Wendell Pierce
Acting • Born 1963-12-08
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.
Filmography
125 credits
Land of Plenty
Movie • 2004
Henry
Ray
Movie • 2004
Wilbur Brassfield
Stay Alive
Movie • 2006
Detective Thibodeaux
It Could Happen to You
Movie • 1994
Bo Williams
Hackers
Movie • 1995
S.S. Agent Richard Gill
Becoming Frederick Douglass
Movie • 2022
Frederick Douglass (voice)
The Fighting Temptations
Movie • 2003
Reverend Lewis
Night Catches Us
Movie • 2010
David Gordon
New Orleans: A Living Museum of Music
Movie • 2010
Narrator (voice)
The Gilded Six Bits
Movie • 2001
Otis D. Slimmons
Pariah
Movie • 2007
Arthur
Unnatural Pursuits
Movie • 1992
Cabbie
The Mortician
Movie • 2011
Clinger
The 24 Hour Woman
Movie • 1999
Roy Labelle
Don't Hang Up
Movie • 2022
Chris Daniels
Four
Movie • 2013
Joe
Parker
Movie • 2013
Carlson
Möbius
Movie • 2013
Bob
The Wire Odyssey
Movie • 2007
Self
Elsa & Fred
Movie • 2014
Armande
The Runner
Movie • 2015
Frank Legrand
A Hole in One
Movie • 2004
Dan
Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band
Movie • 2015
Andy Kirk (voice)
Get on the Bus
Movie • 1996
Wendell Perry
Foreclosure
Movie • 2014
Virgil
The Advocate's Devil
Movie • 1997
Justin
A Matter of Degrees
Movie • 1991
Wells Dennard
Never Give Up: The Jimmy V Story
Movie • 1996
John Saunders
Tapping the Wire
Movie • 2007
Self
Selma
Movie • 2014
Rev. Hosea Williams
The Gift
Movie • 2015
Detective Mills
27 Years: The Exoneration of Valentino Dixon
Movie • 2018
Narrator (voice)
Superman
Movie • 2025
Perry White
Strapped
Movie • 1993
District Attorney
Bulworth
Movie • 1998
Fred
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Movie • 1993
Policeman
Grease Live
Movie • 2016
Coach Calhoun
The Money Pit
Movie • 1986
Paramedic
Confirmation
Movie • 2016
Clarence Thomas
Malcolm X
Movie • 1992
Ben Thomas
Bad Moms
Movie • 2016
Principal Daryl Burr
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
Movie • 2012
J. Jenks
Piercing
Movie • 2019
The Doctor
Family Business
Movie • 1989
Prosecutor
The 10 Million Dollar Getaway
Movie • 1991
Parnell "Stacks" Edwards
Life Support
Movie • 2007
Slick
Brown Sugar
Movie • 2002
Simon
Sleepers
Movie • 1996
Little Caesar
Waiting to Exhale
Movie • 1995
Michael
Rodents of Unusual Size
Movie • 2017
Narrator (voice)
Bye Bye Love
Movie • 1995
Hector
Love Ranch
Movie • 2010
Naasih Mohammed
Horrible Bosses
Movie • 2011
Detective Hagan
I Think I Love My Wife
Movie • 2007
Sean
Clemency
Movie • 2019
Jonathan Williams
Beyond All Boundaries
Movie • 2009
Sgt. Thomas McPhatter
One Last Thing
Movie • 2018
Dylan
Burning Cane
Movie • 2019
Reverend Tillman
King of the South
Movie
Runaway Hearts
Movie • 2015
Paul
Abilene
Movie • 1999
Reverend Tillis
Between the World and Me
Movie • 2020
Self
The Forever Tree
Movie • 2017
Doctor Willow
The Thrill Is On
Movie
B.B. King
The Wire: The Last Word
Movie • 2007
Self
A Rage in Harlem
Movie • 1991
Louis
Lay the Favorite
Movie • 2012
Dave the Rave
Casualties of War
Movie • 1989
MacIntire
A Plea for Modernism
Movie • 2011
Narrator (voice)
Thunderbolts*
Movie • 2025
Congressman Gary
Untitled Jack Ryan Film
Movie
James Greer
2000: Bunk and McNulty
Movie • 2007
Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland
Highest 2 Lowest
Movie • 2025
Gabe
They Fight
Movie
Slim
Third Watch
TV • 1999
Officer Conrad 'Candyman' Jones
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Roger Porter
Numb3rs
TV • 2005
William Bradford
The Wire
TV • 2002
Bunk Moreland
Judging Amy
TV • 1999
Harry Benton
Capital News
TV • 1990
Conrad White
Girlfriends
TV • 2000
Anthony Jackson
My Wife and Kids
TV • 2001
Dr. Boucher
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
TV • 2005
Richard Link
Women's Murder Club
TV • 2007
New York Undercover
TV • 1994
The Equalizer
TV • 1985
Dr. Wolff
Close to Home
TV • 2005
Sam Carter
Fear Itself
TV • 2008
Wiilbur Orwell
In Plain Sight
TV • 2008
Dr. Warren McBride / Warren Morris
New York News
TV • 1995
Moloney
TV • 1996
Calvin Patterson
Drop Dead Diva
TV • 2009
Neal David
The Weber Show
TV • 2000
Wendell Simms
Treme
TV • 2010
Antoine Batiste
The Brian Benben Show
TV • 1998
The Gregory Hines Show
TV • 1997
The Michael J. Fox Show
TV • 2013
Harris Green
Elsbeth
TV • 2024
C.W. Wagner
The Odd Couple
TV • 2015
Teddy
Ray Donovan
TV • 2013
Ronald Keith
Suits
TV • 2011
Robert Zane
Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.
TV • 2018
Detective Lee Tucker
Great Museums
TV
Archer
TV • 2009
Verl (voice)
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
TV • 2007
Detective
Tamron Hall
TV • 2019
Self - Guest
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
TV • 2018
James Greer
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Civil Rights Attorney Jerome Bryant
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Ola-Gimju Nwaka
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Mr. Wade
Chicago P.D.
TV • 2014
Ray Price
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
The Watch
TV • 2021
Death (voice)
God, the Devil and Bob
TV • 2000
Mike (voice)
Real Time with Bill Maher
TV • 2003
Self
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
TV • 2006
Self
Hawthorne
TV • 2009
Dr. Michael Schilling
The Night Shift
TV • 2014
Walt
Be My Guest with Ina Garten
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
Sherri
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Harley Quinn
TV • 2019
Lex Luthor (voice)
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self - Guest
The American Revolution
TV • 2025
(voice)