Harry Lennix

Biography

Harry Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964, in Chicago) is an American actor who has worked across film, television and stage. He is best known to many viewers for his role as Harold Cooper in The Blacklist and for playing Calvin Swanwick in the DC Extended Universe, though his career spans a wide range of supporting parts.

The youngest of four siblings, Lennix grew up in Chicago, the son of a laundry worker and a machinist. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary South and then Northwestern University, where he studied acting and directing. Before committing fully to performing, he taught music in Chicago Public Schools for eight years. His first film role came in The Package (1989), a Chicago production, and he gained wider attention with The Five Heartbeats (1991).

On stage he has worked closely with August Wilson, playing Levee in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Goodman Theatre, and he made his Broadway debut in Radio Golf. He has collaborated with Spike Lee in Clockers (1995), Get on the Bus (1996) and Chi-Raq (2015). In film he played Commander Lock in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and later Calvin Swanwick / Martian Manhunter in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Zack Snyder's Justice League. On television he played Boyd Langton in Dollhouse and Harold Cooper in The Blacklist across ten seasons.

In 2014 he co-founded the production company Exponent Media Group with Steve Harris, and he produced and starred in H4, a modernised take on Shakespeare's Henry IV. His legacy rests on a dependable career in supporting roles, paired with a sustained interest in Shakespeare and in race and representation on stage and screen.

Key films

• Ray (2004): a supporting part in the biopic of Ray Charles.
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003): plays Commander Lock, a member of Zion's crew in the sequel.
• Man of Steel (2013): first appearance as Calvin Swanwick, a government official who later becomes Martian Manhunter.
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016): reprises the role of Swanwick in Zack Snyder's film.
• A la caza del lobo rojo (1989): one of his early film appearances, in a Cold War espionage thriller.