Jeffrey Wright

Born: 1966
Where: Washington DC

Although Jeffrey grew up in a black neighbourhood, he commuted across town to the elite private school, St. Albans School for Boys.

He was trained classically and studied Political Science at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

After graduating in 1987, and deciding not to go to law school, Wright spent the next few years working his way up in serious theatre in New York and in his hometown of Washington DC.

One of Jeffrey's larger TV projects was playing celebrated jazz musician Sidney Bechet, on two feature-length instalments of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in 1993.

It was his role as a gay nurse in Angels In America on Broadway that changed everything.

He was bombarded with awards, including a Tony in 1994.

He played bit parts in several movies, but nothing of note until he landed the starring role as the writer-turned-fine artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the biopic Basquiat. It was a great role, and saw him working with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper.

Jeffrey was eventually cast as the hilarious Dominican drug lord Peoples, in Shaft, his biggest achievement to date.