Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series ''
House'', as Cheese in the 2007 film ''
Gone Baby Gone
''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a ...
'',
Laurent in the films ''
Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...
'' and its sequel ''
The Twilight Saga: New Moon'', and as
Darwin in ''
X-Men: First Class''. Edi also featured in the AMC series, ''
Into the Badlands'', as Baron Jacobee. He has also been a recurring character in NBC's television series, ''
The Blacklist
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...
,'' as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season
crime thriller
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
, ''
The Blacklist: Redemption''.
He has also played a leading role in
''Startup,'' a television drama series on
Crackle
Crackle or crackling may refer to:
Foods
* Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats
** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...
. Since 2022, Edi has played engineer and entrepreneur Dev Ayesa in the
Apple TV+
Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
original
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
space
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
series
''For All Mankind''.
Early life
Born in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
, Gathegi grew up in
Albany, California, U.S.
Gathegi attended the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...
, where he played basketball until a knee injury ended his career. Gathegi then began taking acting classes.
[ He then studied at ]New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
, graduating in 2005. Gathegi's career began in theatre, and his stage credits include '' Two Trains Running'' at the Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
, '' As You Like It'', ''Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...
'', '' Othello'', '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and ''Cyrano de Bergerac
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist.
A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...
'', among others.[
]
Career
Gathegi's first professional role was the Haitian Cabbie in the 2006 film, '' Crank''. Though he had originally auditioned for the role of Kaylo, the producers gave the role to Efren Ramirez
Efrain Antonio Ramírez (born October 2, 1973) is an American actor and DJ, best known for playing Pedro Sánchez in the 2004 indie film ''Napoleon Dynamite''. He later reprised his role in the 2012 animated series of the same name.
Early ...
and instead offered Gathegi an appearance as the Haitian Cabbie.[ He was skeptical at first about performing a Haitian accent, but was coached by a Haitian friend.][ In 2007, after guest-starring on '' Lincoln Heights'' and '']Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...
'', Gathegi went on to star as Bodie in ''Death Sentence
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
'', Darudi in '' The Fifth Patient'' and Cheese in ''Gone Baby Gone
''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a ...
''. He later had a recurring role as Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...
intern Dr. Jeffrey Cole in the television medical drama '' House''. His character was often mocked for his religious beliefs by Dr. House, who himself is an atheist. He also guest-starred in '' CSI: Miami'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
'' in 2008 before being cast as Laurent in ''Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...
''. When Gathegi first auditioned for the 2008 film, adapted from the same-titled first book in Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire romance series ''Twilight'', which has sold over 100 million copies, with translations into 37 differ ...
's Twilight series, he had not heard of the series and was not aware that his character was a vampire. He now has read the whole series and calls himself a hardcore fan.[
He portrays Eddie Willers in '' Atlas Shrugged'' (2011), based on Ayn Rand's novel of the same name. He later portrayed another Haitian character, Jean Baptiste, in the fifth season of '' Justified'', but was unhappy with the role and asked to be written off the show. He has also been a recurring character in NBC's television series, '']The Blacklist
''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily s ...
,'' as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season crime thriller
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
, '' The Blacklist: Redemption''. He also portrays the character Ronald Dacey on '' StartUp''.
Personal life
Gathegi married Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
Adriana Marinescu in 2018.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Drama Desk Awards
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
*2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
: Won along with Sean Carvajal for last-minute entrances into the Signature production of this powerful play ensured it had a happy real-life ending" after replacing Reg E. Cathey in late September for a October 5 first preview
Obie Awards
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
*2018: Won OBIE Award for his performance as Lucius Jenkins in Signature Theater Company revival of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards
*2011: Won LADCC Award for best Lead Actor in a Play for the role of Franco Wicks in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Superior Donuts"
Method Fest Independent Film Festival
The Method Fest Independent Film Festival is an independent film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festiv ...
*2019: Won Breakout Acting Award for his method performance as Beau Willis in "Princess of the Row"
Ovation Awards
The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...
* 2011: Nominated for Featured Actor in a Play for the role of Franco Wicks in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Superior Donuts"
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...
*2018: Nominated for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role in ''Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train
''Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train'' is a play written by Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Plot synopsis
The play takes place in a prison on Rikers Island in New York. Angel Cruz and Lucius Jenkins face murder charges.
Productions
The play premiered Off-Broadw ...
'' at Signature Theatre Company
Signature Theatre Company is an American theatre based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded in 1991 by James Houghton and is now led by Artistic Director Paige Evans. Signature is known for their season-long focus on one artist's work. It has be ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathegi, Edi
1979 births
Living people
People from Nairobi
Kenyan emigrants to the United States
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Kenyan male film actors
Tisch School of the Arts alumni
People from Albany, California
University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
21st-century American male actors
Kenyan male television actors
Kenyan male stage actors
21st-century Kenyan male actors