Spike Lee

Biography

Spike Lee is an American filmmaker and actor who was born in Atlanta in 1957. He trained in film at Morehouse College and later at New York University, where his student film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads won a Student Academy Award. He made his feature debut with She's Gotta Have It (1986) and broke through with Do the Right Thing (1989), earning an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay. He went on to direct Malcolm X (1992), Mo' Better Blues (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Crooklyn (1994), and other films. His later work includes BlacKkKlansman (2018), which earned him an Academy Award for adapted screenplay and the Grand Prix at Cannes, and Da 5 Bloods (2020). His documentaries include 4 Little Girls (1997), nominated for an Academy Award, and When the Levees Broke (2006), which won two Primetime Emmys. He received an Academy Honorary Award in 2015.

69years old

Turns 70 on March 20in 129 days

Born March 20, 1957Atlanta
Star sign: PiscesLast day of the sign, on the Aries cusp
Also credited as Mars Blackmon, Sheldon Lee and Shelton J. Lee

Movie Career

Films: 21
Career span: 36 years1986 to 2022

Genres

Documentary48%, 10 films
Drama38%, 8 films
Comedy24%, 5 films
Romance19%, 4 films
Biography14%, 3 films

First and latest

Photos

Spike Lee movies on Netflix

Sidney2022IMDb rating 7.8as Himself
A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks2021IMDb rating 7.6as Himself
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall2016IMDb rating 7.4as Himself
Bad 252012IMDb rating 7.9as Himself
Red Hook Summer2012IMDb rating 5.3as Mr. Mookie
A Man's Story2010IMDb rating 6.1as Himself
Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks2010IMDb rating 8.0as Himself
Kobe Doin' Work2009IMDb rating 6.6as Himself
Street Fight2005IMDb rating 7.9as Himself
Through the Fire2005IMDb rating 7.1as Himself
Girl 61996IMDb rating 5.4as Jimmy
When We Were Kings1996IMDb rating 7.9as Himself
Crooklyn1994IMDb rating 7.1as Snuffy
Hoop Dreams1994IMDb rating 8.3as Himself
Malcolm X1992IMDb rating 7.7as Shorty
Jungle Fever1991IMDb rating 6.6as Cyrus
Lonely in America1990IMDb rating 4.8as Himself
Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7as Giant
Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9as Mookie
School Daze1988IMDb rating 6.1as Half-Pint
She's Gotta Have It1986IMDb rating 6.7as Mars Blackmon

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Do the Right Thing1989 Dramaas Mookie
IMDb rating 7.9126K votes
Malcolm X1992 Biography, Drama, Historyas Shorty
IMDb rating 7.7113K votes
Jungle Fever1991as Cyrus
IMDb rating 6.621K votes
She's Gotta Have It1986as Mars Blackmon
IMDb rating 6.718K votes
Mo' Better Blues1990as Giant
IMDb rating 6.715K votes
Crooklyn1994as Snuffy
IMDb rating 7.112K votes
School Daze1988as Half-Pint
IMDb rating 6.18.8K votes
Girl 61996as Jimmy
IMDb rating 5.47.0K votes

Most often with

Two actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Samuel L. Jackson

Joie Lee

John Turturro

Giancarlo Esposito

Denzel Washington

Bill Nunn

Films together

Samuel L. Jackson4 films together, 1988 to 1991
Samuel L. Jackson's page
- Jungle Fever1991IMDb rating 6.6Lee as CyrusJackson as Gator Purify
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantJackson as Madlock
- Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9Lee as MookieJackson as Mister Señor Love Daddy
- School Daze1988IMDb rating 6.1Lee as Half-PintJackson as Leeds
Joie Lee4 films together, 1986 to 1990
Joie Lee's page
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantLee as Indigo Downes
- Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9Lee as MookieLee as Jade
- School Daze1988IMDb rating 6.1Lee as Half-PintLee as Lizzie Life
- She's Gotta Have It1986IMDb rating 6.7Lee as Mars BlackmonLee as Clorinda Bradford
John Turturro3 films together, 1989 to 1991
John Turturro's page
- Jungle Fever1991IMDb rating 6.6Lee as CyrusTurturro as Paulie Carbone
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantTurturro as Moe Flatbush
- Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9Lee as MookieTurturro as Pino
Giancarlo Esposito3 films together, 1988 to 1990
Giancarlo Esposito's page
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantEsposito as Left Hand Lacey (Piano)
- Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9Lee as MookieEsposito as Buggin' Out
- School Daze1988IMDb rating 6.1Lee as Half-PintEsposito as Julian
Denzel Washington3 films together, 1990 to 2022
Denzel Washington's page
- Sidney2022IMDb rating 7.8Lee as HimselfWashington as Himself
- Malcolm X1992IMDb rating 7.7Lee as ShortyWashington as Malcolm X
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantWashington as Bleek Gilliam
Bill Nunn3 films together, 1988 to 1990
Bill Nunn's page
- Mo' Better Blues1990IMDb rating 6.7Lee as GiantNunn as Bottom Hammer (Bass)
- Do the Right Thing1989IMDb rating 7.9Lee as MookieNunn as Radio Raheem
- School Daze1988IMDb rating 6.1Lee as Half-PintNunn as Grady
Also three films together1 more actor
- Ossie DavisJungle Fever (1991), Do the Right Thing (1989) and School Daze (1988)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Box office

What Spike Lee's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$171 million

10 of the 21 films have a worldwide figure.

10Worldwide figure
3US gross only
3Never in cinemas
5Figure not found

Top grosser

Malcolm X1992Shorty$48.2 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 98% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
Malcolm X1992as Shorty
$48M28.2% of the total
2
Do the Right Thing1989as Mookie
$37M21.8% of the total
3
Jungle Fever1991as Cyrus
$32M19.0% of the total
4
Mo' Better Blues1990as Giant
$16M9.5% of the total
5
Crooklyn1994as Snuffy
$14M8.0% of the total
6
Hoop Dreams1994as Himself
$7.8M4.6% of the total
7
She's Gotta Have It1986as Mars Blackmon
$7.1M4.2% of the total
8
Girl 61996as Jimmy
$4.9M2.9% of the total

$3.1 millionfrom the other 2 films with a worldwide figure, 2% of the total

Awards

Ten awards and honors from 2003 to 2024, five of them major.

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Spike Lee's awards and nominations, grouped by award
Year	Award	Film	Result
Academy Awards
2019	Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay	BlacKkKlansman	Won
2015	Honorary Award		Honorary
BAFTA
2019	Best Adapted Screenplay		Won
Emmy Awards
	Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking		Won
	Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program		Won
Other honors
2024	American Society of Cinematographers Awards		Won
2006	George Polk Award		Won
2003	Honorary César		Honorary
2003	NAACP Image Award – Hall of Fame Award		Won
	Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences		Won

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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