2024 has been a year of long-overdue Oscar recognition for actor Jeffrey Wright. Nominated for his stellar performance as Monk Ellison in Cord Jefferson‘s American Fiction, Wright is finally getting his long-overdue recognition on a massive stage. His film career spans thirty years, and he works prolifically, playing both lead and supporting roles.
While featured in blockbuster franchises like James Bond and The Hunger Games, some of his best roles have come from the independent film world. A go-to ensemble cast member for indy directors like Jim Jarmusch and Wes Anderson, Wright delivers chameleon-like performances, creating characters with a wide variety of backgrounds, accents, and physical presence. The following are Wright’s best movies, showcasing his versatile and magnetic on-screen presence that cement him as one of his generation’s best performers.
10 ‘Cadillac Records’ (2008)
Director: Darnell Martin
In 1947 Chicago, Polish immigrant and club owner Leonard Chess discovers blues guitarist Muddy Waters and his harmonica player Little Walter and hires them to play at his club. His association with them leads him to start a new record label, opening new doors for black musicians. Thus, Chess Records was born in the 1950s and brought in new stars like Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Cadillac Records is a solid musical biopic that tells a compelling, albeit safe, story about a pivotal moment in Black history. Director Darnell Martin captures the spirit of those turbulent years and those young performers. Solid performances from musicians like Beyoncé as Etta James and Mos Def as Berry make this movie shine as they convincingly portray these legendary stars. However, it’s Wright’s performance as Muddy Waters and his relationship with Adrian Brody‘s Chess are the heart of the film. Wright’s chameleon-like powers are on full display here as he slips into the Muddy Waters persona, effortlessly capturing his unique style.
Cadillac Records
- Release Date
- December 5, 2008
- Runtime
- 108
Rent on Amazon
9 ‘Basquiat’ (1996)
Director: Julian Schnabel
Wright’s first leading role in a feature film came early in his career with Basquiat, the story of renowned artist and Andy Warhol companion Jean-Michel Basquiat. The film follows his journey from a struggling street artist living in a cardboard box to a darling of the art world, exploring how his fame and isolation affected his relationships with men and women, resulting in the heroin addiction that ended his life.
As Wright always does when playing real-life people, his attention to detail captures the mannerisms, attitude, and physicality of this troubled but uniquely talented man. Wright deftly guides the narrative to the point where it’s incredible that this is his first leading role. Basquiat is not a perfect film by any means, but Wright’s stellar work, coupled with magnetic performances from the late David Bowie and Oscar-winners Benicio Del Toro and Gary Oldman, further enhances the narrative.
Rent on Amazon
8 ‘Shaft’ (2000)
Director: John Singleton
When the late director John Singleton decided to take on a remake of a 70s Blacksploitation classic, he wanted to bring in 21st-century sensibilities while keeping the legendary character as formidable a presence as he was in the original. Singleton’s Detective John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson) is the nephew of Richard Roundtree’s version, who actually cameos in the film. When Shaft goes after wealthy criminal Walter Wade, Jr. (Christian Bale), Wade joins forces with one of Shaft’s previous arrests, drug kingpin Peoples Hernandez.
Shaft is a successful reinvention of a classic for a new audience, thanks largely to a game cast. In one of his earliest roles, Wright shows his range in taking on the characteristics, accent, and body language of the powerful Dominican. As Hernandez, Wright is among the best parts in Shaft, holding his own with his heavyweight co-stars. Together, they create memorable characters that lift what could have been an anachronistic and unnecessary remake into a fun action film with cultural relevance today.
Shaft (2000)
- Release Date
- June 16, 2000
- Cast
- Samuel L. Jackson , Vanessa Williams , Jeffrey Wright , Christian Bale , Mekhi Phifer , Busta Rhymes , Toni Collette , Ruben Santiago-Hudson , Josef Sommer , Philip Bosco , Pat Hingle , Lee Tergesen , Daniel von Bargen , Sonja Sohn , Peter McRobbie , Elizabeth Banks , Richard Roundtree
- Runtime
- 99m
Watch on Paramount +
7 ‘Asteroid City’ (2023)
Director: Wes Anderson
Eclectic filmmaker Wes Anderson first worked with Jeffrey Wright in 2021’s The French Dispatch. The performance earned him a spot as one of Anderson’s recurring ensemble cast members, and he returned two years later in Asteroid City. Anderson’s homage to the mid-20th century UFO mythology of the American Southwest desert boasts perhaps the largest and most impressive of his ensemble casts, including Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Willem Dafoe.
Wright’s General Gribson is a small but standout character, a respected military man with all the quirkiness expected from a Wes Anderson film. His four-minute-long speech is as memorable as it is thoroughly engrossing, not an easy feat to pull off in a film like this. Wright commands attention even while surrounded by an impressive cast, and he makes it seem effortless. Asteroid City could benefit from more of Wright’s distinctive approach, but his performance is enough to leave a lasting impression.
Watch on Amazon
6 ‘Broken Flowers’ (2005)
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Jeffrey Wright gets to show off his comedic abilities opposite Bill Murray in Broken Flowers, an indy comedy-drama from director Jim Jarmusch. Murray plays Don Johnston, a retired software mogul whose girlfriend is leaving him, adding to the pile of failed relationships he’s had in his life. He suddenly receives an anonymous letter from a woman claiming to be his former lover and informing him of a teenage son he has who may want to meet him.
Wright’s Winston is a mystery novel enthusiast who encourages Don to investigate. Wright’s comic timing and delivery against an unusually understated Bill Murray provide some of Broken Flowers‘ funniest and heartfelt moments. Quirky yet remarkably insightful, Broken Flowers is a true hidden and underrated gem from the 2000s. Murray dominated the story, but Wright’s intervention is pivotal and much-appreciated, providing some lively energy to contrast Murray’s deadpan approach.
Broken Flowers
- Release Date
- August 5, 2005
Rent on Amazon
5 ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’ (2013)
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Another unique Jim Jarmusch film, Only Lovers Left Alive is a vampire love story with comedic touches. It centers on Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton), vampires who find themselves in two different parts of the world after centuries of marriage. Adam lives in Detroit, continuing to pursue his career as a famous musician while protecting his vampire identity, and Eve lives in Tangiers. Both terrified of 21st-century contaminated blood, they rely on suppliers of «the good stuff» rather than feeding directly on humans.
Adam’s supplier in Detroit is Wright’s Dr. Watson. Watson, who runs a blood bank and is known for his coveted O negative supply, which Adam is forced to pay top dollar for. Wright plays his vampire drug dealer with just the right mix of menace and fear, creating another memorable character in Jarmusch’s pantheon. Like many other of his movies, Only Lovers Left Alive benefits from Wright’s presence considerably, with the actor bringing a sense of authority and dignity to the overall effort.
Watch on Tubi
4 ‘Rustin’ (2023)
Director: George C. Wolfe
Speaking of convincingly portraying unique historical figures, it might take a moment or two to recognize Jeffrey Wright as Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. in 2023’s Rustin. Colman Domingo‘s brilliant performance as gay civil rights activist Baynard Rustin received all the Oscar love, but his supporting players’ spot-on portrayals of major civil rights figures like Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis give the movie power and authenticity.
Wright steps into an antagonistic role with all the gusto and commitment the character calls for. Wearing a hairpiece and mustache and capturing the vocal qualities of the influential Congressman from Harlem, Wright gives Powell authority and dignity while also being an unsympathetic character in Rustin’s story. Rustin is uneven at times and only narrowly avoids the biopic’s conventions, but Domingo and an incredible cast, including the scene-stealing Wright, elevate the material to new and impressive heights.
Rustin
- Release Date
- November 17, 2023
- Runtime
- 106 minutes
Watch on Netflix
3 ‘Casino Royale’ (2006)
Director: Martin Campbell
Casino Royale represented a fresh take on the James Bond franchise, with Daniel Craig reinventing the titular character into a new and gritty iteration. While fan favorites like M, Moneypenny, and Q had always been staples of the Bond franchise, much less attention had ever been given to another supporting character, Bond’s friend and CIA operative Felix Leiter. The friendship’s origins are explored in this film, with the relationship continuing in Quantum of Solace before finally wrapping up in No Time to Die.
As Felix, Wright’s American cool guy contrasts brilliantly with Craig’s British sophistication, providing some of the best moments of the franchise. Wright is confident and assured in the role, effortlessly fitting with the film’s tone and giving Craig a run for his money in the suave department. Felix quickly became a fan favorite, and Wright’s quintessential performance was the longest time any actor had played the role in Bond films. The Craig Bond era is widely acclaimed, but it there’s something it could’ve done better, it’s giving Wright more to do.
Watch on Amazon
2 ‘O.G.’ (2018)
Director: Madeleine Seckler
Wright shows his leading-man abilities in O.G. as Louis, a prison inmate of 26 years, about to reenter society. While preparing for his release, he befriends a young new inmate named Beecher (Theothus Carter). Soon, he must choose between his freedom or continuing as Beecher’s mentor.
Director Madeline Sackler‘s film was a hit at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, where Wright picked up a «Best Actor in a U.S. Narrative Feature Film» award. Shot entirely at Pendelton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Indiana, many actual prisoners and guards were used as actors and extras in the film. This gives O.G. an authenticity that others in the prison drama genre lack, and audiences are plunged into this world. Wright is outstanding in the lead role, providing depth and complexity to his role and calling into question the entire prison system.
Watch on Max
1 ‘American Fiction’ (2023)
Director: Cord Jefferson
Wright’s Oscar-nominated role really does represent the pinnacle of his career so far. A showcase for his range as an actor from comedy to intense and introspective drama, American Fiction‘s theme about the ridiculousness of Black stereotypes in American media resonates with Wright, who certainly has had to play his share of drug dealers and criminals throughout his career.
The actor is hilarious as Monk, whose temper-tantrum of a satirical novel gets him in way over his head as he tries to figure out what is happening to his life. But it is the family drama that’s really at the heart of the movie, as Monk is somewhat broken and frustrated trying to heal the relationships in his life as well as his inner pain. Wright receives amazing support from Sterling K. Brown (also Oscar-nominated) as his embittered gay brother, Leslie Uggums as mom Agnes, who is struggling with dementia, and Erika Alexander as the neighbor he gets romantically involved with, as well as Cord Jefferson’s directorial touches. American Fiction is Wright’s acting masterclass, and he deserved every bit of recognition he earned.
American Fiction
- Release Date
- December 22, 2023
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
Watch on MGM+