Jeffrey Wright was born on the 7th December 1965, in Washington, D.C. USA, and is a Golden Globe Award-winning actor best known to the world as Felix Leiter in “Casino Royale” (2006), and “Quantum of Solace” (2008), and as Beetee in the “Hunger Games” franchise, appearing in three films out of four. Jeffrey’s career started in 1990.
Have you ever wondered how rich Jeffrey Wright is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Wright’s net worth is as high as $7 million, an amount earned through his successful career in the entertainment industry as an actor. Aside from screen roles, Jeffrey also appears on stage and has received Tony Award in category Best Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of a gay nurse in “Angels in America” (1994).
Jeffrey Wright Net Worth $7 Million
Jeffrey was brought up by a single mother, since his father died when he was a child. He went to St. Albans School, and after matriculation enrolled at Amherst College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science, then instead of enrolling at law school, studied acting at New York University, but soon dropped to focus full time on his acting career.
Before his on-screen debut, Jeffrey had several on-stage roles in off-Broadway theaters and Washington DC, as well. His screen debut came in 1990 with the role of prosecuting attorney in the film “Presumed Innocent”, starring Harrison Ford, Raul Julia and Greta Scacchi. The following year he portrayed William Coleman in the Golden Globe Award-nominated TV series “Separate But Equal”, starring Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster and Richard Kiley. In 1996 he had his breakthrough role of Jean Michael Basquait, in the biopic about the title artist “Basquiat” next to Michael Wincott and Benicio Del Toro, which increased his net worth to a large degree.
In 2000 he appeared next to Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams and Christian Bale in the action thriller “Shaft”, and the next year played Howard Bingham in the biopic about legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, “Ali”, starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Jon Voight. Jeffrey then scored parts in more popular films and TV series, including the TV Mini Series “Angels in America” (2003), which earned him a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, and a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. Following was as Al Melvin in the Golden Globe Award- nominated sci-fi drama “The Manchurian Candidate” (2004) with Denzel Washington, Live Schreiber and Meryl Streep, and the same year in the Academy Award-winning drama “Syriana”, starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and Amanda Peet.
He continued with even more success into the second half of the 2000s, in two Bond films “Casino Royale” (2006) and “Quantum of Solace” (2008), both starring Daniel Craig 007, a.k.a. In between these two critically acclaimed productions, Jeffrey appeared in the biopic about George W. Bush, “W”. (2008). Furthermore, in 2008 he starred in biographical drama “Cadillac Records”, with Adrien Brody and Beyoncé Knowles, which won him Black Reel Award in category Best Supporting Actor. Three years later he featured in the Academy Award- nominated drama “The Ides of March”, while in 2013 he was selected for the role of Beetee in the action adventure “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth in the lead roles, reprising the role in two sequels “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” (2014), and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” (2015), further increasing his net worth.
In recent years, since 2016 he has been portraying Bernard Lowe in the TV sci-fi drama series “Westworld”, which has already garnered numerous prestigious awards, and will appear in the films “Mosnter” and “Friday’s Child”, scheduled for release in late 2017.
Regarding his personal life, Jeffrey was married to Carmen Ejogo from 2001 until 2014; the couple have two children together.
Jeffrey is also well-known for his battle to end resource-related conflicts. In an attempt to end world problems, he started the Taia Lion Resources, a mineral exploration company, which is focused on ethical and sustainable mining in Sierra Leone. His strategy was showcased in a video made by Enough Project, a non-profit organizations whose mission is to end genocide and eliminate crimes against humanity.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, ...
Nominations
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Sp...
Movies
Westworld, The Good Dinosaur, Casino Royale, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Shaft, Quantum of Solace, Cadillac Records, Source Code, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, Boardwalk Empire, Syriana, The Ides of March, Basquiat
TV Shows
Boardwalk Empire, Angels in America, Westworld
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Trademark
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Often plays intelligent characters
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Deep, smooth voice
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Quote
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One of the people who made a huge impression on me early in my career and who was also kind of a master to my apprentice was a woman named Lilia Skala. She said to me "You know, Jeffrey, you're good, but you must work hard. Success will not drop out of the sky like a ripe apple. You must work!" One of the best pieces of advice anybody ever gave to me.
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About Cement (2000) - "That was a film that Adrian Pasdar directed. He's been a good friend of mine. It's kind of a cops and criminals film, but it's hard to decipher who's who. We shot it guerrilla-style, mostly out in Long Beach, California. My character's struggling to maintain his balance in an imbalanced, criminal underground."
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I do have characters who are more well known than I am, which suits me fine.
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Fact
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He was awarded the 1994 New York Drama Desk Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play for "Angels in America: Part Two: Perestroika," on Broadway in New York City.
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He was awarded the 1994 Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for "Angels in America: Part Two: Perestroika," on Broadway in New York City.
He played CIA Agent Felix Leiter in both Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008). This made him only the second actor in the history of the Bond franchise to play the role more than once. David Hedison had previously played the role in both Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989). Unlike Hedison, Wright played Leiter in two consecutive films. Hedison's two appearances were separated by 16 years, 8 films and one other actor (John Terry).
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In 2006, he became the first African American to play Felix Leiter in an official James Bond film (Casino Royale (2006). Bernie Casey played Leiter in the unofficial Never Say Never Again (1983).
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Father died when he was a year old and was raised by his mother, who was a lawyer before working at the U.S. Customs Department, and his aunt, a one-time nurse.
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The only original cast member from the play Angels In America to appear in the film version Angels in America (2003).
Graduated from prestigious St. Albans School for Boys in Washington, DC.
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His cousin, Brian Wright, was the boy who portrayed young 'Basquiat' at the beginning of that film. The production team needed a child to portray Basquiat who also looked like Jeffrey Wright. Because of this, Jeffrey asked his cousin to do the job.
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Although he alters aspects of his physical appearance for each role, his voice is often unrecognizable from one role to the next. The voices of Belize, with his intelligent, acerbic wit in Angels in America (2003), to Peoples Hernandez whose vicious macho confidence is conveyed through his Latino accent in Shaft (2000) to Al Melvin The Manchurian Candidate (2004), whose deep grumblings heartbreakingly represent the state of a destroyed man.
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He received an honorary degree from Amherst College in 2004.
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Attended New York University on a theatre scholarship, but dropped out after only two months to act full time.
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Won Broadway's 1994 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for Tony Kushner's "Angels In America: Perestroika," a role he recreated in the television mini-series version, Angels in America (2003). In 2002, he was nominated for Tony's Best Actor (Play) Award for "Topdog/Underdog."
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Graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1987.
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Studied Political Science at Amherst College in Massachusetts.