Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American film, television, and stage actor and film producer.

Wright began appearing off-Broadway in New York City and Washington, D.C., and in 1990 appeared in his first major film as an attorney in ‘Presumed Innocent’, which starred Harrison Ford. In 1996, Wright had another breakthrough performance on the big screen, portraying painter Jean-Michel Basquiat in the film Basquiat.

Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s Wright gave memorable performances in both leading and supporting roles. His more mentionable roles were in movies such as Woody Allen’s Celebrity (1998), Shaft (2000), and Boycott (2001), where he gave another critically acclaimed performance as Martin Luther King, Jr and was awarded the AFI Award for his portrayal. Among his most notable film roles was the Washington attorney Bennett Holiday in Stephen Gaghan’s Syriana (2005), where he was the co-lead along with George Clooney and Matt Damon.

In 2006, Wright featured as Felix Leiter in the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale. This made him the first African-American man to play the character in an official Bond film (Bernie Casey played Leiter in the unofficial Never Say Never Again). He reprised the role in Quantum of Solace, making him only the second actor to appear as Leiter twice since David Hedison.