If Jeffrey Wright is typecast in the movies, it’s too often as the smart, patient and effortlessly cool Black man who saves James Bond’s cookies or helps the hero figure it all out.

But every now and then, he gives us a little “street,” and he’s always pin-your-ears-back funny when he does. I used to follow him on Twitter, back when there was a Twitter, and he’d unload on racists, Trumpists and others in a way that made you wonder which Jeffrey Wright is the REAL Jeffrey Wright. Even typing, this great character actor is really good at playing roles.

Interviewing him didn’t give away the game, either. Quiet, considered answers to questions. Maybe he’s typecast as the smart, thoughtful guy for a reason.

About damned time he got a prestige picture leading man part.

Here, he’s a novelist forced to be Blacker in his fiction, with amusing results. Black screenwriters talk about this all the time. “Make this show/movie Blacker” according to the perceptions/tastes of a white producer or viewing public.

Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross and John Ortiz are among the familiar faces in this Toronto Film Fest award winner.

“American Fiction” opens for Oscar qualifying Dec. 22, wider release in Jan.

The preview/trailer is below. Here’s a link to my review of the film.