Laurence Fishburne

Critically hailed for his forceful, militant, authoritative figures and one of Hollywood's most talented and versatile performers, Laurence (John) Fishburne III has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a number of NAACP Image honors, Emmy Awards and more.

In 1973, at the age of 12, young Laurence won a recurring role on the daytime soap One Life to Live that lasted three seasons. He subsequently made his film debut in Cornbread, Earl and Me and at 14 in Apocalypse Now. Throughout the 1980s, he continued to build up his film and TV credit list with featured roles including a lead role in John Singleton's urban tale Boyz n the Hood. On stage, Laurence would become invariably linked to playwright August Wilson and his 20th Century epic African-American experience after starring as the eruptive ex-con in Two Training Running. In addition to an Emmy for the pilot episode of the series Tribeca, he was nominated for his work in the quality mini-movies The Tuskegee Airmen and Miss Evers' Boys.

On the larger screen, both Laurence and Angela Bassett were given Oscar nominations for their raw, seething portrayals of rock stars ‘Ike’ and ‘Tina Turner’ in the film What's Love Got to Do with It. A pulp box-office favorite as well, he originated the role of ‘Morpheus’, Keanu Reeves' mentor, in the award winning futuristic sci-fi The Matrix which was best known for its ground-breaking special effects. His additional notable parts include an urban speed chess player in Searching for Bobby Fischer; a military prisoner in Cadence; a college professor in Singleton's Higher Learning; a CIA operative in Bad Company; the title role in Othello; a spaceship rescue team leader in the sci-fi horror Event Horizon; a depression-era gangster in Hoodlum; a dogged police sergeant in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River; a spelling bee coach in Akeelah and the Bee; and prominent roles in the mainstream films Predators and Contagion.

Most recently Laurence has had roles in the Black-ish, The Witcher, #Freerayshwan and Hannibal. He has also been seen on the bigger screen in the Superman movies Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Standoff, Last Flag Flying, Imprisoned and the John Wick franchises.