Max
1986
- Pee-wee's Playhouse as Cowboy Curtis
- Quicksilver as Voodoo
- Band of the Hand as Cream
1985
- The Equalizer as Casey Taylor
- Spenser: For Hire
- The Color Purple as Swain
1984
- Miami Vice as Prison Guard Keller
- The Cotton Club as Bumpy Rhodes
1983
- Rumble Fish as Midget
- For Us, the Living: The Story of Medgar Evers as Jimbo Collins
- I Take These Men as Hank Johnson
1982
- Death Wish II as Cutter
1981
1980
- Willie & Phil as High School Student
- A Rumor of War as Lightbulb
- The Six O'Clock Follies as Robby Robinson
1979
- Apocalypse Now as Tyrone 'Clean' Miller
- Trapper John, M.D.
- Fast Break as Street Kid
1975
- Cornbread, Earl and Me as Wilford Robinson
1972
- M*A*S*H as Corporal Dorsey
- If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band as Fish
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
1953
- The Oscars as Self
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Michael Waring