Laurence Fishburne’s career has been one of consistent success. He’s appeared in some of the most iconic films and television shows of the past few decades, including The Matrix trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
However, it wasn’t always easy for Fishburne. He faced many challenges early on in his life, including a difficult childhood and a stint in juvenile detention.
Despite these setbacks, Fishburne persevered and went on to have an extremely successful career. Today, he has a net worth of $30 million.
Acting: A Passion And A Necessity
Born on July 30, 1961, Fishburne, also referred to as Fish, was a native of Georgia before moving with his mother to Brooklyn, New York after she divorced his father. According to Nicki Swift, due to the unbearable condition of poverty they endured, she encouraged him to get into acting, landing his first acting role in the off-Broadway production, If You Give a Dance You Gotta Pay The Band. Impressed with his performance, he then secured a role on the ABC network soap opera, One Life to Live.
His film debut came in 1975 in the black coming-of-age drama, Cornbread, Earl, and Me which also starred Antonio Fargas and Bernie Casey, grossing $228,000 across 12 American cities. The film that put the spotlight on him as a promising actor came in 1979 in the Vietnam war film, Apocalypse Now, which grossed $150 million at the box office and saw him cast opposite other Hollywood legends like Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, and Dennis Hopper.
Rising To Stardom In The 1980s And 1990s
In the 1980s, he spent time in theater and in television and continued to pursue his acting career. One of his highlighted films at the time was Deathwish II starring the late and great Charles Bronson which was a box office success at $16 million. Fishburne then starred in two films directed by Francis Coppola, namely Rumble Fish (1983) alongside Matt Dillon and Nicholas Cage, as well as a minor role in the crime drama film, The Cotton Club, alongside Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and James Remar. The following year in 1985, the CSI television series star had a minor role in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, which starred Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg and peaked at $142 million at the box office.
A few of his other outstanding films in the latter part of the decade include Quicksilver (1986) starring Kevin Bacon, the fantasy slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Red Heat (1988) starring acting legends Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi, as well as a lead role in director Spike Lee’s School Daze, which ended up grossing $14.5 million at the box office.
Moving into the 1990s, Fishburne continued to establish himself as a multi-dimensional actor beginning with the 1990 independent crime thriller, King of New York, starring veteran actor Christopher Walken, action star Wesley Snipes, and David Caruso. Then in 1991, one of his most famous film portrayals came in the hood drama Boyz N The Hood which peaked at $58 million at the box office and co-starred rapper/actor Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Morris Chestnut. Then in 1992, he scored a lead role in the action thriller Deep Cover, co-starring Jeff Goldblum, and grossed $16.6 million. He played the controversial role of Ike Turner in the 1993 biographical Tina Turner film What’s Love Got To Do With It starring Angela Bassett which peaked at the box office with $61 million.
In 1995, he won an award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Film for Higher Learning, starring Omar Epps, Ice Cube, and Jennifer Connelly. Fishburne ended the decade in 1999 with his most famous role of Morpheus in The Matrix, opposite the movie’s star actors, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, grossing $466.6 million globally.
Film Career From The 2000s And His Television Career
The 2000s didn’t seem to slow down Fishburne at all. On the contrary, his renown only grew as he kicked off 2001 by lending his voice to the live-action/animated comedy, Osmosis Jones, starring comedians Chris Rock and Bill Murray. Then in 2003, he reprised his role of Morpheus in both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both box office smashers grossing $741.8 million and $427.3 million respectively. However, he did not appear in the fourth film franchise in 2021’s The Matrix: Resurrections.
He even shared the screen with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: III in 2006, which grossed $398.5 million at the box office. The very next year in 2007, Fishburne provided his strikingly powerful voice as the narrator of the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) which saw commercial success at $95.6 million as well as the voice of Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four superhero film, which also saw financial success with $301.9 million at the box office.
Some of his more notable recent films include Predators (2010) alongside Adrian Brody, Contagion (2011) starring Sanaa Lathan, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which clocked in at $876.3 million in box office sales, and other superhero films like Antman and The Wasp starring Paul Rudd. In 2017, he also appeared in Keanu Reeves’ action thriller film series John Wick: Chapter 2, grossing $171.5 million worldwide.According to Celebrity Net Worth, the sensational actor also did extensive work in both made-for-television films and series. Early in his career, he had a recurring role as Cowboy Curtis in the children’s television series, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, for 17 episodes. His more recent television series include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation which earned him $350,000 per episode. In 2013, he played the role of FBI department head, Dr. Jack Crawford, in the NBC Hannibal series which earned him at least $6.3 million over 36 episodes. Then in 2014, he took up the role of both actor and executive producer in the ABC sitcom, Black-ish, starring Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross. He took home $200,000 per episode until the series ended in April 2022.
