Laurence Fishburne appeared in his first play, In My Many Names and Days, in New York City, at age 10. Two years later he had a recurring role on the daytime soap, One Life to Live. When he was 14, Francis Ford Coppola cast him in Apocalypse Now; subsequent Coppola films include Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club and Gardens of Stone. His "Furious Styles" in John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood (1991) is but one of his many memorable roles.

Laurence Fishburne has played an impressively wide range of characters. He received an Oscar nomination, as did co-star Angela Bassett, for their searing portrayals of Ike and Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993).  He starred opposite Keanu Reeves in the sci-fi smash hit, The Matrix (and its sequels); he was an urban speed chess player in Searching for Bobby Fischer, a college professor in Higher Learning, a dogged police sergeant in Mystic River, a spelling bee coach in Akeelah and the Bee.

On television, Fishburne won an Emmy for his work in the pilot episode of the series Tribeca. He received Emmy nominations for his work in The Tuskegee Airmen and Miss Evers' Boys, appearing as well in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Decoration Day (opposite James Garner and Ruby Dee). He played the lead in the popular series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, for three seasons.

On stage, Laurence Fishburne won virtually every award possible (including a Best Actor Tony) for his work on Broadway in August Wilson's seminal Two Trains Running. He received a Tony nomination for his inspiring portrayal of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the one-man play, Thurgood, and an Emmy nomination for his performance in the television adaptation.