Laurence Fishburne

I think that I first saw Laurence Fishburne in 1979 in the film Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Coppola; and I saw him late last night (early this morning) on television in 1997's Hoodlum, directed by Bill Duke, and co-starring Vanessa Williams, Cicely Tyson, Tim Roth, Andy Garcia, and Chi McBride. It is a film about gangsters--Dutch Shultz (Roth), Lucky Luciano (Garcia), Stephanie St. Claire (Tyson), and Bumpy Johnson (Fishburne). It was interesting to see different generations of actors--such as Tyson and Williams--in a single film, but I was impressed by the intelligence, strength, and sexual magnetism that Laurence Fisbhburne embodied. His performance was not particularly nuanced (nor was the film) and yet I found it riveting and nearly felt a transfusion of strength as I watched Fisbburne.