Michael Wright is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

best known for his roles in the films '' The Five Heartbeats'' (1991), '' Streamers'' (1983), and '' Sugar Hill'' (1994), and for his television roles Elias Taylor in '' V: The Series'' (1984–1985), Omar White in '' Oz'' (2001–2003), and Lazarus Prime in ''

Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...

'' (2019). Wright was born and raised in New York City and is a graduate of the New Lincoln School.

Career

Wright's body of work in television includes the 1983

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

miniseries '' V'', the 1984 sequel '' V: The Final Battle'', and '' V: The Series'' as Elias Taylor. He appeared in the 1987 episode "Duty and Honor" of ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' as "The Savage", and on the 1997

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Oz'' as Omar White from 2001 to 2003. Wright has appeared on ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'', and as Lazarus Prime on ''

''. Wright's film roles include the 1987

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

The Principal ''The Principal'' is a 1987 action comedy film starring Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr. and Rae Dawn Chong. Written by Frank Deese and directed by Christopher Cain, it was filmed in Oakland, California, and at Northgate High School in near ...

'', also starring

James Belushi James Adam Belushi (; born June 15, 1954) is an American actor and comedian. His television roles include ''Saturday Night Live'' (1983–1985), '' According to Jim'' (2001–2009), and '' Good Girls Revolt'' (2015–2016). Belushi appeared in f ...

, and the 1994 film '' Sugar Hill'' with

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor and martial artist. In a film career spanning more than thirty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, th ...

. He played Clinton, the leader of The Del Bombers gang in the cult film '' The Wanderers''. His most recent film is the 2005 thriller '' The Interpreter''.

Filmography

* '' The Wanderers'' (1979) as Clinton * '' Streamers'' (1983) as Carlyle * ''V'' (1983) as Elias Taylor (2 episodes) * '' V: The Final Battle'' (1984) as Elias Taylor (3 episodes) * '' V: The Series'' (1984–1985) as Elias Taylor (13 episodes) * '' The Laundromat'' as Shooter Stevens * ''Bedtime Eyes'' (1987) as Spoon * ''

'' (1987) as Victor Duncan * '' Private Times'' (1991) * '' The 5 Heartbeats'' (1991) as Eddie King Jr. * '' Sugar Hill'' (1994) as Raynathan "Ray" Skuggs * ''

'' (1996) as Rene Mazili * ''The Cottonwood'' (1996) as Simon Z. * '' Money Talks'' (1997) as Aaron * '' Point Blank'' (1998) as Sonny * '' Rage'' (1999) as "B-Boy" * '' Piñero'' (2001) as Edgar Bowser * '' Oz'' (2001–2003) as Omar White (22 episodes) * '' Batman: Dark Tomorrow'' (2003) (VG) as Black Mask (voice) * '' Downtown: A Street Tale'' (2004) as Rudy * '' The Interpreter'' (2005) as Marcus * '' Before I Self Destruct'' (2009) as First Victim * '' Rel'' (2018) as Mr. Donaldson * ''

'' (2019) as Lazarus Prime (2 episodes)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Michael Living people American male film actors American male television actors Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Male actors from New York City Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors