David Oyelowo

David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo ( ; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

Oyelowo rose to prominence for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the biographical drama film ''Selma'' (2014) and Peter Snowdin in the HBO film ''Nightingale'' (2014), both of which garnered him critical acclaim. He also achieved praise for his roles as Louis Gaines in ''The Butler'' (2013), Seretse Khama in ''A United Kingdom'' (2016) and Robert Katende in ''Queen of Katwe'' (2016). He has also played supporting roles in the films ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' (2011), ''The Help'' (2011), ''Lincoln'' (2012), ''Red Tails'' (2012) and ''Jack Reacher'' (2012).

On television, Oyelowo has played MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British drama series '' Spooks'' (2002–2004) and Javert in the BBC miniseries ''Les Misérables'' (2018). He also provided the voice for Agent Alexsandr Kallus in the Lucasfilm Animation series ''Star Wars Rebels'' (2014–2018).

Early life

Oyelowo was born on 1 April 1976 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, to Nigerian parents. His father, Stephen, is from Oyo State, Western Nigeria, and his mother is Igbo, also from Southern Nigeria.Youtu

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mTHQDCWhwFg] He was brought up as a Baptists, Baptist. He grew up on an estate in Tooting Bec, South London, until he was six, when his family moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where his father worked for the national airline and his mother worked for a railway company. Oyelowo grew up idolizing Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington. Oyelowo attended a "military-style" boarding-school named Lagos State Model College, Meiran. They returned to London when Oyelowo was 14, settling in Islington. Oyelowo is an omoba (or prince) of the Yoruba people in the Nigerian chieftaincy system, his grandfather having been king of a "part of Oyo State called Awe". He has commented of his background: "It sounds way more impressive than it actually is. There are so many royal families in Africa", "royal families are a dime a dozen in Nigeria"; "what we think of as royalty in the UK is very different to royalty in Nigeria: if you were to throw a stone there, you would hit about 30 princes. So it's a bit more like being the Prince of Islington: it was useful for getting dates but probably not much else".

While enrolled in theatre studies at City and Islington College, his teacher suggested that he become an actor. Oyelowo enrolled for a year in an acting foundation course, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He finished his three-year training in 1998. He also spent time with the National Youth Theatre.

Career

Stage

He began his stage career in 1999 when he was offered a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company playing roles in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'', as the title character in ''Oroonoko'' (which he also performed in the BBC radio adaptation) and Shakespeare's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1999) alongside Guy Henry, Frances de la Tour and Alan Bates. However, he is best known for his next stage performance as King Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2001 productions of Shakespeare's trilogy of plays about the king as a part of its season '' This England: The Histories''. In a major landmark for colour-blind casting, Oyelowo was the first black actor to play an English king in a major production of Shakespeare, and although this casting choice was initially criticised by some in the media, Oyelowo's performance was critically acclaimed and later won the 2001 Ian Charleson Award for best performance by an actor under 30 in a classical play.

In 2005, he appeared in a production of ''Prometheus Bound'', which was revived in New York City in 2007. In 2006, he made his directorial debut on a production of ''The White Devil'', produced by Inservice, his theatre company in Brighton which is co-run with fellow Brighton-based actors Priyanga Burford, Israel Aduramo, Penelope Cobbuld, and his wife, Jessica. He played the title role in ''Othello'' in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop with Daniel Craig as Iago, directed by Sam Gold.

Television

Oyelowo is best known for playing MI5 officer Danny Hunter on the British drama series '' Spooks'' (known in North America as ''MI-5'') from 2002 to 2004. He had before that appeared in '' Tomorrow La Scala'' (2002), ''Maisie Raine'' (1998) and ''Brothers and Sisters'' (1998). Soon after the end of his time on ''Spooks'' Oyelowo also appeared in the two Christmas specials of '' As Time Goes By'' (2005). In 2006, he appeared in the television film ''Born Equal'' alongside Nikki Amuka-Bird as a couple fleeing persecution in Nigeria – they also both appeared in ''Shoot the Messenger'' (2006) and in ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' (2008) as a husband and wife. Other cameos have included ''Mayo'' (guest-starring on 30 April 2006) and the television film ''Sweet Nothing in My Ear

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases