The Amateur’s Laurence Fishburne Opens Up About Jumping Into the Spy Thriller

Actor Laurence Fishburne has starred in all manner of movies throughout his career, ranging from compelling dramas to hilarious comedies. In some of his more iconic roles, such as Morpheus in The Matrix series, Fishburne brings an on-screen gravitas that is unmatched by other performers. In his new film The Amateur, Fishburne gets to revive the spirit of being a mentor, but even if audiences think they know what to expect from the performer, he recently explained what it was about the project that felt unique for his career and why he knew he had to get involved. The Amateur lands in theaters on April 11th.

“I haven’t really done a lot of the espionage, spy-thriller stuff,” Fishburne admitted to ComicBook about his interest in the project. “I did the series, Hannibal, as Jack Crawford. I did a picture called Bad Company with Ellen Barkin and Frank Langella back in the ’90s that was kind of a spy movie, and All the Old Knives with Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton, more recently, but this gave me an opportunity to be in this international spy thriller that goes all over the globe. Visit cities, but not, perhaps, the shiniest parts of the city. More like the gritty parts of the city. Let’s face it, the opportunity to work with the great Rami Malek is something that I couldn’t pass up.”

The Amateur is described, “Charlie Heller (Malek) is a brilliant, but deeply introverted decoder for the CIA working out of a basement office at headquarters in Langley whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, he takes matters into his own hands, embarking on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible, his intelligence serving as the ultimate weapon for eluding his pursuers and achieving his revenge.”

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The film also stars Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, and Danny Sapani, and was directed by James Hawes.

In addition to Fishburne having played figures that mentor other characters, the actor expressed the character he himself played that he would most want to have as a mentor of his own.

“I was really, really blessed with the opportunity to play the late, great Nelson Mandela, back in 2014, and if there was anybody who I would sit at their feet to gain some wisdom and some understanding, it would have been his [feet],” Fishburne revealed.

The Amateur lands in theaters on April 11th.