LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Morpheus), honored for his work on the stage and screen, earned an Academy Award nomination for his searing portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit biopic "What's Love Got To Do With It?" Fishburne, who began acting at the age of 10, was only 15 years old when he won the role of a young G.I. in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic "Apocalypse Now." He went on to work with Coppola on "Rumble Fish," "Gardens Of Stone" and "The Cotton Club." Fishburne has collaborated twice with noted director John Singleton, on "Boyz N The Hood" and "Higher Learning," earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the former. His other credits include "Othello," "Searching For Bobby Fischer," "Just Cause," "Bad Company," "Class Action," "Deep Cover," "Fled," "Cadence," "King Of New York," "Red Heat," "Band Of The Hand," Spike Lee's "School Daze," Steven Spielberg¼s "The Color Purple" and, most recently, "Hoodlum" and "Event Horizon." On the small screen, Fishburne received nominations for the Emmy, Golden Globe and CableACE Awards and won an NAACP Image Award for his performance in the HBO Movie "The Tuskegee Airmen," the story of America's first black combat pilots. He also won an Emmy Award for his role in the premiere episode of Robert De Niro's series "Tribeca." In 1997, Fishburne received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special for his starring role in the HBO drama "Miss Evers' Boys," which he executive produced. "Miss Evers' Boys" was awarded five Emmys, including the coveted President's Award, which honors a program that illuminates a social or educational issue. Fishburne's other television credits include the critically acclaimed telefilms "A Rumor of War," "For Us the Living" and "Decoration Day". In 1992, Fishburne received the Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Theater World Award for his work in the Broadway production of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running," in which he reprised the role of Sterling Johnson that he originated at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
