FT.COM/MAGAZINE OCTOBER19/202 019 25
◀everything.People always askme, ‘Well, give
me anexample of that.’ ”
Then,sat in an armchair,withacoffeein
one hand, Pierce embarksonthe storyof
CharlesLBlack,awhitelawyerfromTexas,who
sawLouisArmstrong playjazz in 1931,and two
decadeslater joinedthe legal teamthatwould
help tear down racial segregation. “He always
talked about howhehad neverseengeniusina
blackman before.Iliketothink thatmoment
of art was the thing that changedhis humanity –
that it was not justanintellectualdecision.”
ForPierce, as formanyAfrican-Americans,
the American ideal hasremained apromise,
rather thanareality.The dailyencounterswith
prejudice.DonaldTrump. The neo-Nazi rally
in Charlottesville,Virginia.“Youraise theveil
andyousee thatthe barbarianswere always at
the gate,”hesays.Onthe plane to theUKfor this
visit,hewas practising his linesinfirst class.“The
steward comesbyand says no internet calls.She
says,‘Who areyou talking to?’Isaid,‘I’mnot
talking to anybody.’And she justwouldn’tbelieve
me...Ididn’t wanttogothere. ButIknewit was
racial. It’sjust that insidious thing.”Wheredid it all go wrong?“The uglinessof
humanity isachronicdisease.It’sapart of our
nature. Thatwas the most offensivethingabout
people saying, ‘Oh, nowwith Barack Obama,
we’repost-racial,’” he says.“Ithink art isamore
profound waytohavethatconversation.Because
artchangeshearts andminds,wherelawsonly
changebehaviour.”
Through his acting,throughhis story-telling,
Pierce wants to bring us face to face with our
prejudices, while controlling hisownfury.Atthe
age of 55, hefeels the same biological anxietyas
WillyLoman. “I got 20 summersleft.That’show I
look at it now.”Heturns to an imaginedaggressor:
“Atthisstage of my life,Ihave20summers left.
I’mnot going to waste any timeonyou.”WendellPiercewasborninNewOrleansin
December 1963. His mother wasaschoolteacher;
his father,nowaged94, is an armyveteran,
whokept hisowntalent asaphotographer
under wraps and warnedhis son against
becominganactor.
Pierce attributeshis careerpath to theFree
Southern Theater,atravelling group of black‘Death ofaSalesman’(2019)actors linked to the civil rights movement.
“[Myparents]would come back and tell me the
stories. AndIrevered them. Theymade me want
to be an actor.”
His seriousness–his belief thatactors
“should always be kinda activists”–reflectsthat
tradition.“Inthatsense, IamNewOrleansand
NewOrleans is me,” he says.Pierce attended
theNewOrleansCenter for CreativeArts,where
therewas relentlesspeerpressuretostudy.
“Weasked,‘Henry, areyou shedding?’Meaning,
‘A re youpractising?’”herecalls.Hestarted
accumulatingscreencreditsfrom the mid-1980s,
but feltlikeanimpostor.There wasalong slog
untilDavid Simon’sTheWireaired in 2002.
Pierce and many of the cast thought the
show–with its fog of slang and characters
–was destinedtofail. In fact, along with
TheSopranosandMadMen,itkickstartedthe
golden age of television. Hisownrole pushed
him, an African-Americanwho hadexperienced
police discrimination, intoamoreambiguous
relationship with lawenforcement.
Howmuch does Pierce have in common with
BunkMoreland? “Bunkwouldn’t be going to▶