Brian Ogola

Brian Ogola
Born Brian Omondi Ogola Genard
(1989-12-08) December 8, 1989
Nairobi, Kenya
Occupation Actor
Years active 2010-present

Brian Omondi Ogola Genard or simply credited as Brian Ogola, is a Kenyan film, stage and television actor[1] He has been acting professionally since 2012.

Early Life

Ogola was born in December 1989 and raised in Kenya's upbeat capital, Nairobi. He attended Unity Primary School for his primary and later moved on to St. Mary’s School, Yala where he completed his High school education. It was in his high school years that he discovered his passion, love and appreciation for performing arts and would never miss in any school play performances. His passion for acting was so deep so much so that he attended auditions as he pursued his higher learning at the Technical University of Kenya and at Kenya Institute of Management where he studied Business Administration, Accounting and Sales and Marketing. It was during this time that he landed amateur acting roles in church-based plays and musicals around the city in 2009.

Career

In 2012 under the coaching of David Morin of Slingshot Productions, Brian won the fourth edition of Actors Monologue Challenge in 2012. He also made appearances in local hit tv shows such as Mwangaza, Love 101(KTN), Block D and Lies That Bind.

Brian has appeared in the television series Love101, which aired on KTN. In 2014, he was confirmed to be the leading man in soap opera Jane and Abel. He plays alongside Lizz Njagah, Mumbi Maina, Sarah Hassan and Angel Wangurinye.[2]

Brian landed his first lead role on a Kenyan television show dubbed Jane and Abel (Maisha Magic East) produced by Spiel Works Media under Dorothy Ghetubba in 2013. He was cast alongside Lizz Njagah and Mumbi Maina and took on the role of 'Abel Simba', the eldest son and CEO of Simba Media Empire, a family business. He strives to keep the family business that dominates its market share and is up against external and internal (family) factors that attempt to tank the business.

In 2015, he was cast as 'Anto' in the movie Kati Kati directed by Mbithi Masya. The feature film was nominated in the 90th Academy Awards (Oscars) in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. The film won several accolades such as 2017 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival’s Emerging Filmmaker Award and 2017 Africa Movie Viewer’s Choice Awards for East Africa just to name a few.

In 2017, Brian stars alongside Joyce Maina in the short film Neophobia by the award-winning director, Mark Maina. The film tells the story of a young woman obsessed with old routine and an unwillingness to try new things. When she unexpectedly finds an appreciation for a modern hair dryer, she is forced to completely rethink -and overthink -her life. In May 2017, Neophobia was screened at the prestigious 70th Cannes Film Festival in France. It was the only African movie chosen for that year’s Cannes festival. The film also won a few other awards that year at the UDADA film festival that celebrates women filmmakers. He received a best film supporting actor nomination at the East African Riverwood Awards for his role in the movie.

Of course, he does not abandon his stage performances and takes on the city with the Too Early For Birds plays in May 2017. The show is based on stories from the blog Owaahh which shares odd stories from the Kenyan history. The show enjoyed great success when it was first staged in May 2017 and is still in production for its 3rd Edition.

In the same year, he stars alongside Sue Wanjiru and Nick Ndeda in the award-winning movie 18 Hours written and directed by Njue Kevin. He was cast as 'Mark', the ambulance driver to 'Zach' (Nick Ndeda) who is a rookie paramedic. They survive 18 Hours in an ambulance for the life of a road accident casualty who is denied admission into the hospital. The film seeks to give perspective to not only to the Kenyan Health Care System but Africa's as a whole. The film won Best Overall Movie in Africa in the 6th Annual Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards 2018 (AMVCAs) among other awards.

Early 2018, Brian landed a lead role in the action crime movie Poacher directed and written by Tom Whitworth. He plays 'Mutua' a desperate farmer who runs into trouble after he steals a stash of blood ivory from a gang of international terrorists. The film was selected as a finalist at the Hollywood #Just4Shorts festival and was also selected to screen at the prestigious World of Film International Festival Glasgow'2018.

Brian has just finished filming for a lead role in a new Movie dubbed Lusala produced by Ginger Ink and One Day Films known for award-winning productions such a Nairobi Half Life, Supa Modo and Kati Kati, to name a few. The film has been selected in the Cape Town  International Film Market and festival (CITFMF) Works in Progress Selection' 2018.

Filmography

YearProjectRoleTitleRef

Television
2010 Love101
2013 Poison Ivy Chris Theatrical performance [3]
2013-14 Lies that Bind Ben Juma #2 Series regular; Replaced Maqbul Mohammed during the series' run [4]
2014–present Jane and Abel Abel Simba Protagonist [5]

film

yearprojectrolenotes
2018 Lusala
2018 "Poacher" Mutua
2017 "18 Hours (film)" Mark
2017 "Neophobia"
2016 "Kati Kati" Anto

References

  1. ↑ "Brian Ogola and woos". actors.co.ke. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Brian Ogola; The good son breakin' bad". spielworksmedia.com. Spielswork Media. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "A meddling family". theeastafrican.co.ke. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Lies that bind". spielworksmedia.com. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Reasons to watch Lies that Bind". spielworksmedia.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
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