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Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce
Personal details
Date of birth December 8, 1963
Birth place New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Years active 1986 to present
Treme
Character Antoine Batiste
Seasons 1, 2, 3 & 4
First episode "Do You Know What It Means"
Last episode "... To Miss New Orleans"
Credits 36 episodes (see below)

Wendell Pierce, born December 8, 1963 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, is an actor. He stars as Antoine Batiste in the first, second, third and fourth seasons. He also starred in Treme creator David Simon's earlier series The Wire as Detective William "Bunk" Moreland. He has had recurring roles in Numb3rs and Third Watch. He has appeared in the films It Could Happen to You (1994), Ray (2004), and Horrible Bosses (2011).

Biography[]

Early life[]

He attended Benjamin Franklin High School. He then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 14: 1981–1985) where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career[]

He made his screen acting debut as a paramedic in Tom Hank's film Money Pit (1986).

He co-starred with Arye Gross in the film A Matter of Degrees (1990). He also appeared with Forrest Whitaker as an undertaker's assistant in A Rage In Harlem (1991). He had a role in Whitaker's Waiting to Exhale (1995). Pierce played Secret Service Agent Richard Gill in Hackers (1995). Pierce played Rizzo's older brother, Little Caesar in Sleepers (1996). Pierce appeared in Spike Lee's 1996 film Get on the Bus. He had a small role in Bulworth (1998).

Pierce starred in all five seasons of the HBO drama The Wire as Detective Bunk Moreland. The series ran from 2002 to 2008. The show was created by David Simon, who would go on to create Treme. He was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2007.

Pierce is also in the 2003 film The Fighting Temptations as Reverend Lewis. Pierce also played band manager Wilbur Brassfield in the 2004 Oscar Award winning blockbuster music biopic Ray, with Jamie Foxx. He appeared in the 2006 horror film Stay Alive. He played Slick in the 2007 HBO film Life Support; Slick is the HIV positive husband of the main character Ana (played by Queen Latifah). The film was co-written by Jim McKay, who has directed for The Wire and Treme.

In May 2010, Pierce earned the lead role in the independent horror-thriller film Foreclosure and in 2011 appeared in the film Horrible Bosses as Detective Hagan.

Pierce also played a crooked policeman on Third Watch named Conrad "Candyman" Jones. Outside of shooting The Wire, Pierce managed to pick up a recurring role as an FBI clinical psychologist in Numb3rs. An interview with him is featured in Spike Lee's 2006 HBO documentary When the Levees Broke, regarding the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

His latest role is in HBO's Treme. Pierce plays Antoine Batiste, a trombone player, for which he took lessons in trombone.

Pierce is the host of the Peabody Award-winning radio program, Jazz at Lincoln Center, which features live recordings from Jazz at Lincoln Center's House of Swing. Previous hosts of JALC include Ed Bradley and Wynton Marsalis, with whom he attended high school in New Orleans. Jazz at Lincoln Center Radio is produced by Murray Street Productions on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

In response to a lack of access to quality fresh food in many post-Katrina New Orleans' neighborhoods, Wendell Pierce along with 2 partners started a chain of grocery stores named Sterling Farms in 2012. The stores will be located in lower income neighborhoods that were underserved both prior to and after Katrina.

Credits[]

Star[]

Season one credits
"Do You Know What It Means" "Meet De Boys on the Battlefront" "Right Place, Wrong Time" "At the Foot of Canal Street"
"Shame, Shame, Shame" Shallow Water, Oh Mama "Smoke My Peace Pipe" "All On a Mardi Gras Day"
"Wish Someone Would Care" "I'll Fly Away"
Season two credits
"Accentuate the Positive" "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky" "On Your Way Down" "Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues?"
"Slip Away" "Feels Like Rain" "Carnival Time" "Can I Change My Mind?"
"What Is New Orleans?" "That's What Lovers Do" "Do Watcha Wanna"

External links[]

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