Biography: Laurence Fishburne (John Brassel)   Other Cast
Name: Laurence Fishburne
Date of Birth: July 30th, 1961
Place of Birth: Augusta, Georgia, USA
Nationality: American
Profession: Actor, Producer, Director, Playwright, Screenwriter

Over the past few years, acknowledgment of Laurence Fishburne's (John Brassel) work has been impressive.  In 1992, he was awarded a Tony for Best Featured Actor In A Play, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critic's Circle Award, and a Theater World Award for his work on Broadway as Sterling Johnson in August Wilson's “Two Trains Running.”  His rare television appearance in the `93 premiere episode of Fox TV's “Tribeca” landed Fishburne an Emmy.  To complete a Triple Crown, he was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor of 1993 for his portrayal of Ike Turner in the film “What's Love Got to do With It.”

Most recently, Fishburne appeared in “Assault on Precinct 13,” co-starring Ethan Hawke, and the gigantic box office smashes “The Matrix: Reloaded” and “The Matrix: Revolutions.”  He was also seen in Clint Eastwood's critically acclaimed “Mystic River.”

In October 2000, Fishburne wrote, directed, starred in, and produced “Riff Raff,” an adaptation of his own 1994 play.

Fishburne began acting at the age of 10 and was only 15 years old when he won the role of a young G.I. in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now.” He went on to work with Coppola in “Rumble Fish,” “Gardens of Stone,” and “The Cotton Club.”

Fishburne has collaborated twice with director John Singleton, on “Boyz N the Hood” and “Higher Learning,” earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the former.

His other feature credits include “Othello,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Just Cause,” “Bad Company,” “Class Action,” “Deep Cover,” “Fled,”  “Cadence,” “King of New York,” “Red Heat,” “Band of the Hand,” “School Daze,” “The Color Purple,” “Hoodlum, “Event Horizon,” and “Biker Boyz.”

On the small screen, Fishburne received nominations for the Emmy, Golden Globe and CableACE Awards and won an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the HBO movie “Tuskegee Airman.”  He also received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini Series or Special for his role in the HBO drama “Miss Evers' Boys,” which he also executive produced. His other television credits include the critically acclaimed “A Rumour of War,” “For Us The Living,” “Decoration Day,” and “Always Outnumbered.”

 Career Milestones
1971 Professional stage debut as a young baseball fan in Charles Fuller's "My Many Names and Faces" at NYC's New Federal Theatre (date approximate)
1973 Appeared regularly on soap opera, "One Life to Live" (ABC), as Joshua West Hall, the adopted son of a police captain
1975 Film debut in starring role in "Cornbread, Earl and Me"
1975 Played Tony Pridgeon in "Section D" at the New Federal Theatre
1976 Co-starred Off-Broadway in the Negro Ensemble Company production of "Eden"
1977 Went to Philippines for 18 months to shoot "Apocalypse Now" (1979) under Francis Ford Coppola's direction (date approximate); credited in the film as Larry Fishburne.
1979 Credited as Laurence Fishburne III for "Fast Break"
1980 TV series debut, "The Six O'Clock Follies" (NBC)
1983 Reteamed with Coppola for "Rumble Fish"
1984 Third film with Coppola for "The Cotton Club"; for his role as the fictional Bumpy Rhodes, he researched the real Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, whom he would portray in 1997's "Hoodlum"
1985 Cast as Swain in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple"
1987 Fourth film with Coppola, "Gardens of Stone"
1988 Acted in Spike Lee's "School Daze"
1990 Provided some of the muscle for Christopher Walken's drug operation in Abel Ferrara's "King of New York"
1991 Won acclaim for his lead performance as the father in "Boyz N the Hood"
1992 Co-starred as an ex-con romancing a waitress in August Wilson's stage drama "Two Trains Running"; play first produced at Yale Rep before moving to Broadway; received Tony Award
1992 Starred as a tough cop recruited to infiltrate a drug dealer's cartel in Bill Duke's "Deep Cover"
1993 Earned an Emmy Award as Best Guest Actor for his turn in the pilot episode of Fox's "Tribeca"
1993 Played Ike Turner to Angela Bassett's Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do with It"; received Best Actor Oscar nomination
1993 Portrayed Washington Square Park mentor of young chess prodigy in "Searching for Bobby Fischer"
1994 Formed Loa Productions, an independent production company
1995 Became first black actor to portray Shakespeare's "Othello" in major studio feature
1995 Played Hannibal 'Iowa' Lee, Jr in acclaimed HBO movie, "The Tuskegee Airmen"; earned an Emmy nomination
1995 Reteamed with Singleton for "Higher Learning"
1995 Starred opposite Ellen Barkin in "Bad Company"
1995 Wrote, directed and starred Off-Broadway in long (one hour-forty minute) one-act play, "Riff Raff"
1997 Executive produced and starred in the acclaimed HBO movie "Miss Evers' Boys"; shared an Emmy (Outstanding Made for Television Movie); also nominated as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special
1997 Reteamed with Bill Duke as star of "Hoodlum", playing Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson, a 1930s Harlem racketeer who locked horns with Dutch Schultz (Tim Roth) and Lucky Luciano (Andy Garcia); also executive produced
1998 Executive produced and starred as Socrates Fortlow in HBO's "Always Outnumbered"
1999 Portrayed the mysterious Morpheus in the blockbusting "The Matrix"
1999 Starred as Henry II in a Broadway revival of James Goldman's "The Lion in Winter" at NYC's Roundabout Theatre
2000 Made his feature directorial debut with "Once in the Life", the film version of his play "Riff Raff"
2003 Again portrayed Morpheus in "The Matrix: Revolutions"
2003 Played a cop opposite Kevin Bacon in "Mystic River"
2003 Reprised Morpheus in "The Matrix: Reloaded"
2005 Starred with Ethan Hawke and Maria Bello in "Assault on Precinct 13"
Cast as Cruise's mentor in "Mission: Impossible 3," J.J. Abrams is set to direct (lensed 2005)
First part was in second grade playing Peter Pan
Had continuing role as Cowboy Curtis on "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (CBS); appeared as Curtis on "A Special Evening of Pee-wee's Playhouse" (CBS, 1987) and "Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special" (CBS, 1988); met a young production assistant named John Singleton, who would later direct him in his breakthrough part as Cuba Gooding Jr's father in "Boyz N the Hood" (1991)
Raised by mother in Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York
Will co-star with Paul Walker in "The Death and Life of Bobby Z" (lensed 2005)
 Filmography
Actor Credits
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) Dr. Joshua Larabee
Mission: Impossible III (2006) Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) Marion Bishop
Biker Boyz (2003) Manuel "Smoke" Galloway
Mystic River (2003) Whitey Powers
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) Morpheus
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) Morpheus
Osmosis Jones (2001) Voice of of Thrax
Michael Jordan to the Max (2000)
Once in the Life (2000) 20/ 20 Mike
The Matrix (1999) Morpheus
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (1998)
Welcome to Hollywood (1998)
Event Horizon (1997) Miller
Hoodlum (1997) Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson
Miss Evers' Boys (1997)
Fled (1996) Piper
The Tuskegee Airmen (1996)
Bad Company (1995) Nelson Crowe
Higher Learning (1995) Professor Maurice Phipps
Just Cause (1995) Tanny Brown
Othello (1995) Othello
Alien Warrior (1994)
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) Vinnie
What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) Ike Turner
Deep Cover (1992) Russell Stevens Jr / John Q Hull
Boyz N The Hood (1991) Furious Styles
Cadence (1991) Stokes
Class Action (1991) Nick Holbrook
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
Decoration Day (1990)
King of New York (1990) Jimmy Jump
Red Heat (1988) Lieutenant Stobbs
School Daze (1988) Dap Dunlap
Gardens of Stone (1987)
FlanaganNightmare on Elm Street 3, A - Dream Warriors (1987)
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part III: Dream Warriors (1987) Max
Band of the Hand (1986)
CreamQuicksilver (1986) Voodoo
The Color Purple (1985) Swain
The Cotton Club (1984)
Bumpy RhodesFor Us, the Living - The Story of Medgar Evers (1983)
Rumble Fish (1983)
Willie & Phil (1980)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Fast Break (1979)
Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975)
Five Fingers Ahmat
The Death and Life of Bobby Z Tad Gruzsa
Director Credits
Once in the Life (2000) Director
Producer Credits
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) Producer
Once in the Life (2000) Producer
Hoodlum (1997) Executive Producer
Hoodlum (1997) Producer
Five Fingers Producer
Writing Credits
Once in the Life (2000) Screenplay
Once in the Life (2000) Play as Source Material ("Riff Raff")
Once in the Life (2000) Source Material (Play: RIFF RAFF)
Music Credits
What's Love Got to Do With It (1993) Song Performer ("Rocket 88" "Darlin You Know I Love You")
 Information
 Cast & Crew
 Interviews
Michelle Monaghan plays Julia Meade in Mission: Impossible III
"I wanted to be there and do anything. Just being there."
"I was interested in sprituality, but I decided being a priest was not for me."
How Tom Cruise and a TV genius finally made M:I:III
Burn, baby, burn: following the M:I fuse...
Tom Cruise and JJ Abrams talks in Shanghai.
 Media

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