Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Akinnuoye-Agbaje at the Thor: The Dark World premiere in October 2013
Born (1967-08-22) 22 August 1967
Islington, London, England
Other names Adewalé, Triple A
Alma mater King's College London
Occupation Actor, fashion model, writer, director, producer
Years active 1995–present

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (/ˌædeɪˈwɑːleɪ ˌækɪˈnuːeɪ ɑːɡˈbɑːdʒeɪ/; born 22 August 1967) is a British actor and former fashion model best known for his roles as Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity, Kurse in Thor: The Dark World, Killer Croc in Suicide Squad, Mr. Eko on Lost, Malko in the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones,[1] and Dave Duerson in the NFL biopic drama Concussion.[2]

Akinnuoye-Agbaje's feature directorial debut, Farming,[3] wrapped production in 2017[4] and had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[5]

Early life and education

Akinnuoye-Agbaje was born in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents of Yoruba origin, who were students in the UK. When he was six weeks old, his biological parents gave him up to a white working-class family in Tilbury. This was a common practice in this era among Nigerian families, when parents sent young children to live in the UK with white foster parents in the hopes their children would have better lives.[3][6] His foster parents had at least ten African children, including Akinnuoye-Agbaje's two sisters, living in their house at certain points. His foster father made a living as a lorry driver and struggled to support the family financially.[7]

Akinnuoye-Agbaje at a Red Cross benefit at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, 28 February 2007

When he was eight years old, his biological parents brought him back to Nigeria but, as he was unable to speak the Yoruba language and forbidden by his parents to speak English, he was returned to Tilbury shortly thereafter. The brief exposure to Nigeria left him struggling to reconcile his heritage with the distinctly English culture and environment he was raised in. As a young boy, facing a cultural identity crisis, he joined a local skinhead gang in order to escape racial persecution at their hands. At 16 years old, having become a violent thief, his foster parents sent him to a boarding school in Surrey where he ultimately attempted suicide before coming to terms with his background and turning his life around.[7]

He went on to earn a Law degree from King's College London and a Masters in Law from the University of London. While a university student, Akinnuoye-Agbaje worked in a clothes shop where he was introduced to the world of modelling.

Career

Akinnuoye-Agbaje's modelling career led him to Hollywood, where he began his acting career with a 1995 role in Congo.[7]

His best known acting roles have been as the imposing convict Simon Adebisi in the 1990s HBO prison series Oz and as Mr. Eko on ABC's survivor drama Lost.[7] Film roles include The Bourne Identity, in which he played a deposed African dictator, Hitu the police officer in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, and Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.[8] He was also featured in the video for singer-songwriter Grayson Hugh's hit "Talk It Over", which was in heavy rotation in 1989 on MTV and VH-1.

In 2009, Akinnuoye-Agbaje was in talks with Marvel Studios to play the superhero Black Panther in a proposed film of the same name. In an interview, he stated his excitement about the possibility, saying that "the timing is so right" for a black superhero, and "while I'm in my prime, this is the time... I'm going to keep knocking on their door." In 2014 Marvel did announce a Black Panther film, though with Chadwick Boseman in the title role.[9]

He guest starred in the second episode of season 8 of Monk, and played Derek Jameson in the 2011 film The Thing.[10] He portrayed Kurse in the Marvel Studios film Thor: The Dark World.[11] He portrayed the character Malko in the fifth season of Game of Thrones.[1][12] In 2015 it was reported that Akinnuoye-Abaje voices the lead character of Bilal, a film about the life of Bilal Ibn Rabah set to be released in the second half of the year.[13] In 2016, he co-starred in the DC Comics film Suicide Squad, as the Batman villain Killer Croc.[14]

Directing career

In 2012, Akinnuoye-Agbaje stated that he had been developing a film about his life story, which he also planned to direct.[15] The film is called Farming, in reference to the practise of Nigerian parents "farming out" their children to white UK families. In May 2017, he announced that casting on the film had begun with Damson Idris in the lead role as Enitan, Kate Beckinsale playing his abusive, neglectful foster mother and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as his teacher and mentor.[6][16]

Personal life

Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a Nichiren Buddhist[17] and a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist association.[18]

Akinnuoye-Agbaje asked to be written off Lost, citing a desire to return to London after his parents' deaths and to direct a film there.[19]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleDirectorNotes
1995CongoKahegaFrank MarshallUncredited
1995Delta of VenusThe ClairvoyantZalman King
1995Ace Ventura: When Nature CallsHituSteve Oedekerk
1996The Deadly VoyageEmmanuelJohn Mackenzie
1998LegionnaireLutherPeter MacDonald
2001The Mummy ReturnsLock-NahStephen Sommers
2001Lip ServiceSebastionShawn Schepps
2002The Bourne IdentityNykwana WombosiDoug Liman
2004UnstoppableAgent JunodDavid Carson
2005The Mistress of SpicesKwesiPaul Mayeda Berges
2005On the One (Preaching to the Choir)Bull SharkyCharles Randolph-Wright
2005Get Rich or Die Tryin'MajesticJim Sheridan
2009G.I. Joe: The Rise of CobraHeavy DutyStephen Sommers
2010FasterThe EvangelistGeorge Tillman, Jr.
2011Killer EliteThe AgentGary McKendry
2011The ThingDerek JamesonMatthijs van Heijningen Jr.
2012Best Laid PlansJosephDavid Blair
2013Bullet to the HeadMorelWalter Hill
2013Thor: The Dark WorldAlgrim the Strong / KurseAlan Taylor
2013The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & PetePikeGeorge Tillman, Jr.
2014PompeiiAtticusPaul W.S. Anderson
2014AnnieNashWill Gluck
2015TrumboVirgil BrooksJay RoachNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2015ConcussionDave DuersonPeter Landesman
2016BilalBilal (voice)Khurram Alavi
2016Suicide SquadWaylon Jones / Killer CrocDavid Ayer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Red Shoe DiariesDavis BatemanEpisode: "Written Word"
1995New York UndercoverCliff RamseyEpisode: "Downtown Girl"
1996Screen TwoEmmanuelEpisode: "Deadly Voyage"
199720,000 Leagues Under the SeaCabe Attucks2 episodes
1997Cracker: Mind Over MurderJohn DoeEpisode: "Madwoman"
1997Pensacola: Wings of GoldAmbassador OdekuEpisode: "Fallout"
1997–2000OzSimon Adebisi32 episodes
Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1998Linc'sWinston IweluEpisode: "Gangsta Rap"
2000Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny KembleJoeTelevision movie
2005–2006LostMr. Eko21 episodes
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television
2009MonkSamuel WaingayaEpisode: "Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man"
2011Strike Back: Project DawnTahir2 episodes
2012HuntedDeacon Crane8 episodes
2015American OdysseyFrank Majors9 episodes
2015Major LazerMajor Lazer/Evil Lazer (voice)11 episodes
2015Game of ThronesMalko2 episodes
2017Tangled: The SeriesXavier the Blacksmith (voice)5 episodes
2017Tour de PharmacyOlusegun OkorochaTelevision movie
2017Ten Days in the ValleyJohn Bird10 episodes
2019The FixSevvy JohnsonUpcoming series

Music videos

References

  1. 1 2 Lawler, Kelly (17 October 2014). "He was also in get rich or die trying'Lost' alum joins 'Game of Thrones' as ... someone". USA Today. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. ↑ White, James (28 October 2014). "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Joins NFL Concussion Drama". EmpireOnline. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 Eweniyi, Odunayo (6 June 2017). "British-Nigerian Actor, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Is Making A Movie Based On His Childhood". Konbini Nigeria. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  4. ↑ McNary, Dave (2 November 2017). "First Look at Kate Beckinsale, Gugu Mbatha-Raw's British Drama 'Farming'". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Jeremy Kay (21 August 2018). "Toronto 2018: 'Farming', 'Light As Feathers' on Discovery roster, Rising Stars revealed". Screen Daily. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 Ford, Rebecca (5 May 2017). "Cannes: Kate Beckinsale, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Damson Idris to Star in 'Farming'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Anthony, Andrew (12 May 2012). "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: 'I didn't want to be black. So I joined the skinheads…'". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Joins Universal's Thing Prequel". DreadCentral.
  9. ↑ Siegel, Lucas (28 October 2014). "Marvel Announces Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Inhumans, Avengers: Infinity War Films, Cap & Thor 3 Subtitles". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "'The Thing' Prequel Gains Some Muscle". BloodyDisgusting.
  11. ↑ McNary, Dave (22 August 2012). "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje joins 'Thor: Dark World'". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Lost's Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje joins Game of Thrones". IGN. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  13. ↑ Obenson, Tambay (27 February 2015). "Trailer for Animated Feature Film Inspired by True Story of Afro-Arab Slave Who Became "Voice of Islam"". Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  14. ↑ Jeff Sneider (31 March 2015). "'Lost' Alum Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje to Play Killer Croc in WB's 'Suicide Squad' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. ↑ Anthony, Andrew. "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: 'I didn't want to be black. So I joined the skinheads…'". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana. "Kate Beckinsale, Damson Idris & Gugu Mbatha-Raw To Star In 'Farming' – Cannes". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  17. ↑ metrowebukmetro (30 August 2006). "60 SECONDS: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje". Metro. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje not lost in L.A." latimes. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  19. ↑ Keck, William (1 November 2006). "Eko is a Monster Mash". USA Today.
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