Laurence Fishburne filmography and biography
Date of birth: 30 July 1961, Augusta, Georgia, USA
Laurence Fishburne biography
Critically hailed for his forceful, militant, authoritarian roles,
Laurence Fishburne, who is sometimes mistaken for another tall,
gap-toothed, mercurial, immensely talented African-American actor,
Samuel L. Jackson, came out of the black theater in New York.
Born in Augusta, Georgia, on July 30, 1961, Laurence's mother, who
taught high school math, transplanted her family to Brooklyn after his
parents divorced. At the age of 10, he appeared in his first play, "In
My Many Names and Days," at a cramped little theater space in
Manhattan. He continued on but managed to avoid the trappings of a
child star per se, considering himself more a working child actor at
the time. Billing himself as Larry Fishburne during this early phase,
he never studied or was trained in the technique of acting.
In 1973, at the age of 12, Laurence won a recurring role on the daytime
soap One Life to Live that lasted three seasons and
subsequently made his film debut in the ghetto-themed
Cornbread, Earl and Me. At 14 Francis Ford Coppola
cast him in Apocalypse Now, which filmed for two years in
the Phillippines. Laurence didn't work for another year and a half
after that long episode. A graduate of Lincoln Square Academy, Coppola
was impressed enough with Laurence to hire him again down the line with
featured roles in Rumble Fish,
The Cotton Club, and Gardens of Stone.
Throughout the 1980s, he continued to build up his film and TV credit
list with featured roles despite little fanfare. A recurring role as
Cowboy Curtis on the kiddie show Pee-wees Playhouse
helped him through whatever lean patches there were at the time.
With the new decade (1990s) came out-and-out stardom for Laurence. A
choice lead in John Singleton (I)'s urban tale
Boyz n the Hood catapulted him immediately into the front
of the film ranks. Set in LA's turbulent South Central area, his potent
role as a morally minded divorced father who strives to rise above the
ignorance and violence of his surroundings, Laurence showed true
command and the ability to hold up any film. On stage, he would become
invariably linked to playwright August Wilson and his 20th
Century epic African-American experience after starring for two years
as the eruptive ex-con in "Two Training Running." For this powerful,
mesmerizing performance, Laurence won nearly every prestigious theater
award in the books (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Theatre
World). It was around the time of this career hallmark that he began
billing himself as "Laurence" instead of "Larry."
More awards and accolades came his way. In addition to an Emmy for the
pilot episode of the series "Tribeca," he was nominated for his fine
work in the quality mini-movies The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) (TV)
and Miss Evers' Boys (1997) (TV). 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 Whats Love Got to Do with It. To his credit, he
managed to take an extremely repellent character and make it a sobering
and captivating experience. A pulp box-office favorite as well, he
originated the role of Morpheus, Keanu Reeves' mentor, in the
exceedingly popular futuristic sci-fi The Matrix, best
known for its ground-breaking special effects. He wisely returned for
its back-to-back sequels.
Into the millennium, Laurence extended his talents by making his
screenwriting and directorial debut in Once in the Life,
in which he also starred. The film is based on his own critically
acclaimed play "Riff Raff," which he staged five years earlier. In
1999, he scored a major theater triumph with a multi-racial version of
"The Lion in Winter" as Henry II opposite Stockard Channing's
Eleanor of Acquitaine.
On film, Fishburne has appeared in a variety of interesting roles in
not-always-successful films. Never less than compelling, a few of his
more 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 (1995/I); the title role in Othello
(he was the first black actor to play the part on film); 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; and a
spelling bee coach in Akeelah and the Bee. Lately, he has
contributed his own special brand of star power to the
already-established TV hit series
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Earning multiple NAACP Image awards for his contribution to the
entertainment business, he has two children, Langston and Montana, from
his first marriage to actress Hajna O. Moss, who appeared with
him in the films Gardens of Stone and
A Rage in Harlem. In September, 2002, Fishburne married
Cuban-American actress Gina Torres.
Laurence Fishburne trivia
- Children, with Moss; Son: Langston (b. 1987), daughter: Montana (b.
1991).
- He changed his name from Larry to Laurence in his films in 1991.
- (2001) Engaged to Gina Torres.
- Studied acting at the Lincoln Square Academy in New York.
- In Event Horizon the space suits worn by the actors
weighed 65 pounds each. He nicknamed his Doris.
- Won Broadway's 1992 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for
August Wilson's "Two Trains Running."
- He is often mistaken for Samuel L. Jackson and vice versa.
According to Jackson, they've stood right next to each other, and
people still call them by the wrong names.
- Went to New York's High School of the Performing Arts
- Auditioned for the role of Ben in
Night of the Living Dead.
- His deal for The Matrix sequels was for a reported $15
million + 3.75% of the gross.
- In the early 1980s he and fellow New York actor
Giancarlo Esposito were roommates during L.A.'s pilot season.
- A founding member of the Guggenheim Motorcycle Club, a group that
arranges rides to art museums around the world.
- Met Paul Reubens (I) at the Groundlings Theatre (he didn't study
there but did perform readings) and Reubens cast him as Cowboy Curtis
in the children's series Pee-wees Playhouse.
- An Ambassador for UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens' Emergency Fund,
an agency of the U.N. which helps children all over the world with
educational, health and humanitarian aid.
- Originally hooked up with Boyz n the Hood writer
John Singleton (I) when Singleton was a production assistant and
Fishburne an actor ("Cowboy Curtis") on the popular children's TV
program Pee-wees Playhouse.
- According to the commentary track on the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005)
DVD, Fishburne provided the voice of the bear in the Genaros Beer
commercial.
- Appeared with Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now,
Cadence, and Bobby. He also worked with
Charlie Sheen (I) in Cadence and
Emilio Estevez in Bobby.
- Attended the 2006 Dubai International Film Festival in the United Arab
Emirates.
- Daughter, Delilah, born June 2007.
- Character on CSI: Ray Langston, is taken from the name of his oldest
son.
- Nominated for the 2007 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama
for "Thurgood".
- Was 14 years old when he was cast in Francis Ford Coppla's Apocalypse
Now (1979), he had celebrated his 15th and 16th birthday during the
making of the film.
- Lives in Los Angeles, California.
Laurence Fishburne quotes
- "For the last six months people have been coming up to me and saying, 'I
loved you in Pulp Fiction, Mr. Jackson.'" [1996]
- "I've played a lot of bad guys, 'cause that was the only work I could
get. People saw my face and went 'oooh'."
- [On why he didn't read the complete play of "Othello" before acting in
the film version in which more than half of the dialogue was cut:] "Why
should I read all those words that I'm not going to get to say?"
- "I play characters. I don't think I really have a persona per se. I
don't play the same guy every time. I show up, you don't know what I'm
gonna do. I like it that way. I've intentionally tried to do it that
way. I think that's what's interesting."
- "It's funny, a lot of people think I take myself seriously because I
come off so serious sometimes. But it's not that I take myself
seriously, I take what I do seriously. I came up around people who took
acting seriously, who cared about acting, cared about the theater and,
in the '70s, made movies that said something that mattered. I came up
with those people, and I was a kid. Their ethos and credo became mine."
- "I don't believe in acting teachers for me."