The other night at Salt Bar, a friend of mine walked out for a bitterly cold smoke break with his buddy Rico, who he's known since they worked at Bear Stearns together, years before there was no longer Bear Stearns. Around that same time, the next table over was making to leave the bar. One member of the departing party happened to be Jeffrey Wright, the fourth thespian I've seen drinking at Salt. The others: Dennis Leary, Gina Gershon, and Josh Hartnett, who, when asked by my tanked friend Dan "Why are you wearing that fucking hoodie?" on a very hot, hoodie-unfriendly night, pulled out an impressive save with, "Because I'm cool?".
Through the window I could see Wright asking my guys for a light, then lingering a moment for what appeared to be casual carcinogenic chitchat. Being an occasional smoker (only when I'm drunk, but especially when I'm drunk and Jeffrey Wright's in the mix), I went to join them, but Wright had already left for greener, warmer pastures. Apparently, after lighting his cigarette, Rico, who later revealed he hadn't seen any of Wright's movies except Casino Royale, had said "This is going to sound weird, but I know I've seen you in something". Wright had then squinted his eyes cryptically as if sizing Rico up for admission to a secret, dangerous club, took a drag, and asked, "Have you ever been in prison?"
And that is why Jeffrey Wright is the finest actor of our generation (and maybe Josh Hartnett's not all that bad).
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