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Fishburne was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Hattie Bell (nee Crawford), a junior high school mathematics and science teacher, and Laurence John Fishburne, Jr., a juvenile corrections officer. His parents divorced during his childhood and he moved with his mother to Brooklyn, New York where he was raised. Fishburne's father saw him once a month. He is a graduate of Lincoln Square Academy in New York, which closed in the 1980s.

Fishburne started acting at age twelve getting his first gig in 1973 portraying Joshua Hall on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. He was initially cast in the hit television series Good Times, but the role was eventually given to Ralph Carter. Fishburne's most memorable childhood role was in Cornbread, Earl and Me in which he played a young boy who witnessed the police shooting of a popular high school basketball star. Fishburne later earned a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, in which he played a 17-year-old sailor nicknamed 'Mr. Clean'. When production began in March 1976 he was just fourteen, apparently lying about his age to get the part. Filming took so long that he was already seventeen upon its completion.

Fishburne spent much of the 1980s in and out of television and periodically on stage. Fishburne had a recurring role as Cowboy Curtis with Paul Reubens' character, Pee Wee Herman in the CBS children's television show, Pee-wee's Playhouse. He also appeared in the M*A*S*H episode, "The Tooth Shall Set You Free", as Corporal Dorsey (billed as Larry Fishburne in the credits). His stage work during the 1980s included Short Eyes in 1984 , and Loose Ends in 1987 . Both were produced at Second Stage Theatre in New York City. Additionally, Lawrence Fishburne played the leading role of "Dap" in Spike Lee's second theatrical release entitled School Daze (1988). Offering a riveting performance, Fishburne's character was the depiction of an African American, culturally inclined college student at an HBCU (Historically Black College/University).

In 1990 he played Jimmy Jump in the controversial King of New York, and in 1991, Fishburne starred in Boyz N The Hood. The following year, in 1992, he won a Tony Award for his stage performance in the August Wilson play, Two Trains Running and an Emmy Award for his performance in the opening episode, "The Box," of the short-lived anthology series television drama TriBeCa. In 1993, he received his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Ike Turner in What's Love Got to Do With It?. Today, Fishburne is perhaps best known for his role as Morpheus, the hacker-mentor of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, in the 1999 blockbuster science fiction film, The Matrix. He briefly appears as a stretcher-bearer in one version of the video for The Spooks' song "Things I've Seen" (2000).

Fishburne reprised his role as Morpheus in the Matrix sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003. He gained a significant amount of weight between the first and second film. He has appeared with Tom Cruise as Theodore Brassell, IMF superior of Cruise's character in Mission: Impossible III. In 2006 he appeared on stage with Angela Bassett in a Pasadena Playhouse production of August Wilson's, Fences. Most recently, he provided the voice of the narrator in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) movie, released March 23, 2007. The same year, he provided the voice of the Silver Surfer in 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Fishburne has worked with actress Angela Bassett on four projects. He says "An electrifying thing happens when the two of us work together. I haven't experienced it with anyone else. A freedom happens when we work together." They both plan to work with each other in the future.

On February 24, 2007, Fishburne was honored with the Harvard Foundation's Artist of the Year award at the annual show Cultural Rhythms. He received this honor for his prowess as an actor and entertainer and for his humanitarian pursuits. Fishburne is a UNICEF ambassador. The mayor of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mayor Kenneth Reeves awarded him the key to the city and declared the twenty-fourth of February, "Laurence Fishburne" day in the city of Cambridge

In April 2008, Fishburne returned to the stage in the Broadway production of Thurgood, a new play by George Stevens, Jr., directed by Leonard Foglia. Thurgood opened at the Booth Theatre on April 30, 2008, with previews starting on April 12, 2008.

On August 18, 2008, it was reported that Laurence Fishburne will join the cast of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation after William Petersen (aka Gil Grissom) leaves in the next season. John Malkovich was also considered for the role prior to the announcement. Fishburne will be joining the show on the ninth episode of the upcoming season as a college professor and former pathologist whose area of expertise involves some criminals' predisposition to commit acts of violence. The character will be introduced as a consultant on a case, who winds up joining the CSI team. According to interviews with producers when the announcement broke, his character also has the genetic profile identified in serial killers, a fact which the character will keep to himself, but is something that underpins his desire to understand why some criminals can be so violent. Fishburne was also interviewed and stated he was ecstatic with joining the show, and is thrilled with the chance to portray such a complex character.

DreamWorks Animation announced Laurence Fishburne voiced Whiger in the pirate-fairy tale version of Tom and Jerry.

Fishburne married actress Hajna Moss in 1985, in Ethiopia. They have two children together: a son, Langston, born in 1987, and a daughter, Montana, born in 1991. Fishburne and Moss divorced sometime in the mid 1990s. Fishburne is now married to actress Gina Torres, whom he wed on September 20, 2002 and they live in New Rochelle, New York. They have a daughter, Delilah, born June 2007. He also maintains a residence in New York City, in the Castle Village section of Washington Heights. Fishburne is a big fan of Paulo Coelho and plans to produce a movie based on the novel The Alchemist.

• One Life to Live TV series (1973-1976)
• Cornbread, Earl and Me(1975)
• Fast Break (1979)
• Apocalypse Now(1979)
• Willie & Phil(1980)
• Death Wish II (1982)
• Rumble Fish(1983)
• For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story(1983)
• The Cotton Club(1984)
• Attack Me With Your Love by Cameo music video(1985)
• The Color Purple(1985)
• Quicksilver (1986)
• Band of the Hand(1986)
• Come to Me by Robert Brookins music video (1987)
• Pee-wee's Playhouse - Vols. 1-8(1987)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors(1987)
• Gardens of Stone(1987)
• Cherry 2000 (1987)
• Red Heat(1988)
• School Daze(1988)
• Cadence(1990)
• King of New York(1990)
• Decoration Day(1990)
• Class Action(1991)
• Boyz N The Hood (1991)
• Deep Cover (1992)
• TriBeCa TV series(1993)
• What's Love Got to Do with It?(1993)
• Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
• Higher Learning(1994)
• Alien Warrior (1994)
• Othello_(1995)
• Just Cause(1995)
• Bad Company(1995)
• The Tuskegee Airmen(1996)
• Fled(1996)
• Miss Evers' Boys(1997)
• Hoodlum(1997)
• Event Horizon(1997)
• Always Outnumbered(1998)
• The Matrix (1999)
• Once in the Life(2000)
• Michael Jordan to the Max (2000)
• Osmosis Jones (2001)
• Deep Cover / Chill Factor (2001)
• Biker Boyz (2003)
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
• Mystic River(2003)
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
• Assault on Precinct 13(2005)
• Five Fingers (2006)
• Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
• Mission: Impossible III(2006)
• Bobby (2006)
• The Death and Life of Bobby Z(2007)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(2007)
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
• 21(2008)
• Tortured(2008)
• Days of Wrath (2008)
• Black WaterTransit (2008)
• Armored(2009)