That Time Wendell Pierce Talked About the Healing Power of the Arts

Exclusives from the archives.

Wendell Pierce, courtesy of CBS

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I’ve interviewed a lot of people and let me tell you...if you want to be inspired and moved and reminded of the transformative power of the arts, the man you want to talk to is Wendell Pierce.

I had the great pleasure of talking to Wendell twice. The first time, in 2023, we had a quick 10-minute call to discuss makeup artist Debi Young, who I was profiling for Shondaland. Then, in 2025, I interviewed him for Next Avenue. We spent 30 minutes on Zoom discussing his incredible career: his role as Detective William “Bunk” Moreland on The Wire, his many films with director Spike Lee, and his Tony-nominated work in theater. His range is extraordinary. Last year alone, he appeared in Marvel’s Thunderbolts, DC Comics’ Superman, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, the Starz crime drama Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and CBS’s police dramedy Elsbeth, while also preparing to star in Othello at DC’s Shakespeare Theater. It was a pretty incredible way to celebrate his 40th year as a professional actor.

Our conversation didn’t just focus on his work but expanded into larger topics—the purpose of art, what he turns to when he’s seeking inspiration, the rebuilding of his beloved hometown of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and more.

Unfortunately, Next Avenue couldn’t publish the entire interview due to its length. In addition, the publication has since shut down, and the article is no longer available on their website. So, in honor of Wendell’s new film, They Fight, which recently premiered on Hulu, I’m thrilled to share our chat now in its entirety.

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SANDRA EBEJER: You have so many projects out this year. At this stage of your career, how do you decide which projects to say yes to? Does a role or a project have to have something in order for you to say, “Yeah, I want to spend some time working on that?”

WENDELL PIERCE: There’s always different variables that pique my interest. You’re always thinking of creating a body of work, trying to make it as diverse as possible, as reflective of your interests. I also try to think of things that are going to be challenging to me. And then there’s commercial decisions, too—that’ll be good business, put me out there a little bit more. You know, I’ve never been a comics guy. I’ve never been a superhero enthusiast. And so that was quite curious to get into something like Thunderbolts. And then have the opportunity to be in a franchise like Superman? How can you turn that down? Those were pleasant surprises at this point in my career.

But at the same time, while I’m doing press for the superhero movies, I’m about to do a workshop on a new Suzan-Lori Parks play. I look forward to going back to television and doing a season of Elsbeth. And then at the end of that, do Othello at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., while a crime drama show like Raising Kanen is happening. I hope it shows people the range I can have. That’s the range that I’m trying to challenge myself with, and also doing the trifecta, as I call it—television, film, theater—all in a year. I try to do that every year.

One of the projects you have coming up is Highest 2 Lowest, which received a great reception at Cannes. If I’m not mistaken, this was your third time working with Spike Lee. Is that correct?

Let’s see... Yes! The third time. I did Get on the Bus, Malcolm X, and now Highest 2 Lowest.

What is it like working with him as a director?

Spike is great. Spike is very creative. Spike digs deep into his knowledge of the medium of cinema. I feel like I’m a part of a little repertory company of actors that he uses. We go all the way back to Fort Greene [in Brooklyn], which was like an incubator of talent. It was like a Black arts movement in the 1980s when we were all getting out of school and starting our careers. I met him all the way back then in Fort Greene, which is a great story of that neighborhood and the people that were there. Lorna Simpson, who actually has an exhibit now at the Met in New York, and Spike’s movie is about to come out—I was just thinking about how we all started in Fort Greene at the same time.

Spike has great references in cinema. You know, the idea that he would do a movie like this, a Kurosawa movie... He has a great wealth of knowledge about that. And also when it comes to putting together groups of actors, he has a knowledge of how Orson Welles used his repertory group of actors in the same way. And then there’s a familiarity of friendship and mutual respect. I remember how excited he got to see me working with Denzel [in Highest 2 Lowest]. He said, “Ooh, I got Denzel and Wendell! Oh man, do your thing. Do your thing.” I really appreciate that about Spike. He has a great capacity for creation, putting all the elements there, that something special will happen.

I have to ask you about The Wire, which you will be asked about for the rest of your life.

And happily, I accept. I am so blessed that that will be something that I’ll be known for for the rest of my life.

I’ve interviewed a number of your colleagues, and some of your fellow cast members on The Wire have talked about the blessing and the curse of being cast in that show. What impact did the series have on your career?