American Fictionis rightfully shining a spotlight on one of the finest working actors:Jeffrey Wright. The buzz aroundAmerican Fiction,winning the prestigious People’s Choice Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival(often an early indicator of Oscar success to come), has largely centered around Wright’s lead performance as a struggling author. The attention around Wright is also due in part to his stand-out work in highly regardedWes Andersonmovies and a pivotal role onWestworld. And while such rapturous acclaim often leads to major roles in franchise films, Wright has already proven his steady hand with supporting roles inJames Bond,The Hunger Games, and most recentlyThe Batman. Even when the parts didn’t provide Wright with much screentime, he left an impression that left audiences feeling in good hands.
American Fiction
A novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
How Has Jeffrey Wright’s Career Progressed?
WhileWestworldcertainly solidified Jeffrey Wrightas a name people knew, his career has been going strong since the early ’90s. It was the famedAngels in Americaplay by Tony Kushner that first put Wright in the spotlight. Originating the role of Belize, the main character Prior’s best friend and nurse to villain Roy Cohn, among other roles, Wright left an impact on audiences that not only won him the Tony Award but assured him a spot in the HBO adaptation ten years later (for which he then won the Emmy.) Wright continued to do theater and began collecting notable parts in film and television. He had supporting roles in dramas such asAli,The Manchurian Candidate, andSyrianaand he had the chance to show off his leading man skills playing Martin Luther King, Jr. in the HBO movieBoycott. Wright’s also appeared in mainstream work, including the reboot ofShaftin 2000 and M. Night Shyamalan’sThe Lady in the Water, but his biggest movie was still yet to come.
Why Does Jeffrey Wright’s James Bond Performance Stand Out?
Felix Leiter is the recurring American ally across theJames Bond franchisebut never retained much consistency. Six different actors played him across seven movies over three decades before completely missing out on the Pierce Brosnan era. 2006’sCasino Royalewas not only a grounding for the franchise, but a chance for it to go back to the origins of Ian Flemming’s novel. As in the novel, during the film’s high-stakes poker game Bond (Daniel Craig) nearly blows his mission when Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) discovers his tell and Bond loses the money lent by the British Treasury. With the treasury refusing to put up another 10 million for Bond, Leiter offers the USA’s money to stake Bond in return for Le Chiffre being put under US custody. It’s Wright however that makes Felix Leiter more than just a saving grace.
In a scene lasting barely a minute, Wright pulls off a tall order: proving to both James Bond and the audience this is someone to trust. He conveys a fellow agent who cares more about the result of capturing Le Chiffre with no ego about being the one to do it himself. It’s Wright’s confidence and cool delivery that quickly establishes this character as on the level. Immediately, with his presence rather than this coming off as a cheap plot convenience, Wright’s seriousness suggests this is a man as practical as James Bond and knows the better horse to bet on. It’s a short amount of screen time but because of Wright, the audience wants more.
Wright’s second appearance in the franchise was less assured. The problems behind the scenes ofQuantum of Solacehave been well-documented, and Wright’s role suffered for it. Not only doesQuantumhave Felix assisting the villains (though he does get redeemed by the end), but his role wasmeant to be significantly biggerbut it didn’t work out for the struggling story. His role was not featured in eitherSkyfallorSpectre, but that only makes it more powerful when he returns forNo Time to Die. Once again, Wright makes the most with a few scenes implying an ongoing partnership with Bond, and the two actors sell it as if Felix had been around the whole time. This kinship makes his death all the more effective, an early indicator that this will not be an easy mission for Bond. Wright’s ease as a trustworthy ally would called upon in another franchise where the stakes are just as deadly.
Jeffrey Wright Gave His Hunger Games Character a Key Trait
After the big success of the firstHunger Gamesmovie,The Hunger Games: Catching Fireexpanded the story on every front. This included bringing on a larger cast with both up-and-comers likeJena MaloneandSam Claflinbut also established character actors likeAmanda Plummer, Oscar winnerPhilip Seymour Hoffman, andJeffrey Wright. When Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is tasked by Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) to make allies with the other tributes in the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss tasks an instant liking to Beetee (Wright). Beetee is an intelligent technician and Katniss’s intuition is proven correct as Beetee soon joins the anit-Capital alliance in District 13 (assuring Wright’s return for the sequels.)
Wright imbues Beetee with a cool intellectualism. When Katniss first meets Beetee they exchange valuable lessons, Katniss showing him and Wiress (Plummer) how to start a fire and Beetee showing her the shimmering forcefield and imparts “there’s always a flaw in the system.” Once again, in a high-stakes situation, Wright creates a character that feels genuine and someone the hero can rely on. The introduction scene is quick but Wright’s quiet demeanor, which is kind but more importantly pragmatic, establishes that Beetee will be someone Katniss does not need to worry about in the games to come.
Jeffrey Wright’s Role in ‘The Batman’ Is Perfect Casting
With a major role in the much talked about TV seriesWestworld, after the first season’s debut in 2016, Wright became more of a recognizable figure. His star was enough he could make for a cameo appearance inGame Night(explaining the rules of the game), become a repertory Wes Anderson cast member (with stand-out parts inThe French DispatchandAsteroid City), and his voice has been employed to great use onBojack Horseman,Rick & Morty, andMarvel’s What If?But if there has been one major capitalization of Jeffrey Wright’s greater success, it’s another trustworthy ally to an iconic figure at the start of a franchise.
‘American Fiction’ Review: Jeffrey Wright Is Spectacular in Sharp Satire
Based on the novel by Percival Everett, this playful yet pointed feature debut from writer-director Cord Jefferson takes aim at modern storytelling.
Taking up the mantle from Gary Oldman and J.K. Simmons, forThe BatmanWright plays Lieutenant James Gordon. It’s the perfect casting as clearly, Wright has a knack for playing the one person the hero can rely on in a weary world. InMatt Reeves’more detective-focused take on the Dark Knight, Wright is offered a greater role than the typical Gordon. This version works closely with Batman (Robert Pattinson) at the scenes of the crime, not just shining the bat signal. This was conscious in not only the construction of the script, but also Wright’s taking on the character.In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wright said it was Gordon’s more involved role that drew him to the part as it stood out from other interpretations. Wright even speaks directly to the matter of trust; when asked why Batman and Gordon trust each other, Wright responded, “I think that they trust one another because so much else around them is untrustworthy. And I think that Gordon realizes that Batman is effective and that he’s also, Gordon, overwhelmed. That was the thing that kept returning to me in relation to the character, and what most informs Gordon’s character is the state of being overwhelmed.” The focus on Gordon may have driven some attention away from Batman’s usual confidant Alfred (Andy Serkis), but Wright’s performance is so engaging that it has audiences wanting more of Gordon.
Jeffrey Wright has had a long careerand it’s only getting bigger. In 2023 alone he has key roles in three critically well-regarded films with the Netflix biopicRustinin addition toAsteroid CityandAmerican Fiction.Wright plays the central role ofAmerican Fiction, his first major lead role in a theatrical movie. This past week Wrightreceived an Independent Spirit Award nominationfor Best Lead Performance, marking his first major film nomination in nearly a decade. It’s still early in award season, but the buzz feels strong in Wright’s favor that he’ll have more than one award show on his calendar. The films referenced are available as follows:Casino Royaleis streaming on Amazon Prime;The Hunger Games: Catching Fireis available via Starz;The Batmanwas recently added to Netflix; andAmerican Fictionis out in theaters now.
American Fictionis now playing in theaters in the U.S.
Buy Tickets Here
