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Credit: Chris Hatcher/Photorazzi

CELEBRITY: Laurence Fishburne

BORN: July 30, 1961

BIRTHPLACE: Augusta, GA

Did you know (DYK) that Laurence Fishburne was only fourteen when he was cast in the 1979 film “Apocalypse Now?”  He played a 17-year-old sailor nicknamed Mr. Clean.  To get the role, Laurence lied about his age; however the film production took so long that he was seventeen when they finished shooting.  

“Apocalypse Now” is about a captain, whose mission is to terminate with extreme prejudice, receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost during the Vietnam War.  The film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and also starred Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen.

To his credit, Laurence Fishburne has starred in many films including “The Color Purple” (1985), “Boy N The Hood” (1991), “What’s Love Got to Do with It” (1993), “The Matrix” (1999), “Biker Boyz” (2003), “Mission: Impossible III” (2006) and “Contagion” (2011).

The acclaimed actor is no stranger to the small screen.  Among his many television roles, he played Dr. Raymond Langston on CBS’s CSI from 2008 to 2011.  This fall, he will star in a new NBC series called “Hannibal.”  He will play a recurring character named Jack Crawford.

As far as one of his personal hobbies, Laurence Fishburne is a passionate motorcyclist.  He co-founded “The Guggenheim Motorcycle Club.”  The group’s purpose is to ride and explore some of the most beautiful places the world has to offer.

Here’s a quote from his website Laurence-Fishburne.com: “The motorcycle is what the horse used to be. It allows you to be part of your environment and experience it in a very intimate way. They can be extremely dangerous, so you’re required to use all your focus and concentration. You must be in the here and now because that’s all you have on a motorcycle—that’s really intensified when you’re balancing on 2 wheels and an engine. It keeps me in the here and now.”

Laurence is married to actress Gina Torres (USA Network: “Suits”). They have a daughter, Delilah.  He has two other children by his first wife – a son named Langston and a daughter named Montana.