Laurence John Fishburne III is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for his roles on stage and screen as militant and authoritative characters. Fishburne first came to prominence appearing in Apocalypse Now (1979) and achieved further recognition for his supporting role in Boyz n the Hood (1991). Later, he became known for portraying Morpheus in The Matrix trilogy (1999–2003) and the Bowery King in the John Wick film series (2017–).