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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Wendell Pierce, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order

Law & Order

Suits

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
All Movies (76)
- They Fight2026 · as Slim
- Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War2026 · as James Greer
- Highest 2 Lowest2025 · as Gabe
- Superman2025 · as Perry White
- Thunderbolts*2025 · as Congressman Gary
- Becoming Frederick Douglass2022 · as Frederick Douglass (voice)
- Don't Hang Up2022 · as Chris Daniels
- Between the World and Me2020 · as Self
- Clemency2019 · as Jonathan Williams
- Burning Cane2019 · as Reverend Tillman
- Piercing2019 · as The Doctor
- 27 Years: The Exoneration of Valentino Dixon2018 · as Narrator (voice)
- One Last Thing2018 · as Dylan
- Rodents of Unusual Size2017 · as Narrator (voice)
- The Forever Tree2017 · as Doctor Willow
- Bad Moms2016 · as Principal Daryl Burr
- Confirmation2016 · as Clarence Thomas
- Grease Live2016 · as Coach Calhoun
- The Runner2015 · as Frank Legrand
- The Gift2015 · as Detective Mills
- Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band2015 · as Andy Kirk (voice)
- Runaway Hearts2015 · as Paul
- Selma2014 · as Rev. Hosea Williams
- Elsa & Fred2014 · as Armande
- Foreclosure2014 · as Virgil
- Four2013 · as Joe
- Möbius2013 · as Bob
- Parker2013 · as Carlson
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 22012 · as J. Jenks
- Lay the Favorite2012 · as Dave the Rave
- Horrible Bosses2011 · as Detective Hagan
- The Mortician2011 · as Clinger
- A Plea for Modernism2011 · as Narrator (voice)
- Night Catches Us2010 · as David Gordon
- Love Ranch2010 · as Naasih Mohammed
- New Orleans: A Living Museum of Music2010 · as Narrator (voice)
- Beyond All Boundaries2009 · as Sgt. Thomas McPhatter
- Fear Itself: Something with Bite2009 · as Wilbur Orwell
- The Wire: The Last Word2007 · as Self
- The Wire Odyssey2007 · as Self
- 2000: Bunk and McNulty2007 · as Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland
- Tapping the Wire2007 · as Self
- Pariah2007 · as Arthur
- Life Support2007 · as Slick
- I Think I Love My Wife2007 · as Sean
- Stay Alive2006 · as Detective Thibodeaux
- Ray2004 · as Wilbur Brassfield
- Land of Plenty2004 · as Henry
- A Hole in One2004 · as Dan
- The Fighting Temptations2003 · as Reverend Lewis
- Brown Sugar2002 · as Simon
- The Gilded Six Bits2001 · as Otis D. Slimmons
- Abilene1999 · as Reverend Tillis
- The 24 Hour Woman1999 · as Roy Labelle
- Bulworth1998 · as Fred
- The Advocate's Devil1997 · as Justin
- Sleepers1996 · as Little Caesar
- Get on the Bus1996 · as Wendell Perry
- Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story1996 · as John Saunders
- Waiting to Exhale1995 · as Michael
- Hackers1995 · as S.S. Agent Richard Gill
- Bye Bye Love1995 · as Hector
- It Could Happen to You1994 · as Bo Williams
- Strapped1993 · as District Attorney
- Manhattan Murder Mystery1993 · as Policeman
- Malcolm X1992 · as Ben Thomas
- Unnatural Pursuits1992 · as Cabbie
- A Matter of Degrees1991 · as Wells Dennard
- A Rage in Harlem1991 · as Louis
- The 10 Million Dollar Getaway1991 · as Parnell "Stacks" Edwards
- Family Business1989 · as Prosecutor
- Casualties of War1989 · as MacIntire
- The Money Pit1986 · as Paramedic
- King of the South—
- The Thrill Is On— · as B.B. King
- Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair— · as Detective Marcus Hill
All TV Shows (51)
- The American Revolution2025 · as (voice)
- Elsbeth2024 · as C.W. Wagner
- Sherri2022 · as Self - Guest
- Be My Guest with Ina Garten2022 · as Self - Guest
- The Watch2021 · as Death (voice)
- Harley Quinn2019 · as Lex Luthor (voice)
- Tamron Hall2019 · as Self - Guest
- Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan2018 · as James Greer
- Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.2018 · as Detective Lee Tucker
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self - Guest
- The Odd Couple2015 · as Teddy
- The Night Shift2014 · as Walt
- Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self
- Chicago P.D.2014 · as Ray Price
- The Michael J. Fox Show2013 · as Harris Green
- Ray Donovan2013 · as Ronald Keith
- Suits2011 · as Robert Zane
- Treme2010 · as Antoine Batiste
- Archer2009 · as Verl (voice)
- Drop Dead Diva2009 · as Neal David
- Hawthorne2009 · as Dr. Michael Schilling
- Fear Itself2008 · as Wiilbur Orwell
- In Plain Sight2008 · as Dr. Warren McBride / Warren Morris
- Women's Murder Club2007
- Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!2007 · as Detective
- When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts2006 · as Self
- Close to Home2005 · as Sam Carter
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury2005 · as Richard Link
- Numb3rs2005 · as William Bradford
- Real Time with Bill Maher2003 · as Self
- The Wire2002 · as Bunk Moreland
- My Wife and Kids2001 · as Dr. Boucher
- The Weber Show2000 · as Wendell Simms
- Girlfriends2000 · as Anthony Jackson
- God, the Devil and Bob2000 · as Mike (voice)
- Third Watch1999 · as Officer Conrad 'Candyman' Jones
- Judging Amy1999 · as Harry Benton
- The Brian Benben Show1998
- The Gregory Hines Show1997
- Moloney1996 · as Calvin Patterson
- New York News1995
- New York Undercover1994
- Law & Order1990 · as Roger Porter
- Law & Order1990 · as Civil Rights Attorney Jerome Bryant
- Law & Order1990 · as Ola-Gimju Nwaka
- Law & Order1990 · as Mr. Wade
- Capital News1990 · as Conrad White
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark1988 · as Self - Guest
- The Equalizer1985 · as Dr. Wolff
- Great Museums—