Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 8, 1963
Place of Birth:
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Social Media
Wendell Pierce
Biography
Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor and businessman. Having trained at Juilliard School, Pierce rose to prominence as a character actor portraying roles on both stage and screen. He first gained recognition portraying the role of Detective Bunk Moreland in the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire from 2002 to 2008.
His other notable television roles include the trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme (2010–2013), James Greer in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018–2023), the attorney Robert Zane in Suits (2013–2019), and Clarence Thomas in Confirmation (2016). He earned Independent Spirit Awards nominations for his film roles in Four (2012) and Burning Cane (2019), on which he also served as a producer. Other notable film roles include Malcolm X (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), Ray (2004), Selma (2014), The Gift (2015), and Clemency (2019).
Pierce made his Broadway debut in John Pielmeier's 1985 play The Boys of Winter, followed by Caryl Churchill's Serious Money in 1988. As a theatrical producer, he earned a Tony Award for Best Play nomination for August Wilson's Radio Golf (2007), then won for Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (2012). He performed the lead role of Willy Loman in the revival of Death of a Salesman on the West End in London in 2019 and on Broadway in New York in 2022, for which he earned Laurence Olivier Award and Tony Award nominations.
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Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Superman | Perry White |
| 2025 | Thunderbolts* | Congressman Gary |
| 2025 | Highest 2 Lowest | Gabe |
| 2022 | Becoming Frederick Douglass | Frederick Douglass (voice) |
| 2022 | Don't Hang Up | Chris Daniels |
| 2021 | Some Old Black Man | Calvin Jones |
| 2020 | Between the World and Me | Self |
| 2019 | Piercing | The Doctor |
| 2019 | Clemency | Jonathan Williams |
| 2019 | Burning Cane | Reverend Tillman |
| 2018 | 27 Years: The Exoneration of Valentino Dixon | Narrator (voice) |
| 2018 | One Last Thing | Dylan |
| 2017 | Rodents of Unusual Size | Narrator (voice) |
| 2017 | The Forever Tree | Doctor Willow |
| 2016 | Grease Live | Coach Calhoun |
| 2016 | Confirmation | Clarence Thomas |
| 2016 | Bad Moms | Principal Daryl Burr |
| 2015 | The Runner | Frank Legrand |
| 2015 | Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band | Andy Kirk (voice) |
| 2015 | The Gift | Detective Mills |
| 2014 | Elsa & Fred | Armande |
| 2014 | Foreclosure | Virgil |
| 2014 | Selma | Rev. Hosea Williams |
| 2014 | Runaway Hearts | Paul |
| 2013 | Four | Joe |
| 2013 | Parker | Carlson |
| 2013 | Möbius | Bob |
| 2012 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 | J. Jenks |
| 2012 | Lay the Favorite | Dave the Rave |
| 2011 | The Mortician | Clinger |
| 2011 | Horrible Bosses | Detective Hagan |
| 2011 | A Plea for Modernism | Narrator (voice) |
| 2010 | Night Catches Us | David Gordon |
| 2010 | New Orleans: A Living Museum of Music | Narrator (voice) |
| 2010 | Love Ranch | Naasih Mohammed |
| 2009 | Beyond All Boundaries | Sgt. Thomas McPhatter |
| 2007 | Pariah | Arthur |
| 2007 | The Wire Odyssey | Self |
| 2007 | Tapping the Wire | Self |
| 2007 | Life Support | Slick |
| 2007 | I Think I Love My Wife | Sean |
| 2007 | The Wire: The Last Word | Self |
| 2007 | 2000: Bunk and McNulty | Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland |
| 2006 | Stay Alive | Detective Thibodeaux |
| 2004 | Land of Plenty | Henry |
| 2004 | Ray | Wilbur Brassfield |
| 2004 | A Hole in One | Dan |
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Reverend Lewis |
| 2002 | Brown Sugar | Simon |
| 2001 | The Gilded Six Bits | Otis D. Slimmons |
| 1999 | The 24 Hour Woman | Roy Labelle |
| 1999 | Abilene | Reverend Tillis |
| 1998 | Bulworth | Fred |
| 1997 | The Advocate's Devil | Justin |
| 1996 | Get on the Bus | Wendell |
| 1996 | Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story | John Saunders |
| 1996 | Sleepers | Little Caesar |
| 1995 | Hackers | S.S. Agent Richard Gill |
| 1995 | Waiting to Exhale | Michael |
| 1995 | Bye Bye Love | Hector |
| 1994 | It Could Happen to You | Bo Williams |
| 1993 | Strapped | District Attorney |
| 1993 | Manhattan Murder Mystery | Policeman |
| 1992 | Unnatural Pursuits | Cabbie |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | Ben Thomas |
| 1991 | A Matter of Degrees | Wells Dennard |
| 1991 | The 10 Million Dollar Getaway | Parnell "Stacks" Edwards |
| 1991 | A Rage in Harlem | Louis |
| 1989 | Family Business | Prosecutor |
| 1989 | Casualties of War | MacIntire |
| 1986 | The Money Pit | Paramedic |
| King of the South | ||
| The Thrill Is On | B.B. King | |
| Untitled Jack Ryan Film | James Greer |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Elsbeth | C.W. Wagner |
| 2022 | Be My Guest with Ina Garten | Self - Guest |
| 2022 | Sherri | Self - Guest |
| 2021 | The Watch | Death (voice) |
| 2019 | Tamron Hall | Self - Guest |
| 2019 | Harley Quinn | Lex Luthor (voice) |
| 2018 | Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. | Detective Lee Tucker |
| 2018 | Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan | James Greer |
| 2015 | The Odd Couple | Teddy |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Self |
| 2014 | Chicago P.D. | Ray Price |
| 2014 | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self |
| 2014 | The Night Shift | Walt |
| 2013 | The Michael J. Fox Show | Harris Green |
| 2013 | Ray Donovan | Ronald Keith |
| 2011 | Suits | Robert Zane |
| 2010 | Treme | Antoine Batiste |
| 2009 | Drop Dead Diva | Neal David |
| 2009 | Archer | Verl (voice) |
| 2009 | Hawthorne | Dr. Michael Schilling |
| 2008 | Fear Itself | Wiilbur Orwell |
| 2008 | In Plain Sight | Dr. Warren McBride / Warren Morris |
| 2007 | Women's Murder Club | |
| 2007 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Detective |
| 2006 | When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts | Self |
| 2005 | Numb3rs | William Bradford |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Richard Link |
| 2005 | Close to Home | |
| 2003 | Real Time with Bill Maher | Self |
| 2002 | The Wire | Bunk Moreland |
| 2001 | My Wife and Kids | Dr. Boucher |
| 2000 | Girlfriends | |
| 2000 | The Weber Show | Wendell Simms |
| 2000 | God, the Devil and Bob | Mike (voice) |
| 1999 | Third Watch | Officer Conrad 'Candyman' Jones |
| 1999 | Judging Amy | Harry Benton |
| 1998 | The Brian Benben Show | |
| 1997 | The Gregory Hines Show | |
| 1996 | Moloney | Calvin Patterson |
| 1995 | New York News | |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Roger Porter |
| 1990 | Capital News | Conrad White |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Civil Rights Attorney Jerome Bryant |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Ola-Gimju Nwaka |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Mr. Wade |
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Dr. Wolff |
| Great Museums |