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Laurence Fishburne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Laurence Fishburne | ||||||||||
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| Birth name | Laurence John Fishburne III | |||||||||
| Born | July 30, 1961  Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Other name(s) | Lawrence Fishburne Larry Fishburne |
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| Years active | 1973 - present | |||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Gina Torres (2002-present) Hajna Moss (m. 1985) |
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| Official site | www.Laurence-Fishburne.com | |||||||||
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Laurence John Fishburne III[1] (born July 30, 1961) is an American Academy Award-nominated, Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actor of screen and stage, as well as playwright, director, and producer.
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Fishburne was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Hattie Bell (née Crawford), a junior high school mathematics and science teacher, and Laurence John Fishburne, Jr., a juvenile corrections officer.[2] His parents divorced during his childhood and his mother moved with him to Brooklyn, New York where he was raised. He once put his fist through a wall and hit their pet cat by accident. Fishburne's father saw him once a month.[3][4] He is a graduate of Lincoln Square Academy in New York which closed in the 1980s.
Fishburne started acting at age twelve getting his first gig in 1973 portraying Joshua Hall on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. He was initially cast in the hit television series Good Times, but the role was eventually given to Ralph Carter. Fishburne's most memorable childhood role was in Cornbread, Earl and Me in which he played a young boy who witnessed the police shooting of a popular high school basketball star. Fishburne later earned a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, in which he played a 17-year-old sailor nicknamed 'Mr. Clean'. When production began in March 1976 he was just fourteen, apparently lying about his age to get the part. Filming took so long that he was already seventeen upon its completion.
Fishburne spent much of the 1980s in and out of television and periodically on stage. Fishburne had a recurring role as Cowboy Curtis with Paul Reubens' character, Pee Wee Herman in the CBS children's television show, Pee-Wee's Playhouse. He also appeared in the M*A*S*H episode, "The Tooth Shall Set You Free", as Corporal Dorsey. His stage work during the 1980s included Short Eyes in 1984 , and Loose Ends in 1987 . Both were produced at Second Stage Theatre in New York City.
In 1990 he played Jimmy Jump in the controversial King of New York, and in 1991, Fishburne starred in Boyz N The Hood. The following year, in 1992, he won a Tony Award for his stage performance in the August Wilson play, Two Trains Running and an Emmy Award for his performance in the opening episode, "The Box," of the short-lived anthology series television drama TriBeCa. In 1993, he received his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do With It?. Today, Fishburne is perhaps best known for his role as Morpheus, the hacker-mentor of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, in the 1999 blockbuster science fiction film, The Matrix. He briefly appears as a stretcher-bearer in one version of the video for The Spooks' song "Things I've Seen" (2000).
Fishburne reprised his role as Morpheus in the Matrix sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. He has appeared with Tom Cruise as Theodore Brassell, IMF superior of Cruise's character in Mission: Impossible III. In 2006 he appeared on stage with Angela Bassett in a Pasadena production of the August Wilson masterpiece, Fences.[5] Most recently, he provided the voice of the narrator in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) movie, released March 23rd, 2007.[6] The same year, he provided the voice of the Silver Surfer in 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Fishburne has worked with actress Angela Bassett on four projects. He says "An electrifying thing happens when the two of us work together. I haven’t experienced it with anyone else. A freedom happens when we work together." They both plan to work with each other in the future.[citation needed]
On February 24, 2007, Fishburne was honored with the Harvard Foundation's Artist of the Year award at the annual show Cultural Rhythms. He received this honor for his prowess as an actor and entertainer and for his humanitarian pursuits. Fishburne is a UNICEF ambassador.[7] The mayor of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mayor Kenneth Reeves awarded him the key to the city and declared the twenty-fourth of February, “Lawrence Fishburne” day in the city of Cambridge.[citation needed]
Fishburne married actress Hajna Moss in 1985, in Ethiopia. They have two children together: a son, Langston, born in 1987, and a daughter, Montana, born in 1991. Fishburne and Moss divorced sometime in the mid 1990s. Fishburne's current wife is actress Gina Torres, whom he wedded on September 20, 2002. They have a daughter, Ashley, born June 2007. Fishburne is a big fan of Paulo Coelho and plans to produce a movie based on the novel The Alchemist.
Fishburne is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States.
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| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | What's Love Got to Do with It | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Outstanding Motion Picture (Producer) | Akeelah and the Bee | Nominated |
| Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Akeelah and the Bee | Won |
| Year | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Best Supporting Actor | Akeelah and the Bee | Nominated |
| Best Motion Picture [Producer] | Akeelah and the Bee | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Best Actor | The Matrix | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Outstanding Made for Television Movie | Miss Evers' Boys | Won |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Special | Miss Evers' Boys | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Outstanding Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Special | The Tuskegee Airmen | Nominated |
| 1993 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | TriBeCa | Won |
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Filmreference
- ^ Laurence Fishburne: Biography. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
- ^ Paul Chutkow. Laurence Fishburne: Flying Fish. Cigar Aficionado Online. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Terri Roberts (September 2006). Fences. TheaterMania.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
- ^ Heather Newgen (25 January 2007). TMNT Studio Visit!. ComingSoon.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-01.
- ^ Harvard Foundation names UNICEF Ambassador Laurence Fishburne 2007 Artist of the Year. UNICEF USA (20 Feb 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Broadway Database
- Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Movie Database
- Laurence Fishburne at Yahoo! Movies
- Laurence Fishburne at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kevin Spacey Lost in Yonkers |
Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Play 1992 Two Trains Running |
Succeeded by Stephen Spinella Millennium Approaches |
| Preceded by David Opatoshu Gabriel's Fire |
Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series 1993 TriBeCa |
Succeeded by Richard Kiley Picket Fences |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since May 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since June 2007 | 1961 births | Action film actors | African-American actors | American child actors | American film actors | American soap opera actors | American television actors | Emmy Award winners | Georgia (U.S. state) actors | Living people | New York actors | People from Augusta, Georgia | Tony Award winners