Halle Berry’s action hero Jinx in Die Another Day (2002) changed the image of the Bond ‘girl’ to Bond ‘woman’- a grown-up beauty capable of taking on 007. 

Berry also helped diversify the espionage genre, pioneering the way for more black actresses and actors to put their sizzling stamp on spy movies. SPYSCAPE salutes Berry and 14 other black celebrities with a countdown to some of our favorites.

14. Samuel L. Jackson‍

Samuel L. Jackson earned his Oscar nomination playing Jules, a hitman in 1994’s Pulp Fiction, but the celeb has actually acted in an astonishing 174 films, putting him in the Top 10 actors who've starred in the most movies. His spy credits include Unthinkable (2010) a psychological, black-ops thriller where he plays a ruthless US operative, Henry Harold 'H' Humphries, a man willing to try anything - even torture - to get intel. (Prime Video, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube)

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13. Dennis Haysbert

Dennis Haysbert stars in Breach (2007), Absolute Power (1997), and as The Unit’s secretive ex-Green Beret Jonas Blane, but it is his role as 24’s US President Palmer that may have changed history: “When I have Ethel Kennedy tell me that I was partially responsible for Barack Obama becoming president, that humbles me, that kind of brings me to my knees a little bit.” (Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube, Microsoft)
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12. Naomie Harris‍

Naomie Harris threw out the rulebook when she starred as the first black actress to play Moneypenny in Skyfall (2012) - a woman equally at home behind the desk, navigating close shaves with Bond, or racing a Land Rover Defender. So will we be seeing a Moneypenny spin-off? “Maybe, one day,” Harris told IndieWire.“ The conversation has started at least.” (Prime Video, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube)

11. Will Smith‍

Sure, Will Smith starred in the Men In Black franchise but Enemy of the State was an absolute game-changer for spy fans in 1998. Smith’s thriller not only confirmed his action-headliner status, but it shone a very bright spotlight on America’s ‘surveillance society’ where Fort Meade’s computers monitor calls for trigger words like ‘bomb’ and ‘Allah’. Unmissable. (Prime Video, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube)

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10. James Earl Jones‍

James Earl Jones kicked off his acting career with the classic Dr. Strangelove (1964) and the voice of Darth Vader then went from strength to strength. He’s won all four prestigious US entertainment awards - an Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and honorary Oscar. What an accomplishment for a man who refused to speak as a child because of his stammer! Check out Jones as Admiral James Greer in the action thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990) and the sequels. (GooglePlay, YouTube, Prime Video, Apple TV)

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9. Beyonce‍

Is there anything Beyonce can’t do? She is the first solo artist to have her first six studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200. When she was 20, Beyonce starred as Goldmember’s Foxxy Cleopatra and knocked out two songs: Work It Out and Hey, Goldmember. Knowles was ‘intimidated’ by star Mike Myers, but he put her at ease: "Mike is so generous, and he's the funniest person I know," Knowles said. Her performance even left critic Roger Ebert wanting more. (Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft, YouTube)
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8. Morgan Freeman‍

CIA director William Cobot (Morgan Freeman) is in a war game with Russia that may draw the superpowers into WWIII. Ben Affleck stars as analyst Jack Ryan. Freeman is the only black actor to have been in three Oscar-winning Best Picture movies - an incredible record - so when you’ve streamed The Sum of All Fears, you may want to see Freeman in Along Came a Spider (2001) and Red (2010). (YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube)

7. Jeffery Wright‍

It’s hard to out-dress James Bond, but the CIA’s Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) is elegantly turned out in Casino Royale (2006) wearing his Brioni dinner jacket. Wright's first major film was as an attorney in Presumed Innocent with Harrison Ford. Next up? Wright is making history as the first black police Commissioner Jim Gordon in The Batman. (Casino Royale can be streamed on Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, Apple TV, YouTube)
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6. Laurence Fishburne‍

Bad Company features an ex-CIA officer (Laurence Fishburne) seduced by a woman (Ellen Barkin) who wants to kill their boss and take over a corporate-spy business specializing in blackmail and espionage. Fishburne has also starred in The Matrix and Apocalypse Now, and was the first black actor to play Othello in a major film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name. (Check out Bad Company on Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, and Microsoft)

5. Lupita Nyong’o

Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o made history when she became the first African actress to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave (2013). She also won our hearts in the chess film Queen of Katwe, Star Wars, and the 2022’s spy ensemble film The 355. (Streaming for The 355 is expected on NBC Universal's streaming service Peacock in addition to Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, and Google Play)

4. Sidney Poitier‍

Sidney Poitier was the first black actor to win a competitive Oscar as Homer Smith, an ex-GI who helps nuns build a chapel in Lilies of the Field (1963). Thirty years later, he was still a formidable actor starring in Sneakers (1992), a cheeky hacker/spy flick with Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley, River Phoenix, and Dan Aykroyd. (Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play)

3. Lashana Lynch‍

Lashana Lynch plays the first black female 007 in No Time To Die (2021), literally punching above her weight. Lynch described her audition as: “Okay, grab the gun! Shoot! Get down on your knees! Shoot! Roll on your back! Land on your feet! Shoot! Run, run, run! You’ve run out of ammo! Throw that away! Assemble this gun! Shoot!”... And that was just one of five routines she had to learn. (Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play)

2. Denzel Washington‍

Denzel Washington has had nine Academy Award nominations, winning twice for Glory (1989) and Training Day (2001). The legendary actor inspired awe with his portrayal of Malcolm X. Fans may want to check out his spy credentials in Safe House (2012) as Tobin Frost, a turncoat who is brought to a safe house by CIA rookie Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). (Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, GooglePlay, YouTube, Microsoft) 

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1. John David Washington‍

Denzel’s son John David Washington has also wowed us - first as a professional football player in the NFL Europe and UFL, then as an undercover cop in BlacKkKlansman. He even changed our views about time in Tenet. Pattinson couldn’t keep up: “When I’m running on screen, I’m generally paired with John David who is an ex-NFL player,” Pattison explained. “So it was the most unfair thing in the world.” (Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV, Microsoft, Sky Store in the UK)