Jeffrey Wright

Here is a guy who is exciting and delightful to watch. I have watched some of his work, not all of it. I am impressed with Jeffrey Wright but saddened that I don’t seem to see enough of him.

Recently, we conducted a poll on theblackactor.com and the question was, “Who do you think challenges themselves the most as an actor?”  Jeffrey Wright was the winner of our poll. The results:

103 people voted.    

The winner - Jeffrey Wright – with 57% of the vote.
Second place – Denzel Washington – with 32% of the vote.
Third place – Morgan Freeman – with 10% of the vote.    

(Don’t ask.  I don’t know what happened to the other 1%.  LOL)

Mr. Wright is respected in the industry and is the winner of a Tony Award (1994, Best Actor in a Featured Role -- Angels in America, Broadway stage play), a 2004 Emmy Award and a 2004 Golden Globe Award -- both for Best Supporting Actor for the HBO series, Angels in America.

He is so versatile and enjoyable to watch because of his ability to transform from one character to the next. Like other good actors, he uses voice and makeup to his advantage. He transforms completely. When in makeup, he doesn’t just look like Jeffrey Wright with long sideburns, or Jeffrey Wright clean-shaven, or Jeffrey Wright with a thin moustache, etc. He is able to physically transform into different people. And he acts like different people. This is what I expect actors to do -- be different people. 

Just because someone can transform and is willing to transform completely into character doesn’t mean they are effective. I think Wright is effective.

As I’ve mentioned before, some things that set apart good, average or bad actors is their use of voice and the use of their eyes.  Also, Wright, like the other good actors, also understands when silence works best.

Basquiat (1996).  Wright had a starring role in this film. The quietly constrained, intense performance likely required a sustained level of concentration. I thought his performance was seductive. The role was physically demanding –- the way he walked; the energy required for that ongoing, persistent gaze; the motion of his hands. Good voice work. Excellent all-around portrayal. I thought this was likely a challenging role.

Celebrity (1998).  Jeffrey Wright shows up at the end of this Woody Allen film as Greg, an off-off Broadway director. He looked and sounded like what I would imagine such a person to look and sound like. In my view,  we see good voice work and realistic characterization in this performance, though his appearance in the film was brief. Too brief.  {sigh}

Shaft (2000).  I liked him enough in this role (a tad “over the top,” perhaps). I thought the Dominican accent was poorly executed -- rather thick... distracting and contrived. Interestingly, he was cast as a Latin. His voice was noticeably deeper than it was in Basquiet.

Boycott (TV) (2001).  I found Jeffrey Wright very believable as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It’s challenging to play these kinds of roles, impersonating historic figures.  It was a portrayal he should be proud of. I say again, worth noting, is his voice work. He had a couple of romantic moments. He played those scenes with a notable tenderness. Maybe he wasn’t acting. He was married to the actress who played Coretta Scott King (actress Carla Ebiola). I thought he was very good in this starring television role.

Ali (2001).  He played Ali’s personal photographer, Howard Bingham. God. When Jeffrey Wright’s talent is not used like it is supposed to be used, it’s just a waste. It was a small part. I’m glad it was his. Nevertheless, it’s always disappointing to see actors of his caliber whose talent is used sub-optimally. I was a bit disappointed.  Just seemed like a terrible waste of talent.  {*** sigh ***}

The Manchurian Candidate (2004).  In this film, Jeffrey Wright played a mentally disturbed Desert Storm vet; likely suffering from some sort of PTSD.  During his “main scene” in the film, he appeared shockingly haggard; scraggly beard and all.  This was not a starring role for him.  But another challenging -- albeit, small -- role for Jeffrey Wright.  Again, his ability to manage his voice as necessary is worth noting.

Lackawana Blues (TV) (2005).  A small role of a convicted murderer. In it, he explains to a child why he was in jail. Exposition. Well done in typical Jeffrey Wright style. (I particularly liked this TV pic. I thought it was very well done).

Syriana (2005).  Jeffrey Wright portrayed lawyer, Bennett Holiday. Er, I guess he was fine in the role. He must’ve been. I hated didn’t like this film since there were 4,297,558 things going on in 6,924,222 places.

Casino Royale (2006).  He played CIA agent Felix Leiter. He had a very small part in the film.

The only problem with Jeffrey Wright? There’s never enough of him. He usually gets so little screen time. He is so underutilized. As I was preparing this article, all I could say was, “God, there just isn’t enough of him.” Most of the time he is not a lead. I wish I could see more of him. Wah Wah Wah. “They” -- the directors, casting agents, producers, etc. just don’t get it. They’re allowing this amazing talent to get away.

On the other hand, he is a consistently working actor, as he should be. I’m very pleased that he is. He ain’t dead yet. Maybe someone will “discover” him and utilize this fine actor’s talent. I can only hope so.

Any complaint about Jeffrey Wright? No; nothing worth mentioning. Sometimes he has this stare thing going on, but besides that, I enjoy watching him. 

He’s got four films in the pipeline -- a few of them, starring roles. Goody. I’m looking forward to seeing his new work and his critically-acclaimed work in HBO’s Angels in America, which I’ve not seen.

I actually believe his time will come and they will no longer be able to ignore him.

I do.

Comments

[aulelia]

@tba, so right about syriana!!!! how many places were there in that film? george clooney needs to sit down. wow, that was jeffrey wright? i find him very attractive so i will rent basquiat.

[Qadree]

The only significant role I've seen him in is "Basquiat". He played an important character in "Blackout", which he also produced, but he wasn't prominent in the film.

I absolutely hated the film "Basquiat", but you have to understand that I've read every book and interview related to the artist Basquiat and I'm a big fan of his work. I doubt if anyone can say anything intelligent about Basquiat from seeing that film. It's very distorted and reduces his life to nothing. His art career and is personal life are not represented in the film at all.

The film had good reviews, but even from a purely cinematic standpoint I thought it was awful. I don't think biopics have to play like documentaries, but this was just ridiculous

[theblackactor.com]

@ Aulelia

Girl, I was almost getting "tired" watching that film. LOL.

@ Qadree

I had wondered, Quadree, if the portrayal (and the story even) was accurate. I know nothing about Basquiet so I was definitely wondering about the context of the film and if it even made sense (nevermind Wright's performance) I was wondering about the historical accuracy of his life and his demeanor.

So, thanks for sharing.

I do give credit for those who thought his story was at least worth brining to the masses. I'll give them that.

These things are likely too ambitious. It is impossible to put all the relevant elements of the person's life into two hours.

[iris]

i'm going to have to see a lot of the films you've written about i've only seen a couple.

[aulelia]

watched basquiat yesterday and finished it today. love jeffrey wright! he is very easy on the eyes.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Iris

Be sure to see him in Basquiet and Boycott, Iris. He was really good in these and had lead roles!

@ Aulelia

He is a cutie :) LOL. Did you like him in that pic?

[invisiblewoman]

I have to agree with Qadree...I know a lot of folks really liked Basquiat, but I also thought it was awful and pretentious.

One of the minor reasons I moved to NY is I thought maybe I could meet Jean Basquiat. He was sexy, free, charismatic, fine, different, and talented....I don't think Jefferey translated his qualities well at all in that film.

That being said, I do appreciate the actor he's grown into...(hated Syriana too!)

[invisiblewoman]

I have to agree with Qadree...I know a lot of folks really liked Basquiat, but I also thought it was awful and pretentious.

One of the minor reasons I moved to NY is I thought maybe I could meet Jean Basquiat. He was sexy, free, charismatic, fine, different, and talented....I don't think Jefferey translated his qualities well at all in that film.

That being said, I do appreciate the actor he's grown into...(hated Syriana too!)

[theblackactor.com]

@ Qadree and Invisible

Hi guys. So lemme get clear.

Was the portrayal poor acting on Wright's part?

Or was the movie's take on Basquiet's life just plain false?

Or was the movie a lie and his performance poor?

Or was he good portraying whatever he was portraying -- even though it was someone other than Basquiet? What I mean to say, was he adept at portraying someone... say, troubled?

I know nothing about Basquiet so have no frame of refrence. So, that's why I'm asking.

[Orville]

Jeffery Wright should be a bigger star! The good thing is Jeffery has won awards so Hollywood at least recognizes his talent. I wonder why Jeffery hasn't been able to breakthrough and get a leading man role yet? What is it? I wonder?

[invisiblewoman]

I guess I found it unrealistic all around, cause I made it my business to know about Basquiat back in the day. The film was made by so-called "friend" and fellow artist Julian Schnabel, who I always find pretentious no matter what he is doing. He may have been way overstating their friendship with each other.

My problem with Jeffrey playing that part started with the physicality. Jeffrey is kinda short and atocky in the movie, while Jean was tall, thin and lean. Even the dreads were wrong. To me in that film Jeffry did seem troubled, but seemed to portray Jean as an introvert, which he was not.

Jean was a brilliant, troubled, charismatic, pleasure seeking party boy, and I don't think the film conveyed that well. He was also an opportunist, which was kinda glossed over. They also didn't put in some fairly well known and more interesting episodes in Jean's life.

The film was overall kinda boring to me to top it all off. I was dissapointed.

But all of this, TBA, is just my humble opinion....take it for what it's worth :-)

[Qadree]

I wouldn't try to treat Jeffrey Wrights acting separate from the rest of the film, he probably did what the director, Schnabel, asked him to do and his acting just became another element in a string of what I consider to be bad creative decisions on the part of Schnabel. Wright's performance was too mature, too conservative for a guy like Basquiat. I think Wright and Del Toro were too old to play the roles they were playing. There were certain youthful qualities that Basquiat had that I think are important in understanding the decisions he made and those qualities are not present in the film. (Basically what IW said)

I also think the atmosphere of the 80's, the early hip-hop, Ronald Reagan years, during which this story took place is not conveyed well. The club scene and the overall attitude (greed) in our culture during that time had a big impact on the art scene and people like Basquiat in particular.

There are too many important events and people in his life that were removed for me to even begin listing them here, but I was surprised that they didn't really include his mother in the film since she is the one who put him on the road to becoming an artist. They hint at her importance in the beginning of the film, but to me that was a cop out.

This film just felt like it was an opportunity to exploit Basquiats name. Wright and Del Toro gave the film credibility and the film focused on the more popular people in Basquiats life like Warhol and the allusion to his relationship with Madonna. It seemed like it was more of a calling card for Schnabel and his film career than a film about Basquiat.

[Jackie]

Thanks for the info on each role. Jeffrey is a great artist.

[regina]

Great info!
Ooohhh, poor Morgan...

[theblackactor.com]

Sorry y'all. I've been a bit of a slacker lately. :(

@ Orville

Perhaps he is on his way to becoming one.

@ Invisible Woman and Qadree

Thank you guys for responding to my request. I really appreciate your commentary on this. You guys are so in the know! :) Thank you.

@ Regina

LOL

[THE OBENSON REPORT]

I've seen J.W. twice in te last 8 months in Brooklyn, where we both live. The first time, last summer, he walked right by me, basic shorts, tee-shirt and sandals, head down, probably trying to avoid eye contact, so that he isn't recognized easily. The second time by the park with child. He's a lot slimmer than I imagined. A cool cat nonetheless! I hope to cast him in one of my films some day.

[theblackactor.com]

And I know damned well he ain't 5'11" like IMDB lists him; is he? He totally looks like 5'9". I'm sayin'. He ain't 5'11", is he? LOL.

You castin' me, too.

[LaJane Galt]

I'd smash!!!

[Andrew]

Jeffrey Wright is nice person

[johnny wishbone]

Jeffrey Wright is an amazing actor. I love his film work.. i would like to suggest lady in the water to see him again.. doing a role that you can CLEARLY see its him, yet you don't REALIZE it till the credits.. alot of people odn't like the movie but i did.. and i also saw Jeffrey play brutus in julius ceasar in central prak.. BRILLIANT..

[theblackactor.com]

@ LaJane

LOL.

@ Andrew

Is he? He seems like he is.

@ Johnny Wishbone

Suggestion taken. Thanks, Johnny. I'm not surprised he was brilliant as Brutus. Glad you had a chance to see that.

[Noircine]

Jeffrey is a great actor...a friend of mine wanted to pitch him a script for the longest time. I was hanging out with him at a rib shop in Brooklyn last summer and suddenly...there was Jeffrey Wright dead in front of us.

Before I could say anything to my buddy, I saw his empty seat and him talking his game to Jeffrey. Sadly, I think he might be still waiting; however, this is the nature of filmmaking.

I loved his performance in Basquiat. The film is profound and melancholy. And makes think about being black and being an artist. In one moment your an insider and in another, you're an outsider and then it switches again.

And he even though he had a small part in Ali, it seemed that he stole every frame that he was in.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Noircine

He seems to be approachable in real life. One of the other commenters mentioned this, too. What a nice breath of fresh air -- immensely talented and without that whole "entourage" thing. He seems to be down to earth. I enjoyed him in Basquiat and I think a lot of other people share your view, Noircine. I hope your friend gets someone to read (and ultimately produce) his work. :)