Spike Lee is an American filmmaker and actor, known for films that deal with controversial social and political issues. Each of Lee's films typically refers to itself as "A Spike Lee Joint" and the closing credits always end with the phrases "By Any Means Necessary," "Ya Dig," and "Sho Nuff."

Lee received a Master of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which culminated in his thesis film Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, the first student film to be shown in Lincoln Center's New Directors/New Films Festival. Lee's first feature film, She's Gotta Have It, was released three years later in 1986. Lee directed, produced, wrote, and acted in his first three feature films: She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, and Do the Right Thing, and has since starred or acted in others. He reprised the role of Mars Blackmon from She's Gotta Have It for a series of Nike commercials that also starred Michael Jordan.

Lee has directed music videos by artists such as Prince, Michael Jackson, Anita Baker and Eminem, and for songs featured in films he has directed, including "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy, which was featured heavily in the 1989 film Do the Right Thing.

Filmography Short film YearTitleCredited asNotes Director Writer Producer 1979 Last Hustle in Brooklyn 1980 The Answer 1981 Sarah 1995 Lumière and Company Segment 2001 Come Rain or Come Shine 2002 "We Wuz Robbed" Segment of Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet 2005 "Jesus Children of America" Segment of All the Invisible Children 2017 Brave: Visions for Moncler 2020New York, New York 3 Brothers: Radio Raheem, Eric Garner and George Floyd

Feature film YearTitleCredited as Director Producer Writer Notes 1983 Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads Also editor and assistant camera 1986 She's Gotta Have It Also editorInducted into the National Film Registry in 2019 1988 School Daze 1989 Do the Right Thing Inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999 1990 Mo' Better Blues 1991 Jungle Fever 1992 Malcolm X Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2010 1994 Crooklyn 1995 Clockers 1996 Girl 6 Get on the Bus 1998 He Got Game 1999 Summer of Sam 2000 Bamboozled Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2023 2002 25th Hour 2004 She Hate Me 2006 Inside Man 2008 Miracle at St. Anna 2012 Red Hook Summer 2013 Oldboy 2014 Da Sweet Blood of Jesus 2015 Chi-Raq 2018 BlacKkKlansman 2020 Da 5 Bloods 2025 Highest 2 Lowest

Executive producer

Drop Squad (1994) New Jersey Drive (1995) Tales from the Hood (1995) Afrocentricity (2000) Good Fences (2003) Pariah (2011) Evolution of a Criminal (2014) Manos sucias (2014) Cronies (2015) The Girl Is in Trouble (2015) Tales from the Hood 2 (2018) Son of the South (2020) Tales from the Hood 3 (2020) You Resemble Me (2021) The Voice of Hind Rajab (2025)

Producer

The Best Man (1999) Love & Basketball (2000) 3 A.M. (2001) Dream Street (2005) Saint John of Las Vegas (2009) You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You (2011) See You Yesterday (2019) Amazing Grace (2019)

Documentary film YearTitleCredited as Director Producer 1997 4 Little Girls 2000 The Original Kings of Comedy 2012 Bad 25 2016 Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall 2020 American Utopia

Acting roles Year Film RoleNotes 1986 She's Gotta Have It Mars Blackmon 1988 School Daze Darrell "Half-Pint" Dunlap 1989 Do the Right Thing Mookie 1990 Mo' Better Blues Giant Lonely in America Himself 1991 Jungle Fever Cyrus 1992 Malcolm X Shorty 1994 Crooklyn Snuffy Drop Squad Himself1995Lumière and CompanyShort filmClockers Chucky 1996 Girl 6 Jimmy 1999 Summer of Sam John Jeffries 2000 Lisa Picard Is Famous Himself 2012Red Hook Summer Mookie Uncredited

Television YearTitleCredited asNotes Director Producer Writer 2004 Sucker Free City Television film 2005 Miracle's Boys Episodes: "New Charlie" and "Bond of Brothers" 2006 Shark Pilot 2007 M.O.N.Y. Unaired pilot 2011 Da Brick Unaired pilot 2014 Katt Williams: Priceless: Afterlife Stand-up special Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store 2017–2019 She's Gotta Have It Creator

Documentary YearTitleCredited as Director Producer 1990 Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella 1999 Pavarotti and Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo 2002 Jim Brown: All-American 2006 When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts 2009 Kobe Doin' Work 2010 If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise 2021 NYC Epicenters 9/11→2021½2022 The Captain2025Katrina: Come Hell and High Water

Stage show YearTitleCredited as Director Producer 1998 Freak 2001 A Huey P. Newton Story 2008 Passing Strange 2013 Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth 2017 Rodney King 2018 Pass Over 2020 American Utopia

Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1986 Saturday Night Live Mars BlackmonEpisode: "Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Run-DMC" 1992 Ghostwriter Special Agent Pete Episode: "Into the Comics: Part 1" 2017–2019 She's Gotta Have It Joe the Bartender / Drum Major2 episodes

Music videos

Year Artist Song Album 1983 Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" 1987 Anita Baker "No One in the World" Rapture 1988 E.U. "Da Butt" School Daze OST 1989 Public Enemy "Fight the Power" Do the Right Thing OSTand Fear of a Black Planet 1991 Fishbone "Sunless Saturday" The Reality of My Surroundings State of Art "Understanding" Community 1992 "Laughing at the Years" Prince and the New Power Generation "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" Diamonds and Pearls Arrested Development "Revolution" Malcolm X OST 1993 Naughty by Nature "Hip Hop Hooray" 19 Naughty III Eros Ramazzotti "Cose della vita" Tutte storie Bruce Hornsby "Talk of the Town" Harbor Lights 1994 Buckshot LeFonque "Breakfast at Denny's" Buckshot LeFonque1996 Michael Jackson "They Don't Care About Us" (Prison Version) HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I "They Don't Care About Us" (Brazil/Olodum Version) 2000 Mau Maus "Blak Iz Blak" Bamboozled 2009 Michael Jackson "This Is It" This Is It 2014 Eminem "Headlights" The Marshall Mathers LP 2 2019 The Killers "Land of the Free" rowspan="2" 2020 Michael Jackson "They Don't Care About Us" (2020)

Video games Year Title Credited as Director ExecutiveProducer Writer 2015 NBA 2K16

See also Spike Lee's unrealized projects

References

Bibliography

External links