Wendell Edward Pierce (born December 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in HBO dramas such as Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme, as well as portraying James Greer in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, as high-powered attorney Robert Zane in Suits, and as Michael Davenport in Waiting to Exhale. Pierce also had roles in the films Malcolm X, Ray, and Selma. Pierce performed the lead role of Willy Loman in the 2019 production of Death of a Salesman on the West End in London at the Piccadilly Theatre.
Pierce was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of three sons of a teacher and a decorated World War II veteran who worked as a maintenance engineer. His father's segregated Army unit helped Marines win the Battle of Saipan in 1944. Pierce has said of his father's experience: "When the country wasn't loving my father, my father was loving his country. It's the ultimate act of patriotism."