Jovan Adepo (born September 6, 1988) is a British-American actor. He is known for his role as Cory Maxson in the film adaptation of ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' (2016), and also had starring roles in the 2018 film ''

Overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serje ...

'' and as

Lionel Jefferson Lionel Jefferson is a supporting character from the hit television program, sitcoms ''All in the Family'' and ''The Jeffersons''. He is the son of George Jefferson, George and Louise Jefferson. He was originally portrayed by D'Urville Martin for ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

''/''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longe ...

'' special. Adepo was featured in the series ''

When They See Us ''When They See Us'' is a 2019 American crime drama television miniseries created, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay for Netflix, that premiered in four parts on May 31, 2019. It is based on events of the 1989 Central Park jogger case ...

'', the second season of '' Jack Ryan'', and the

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

series ''

Sorry for Your Loss ''Sorry for Your Loss'' is an American drama series created by Kit Steinkellner that premiered on September 18, 2018 on Facebook Watch. The series follows a young widow and her family as they struggle to cope with the unexpected death of her husb ...

''. He plays Michael Murphy in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series '' The Leftovers'' and in 2019 appeared in ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

'' as Hooded Justice. For the latter, he was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Before 1975, supporting actors featured in a miniseries or movie were included in categories such as co ...

. He also starred as Larry Underwood in the miniseries of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's ''

The Stand ''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surv ...

''.

Early life and education

Adepo was born in 1988 in

Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire Upper Heyford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about northwest of Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,295. The village is just east of the ...

. His mother is a

British Nigerian British Nigerians are British people of Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in So ...

from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, while his father is an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

from

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

. His maternal grandfather Fatai Adepo was special adviser to former Nigerian President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

. He moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with his family at the age of 2. Raised in

Waldorf, Maryland Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a populat ...

, he acted in school and church plays. He attended college at

Bowie State University Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest historically b ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, receiving his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. While studying political science, he began taking creative writing classes. He later decided he wanted to move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to become a writer. He started doing commercial workshops to supplement income.

Career

Early workshops and roles

He moved to Los Angeles in 2011 after receiving his bachelor's degree in political science. His first acting job for the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

on ''

K.C. Undercover ''K.C. Undercover'' is an American Television comedy, comedy television series created by Corinne Marshall that aired on Disney Channel from January 18, 2015 to February 2, 2018. The series stars Zendaya, Veronica Dunne, Kamil McFadden, Trinitee ...

''. To make ends meet, he took acting classes in order to book commercials. Here, he grew an interest in becoming an actor. Adepo studied acting under the tutelage of a variety of notable instructors, including

Dianne Hull Dianne Hull (born November 24, 1949) is an American actress whose film career spanned from 1969 to the early 1990s. The films she has acted in include '' The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'', ''Aloha, Bobby and Rose'', '' The Arrangement'', ...

of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

. Through church in Maryland he met

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

's older sister, who helped him get in contact with Davis. It was Davis who put Adepo on the path to studying the right techniques, seeing plays, and reading as many plays as he could.

Film and television roles

He was part of ''Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons''. He played the role of

. The special was conceptualized and hosted by

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

, and the team took home the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). In 2016 he starred in ''

'' alongside

and

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

. In ''Fences'' he stars as Cory Maxson, the son of the main characters played by Davis and Washington. Adepo was "the only member of the ''Fences'' cast who did not star in the play's 2010 Broadway revival before it made the jump to feature film." In 2017, he appeared as the central character along with

Wyatt Russell Wyatt Hawn Russell (born July 10, 1986) Retrieved December 31, 2016Archivedfrom the original on November 10, 2013. is an American actor and former ice hockey player. Russell portrayed Corporal Lewis Ford in Julius Avery's 2018 horror film ''Overl ...

in ''

'', both playing American paratroopers confronted by Nazi super soldiers. By 2017, he was also a series regular on '' The Leftovers'' on

, appearing in the second and third seasons. Adepo performed in the 2017 horror film ''

Mother! ''Mother!'' (stylized as ''mother!'') is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, and Kr ...

'' by

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Aronof ...

. In May 2019, he appeared as the adult Anton McCray in ''

'', nominated for an Emmy, about the

Central Park Five Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. In September 2019, he was cast as Larry Underwood in an upcoming version of

's ''

''. As of November 2019, he was in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

shooting ''The Stand.'' In November 2019, he appeared as the central character in the sixth episode of ''

'', playing the world's first superhero Hooded Justice. Also in November 2019, he was in an unreleased independent film called ''Violent Heart'', to be released in 2020. He was named one of '' Dazed Magazine's'' "Dazed 100". In March 2021, he was cast to star in ''

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

''.‘Fences’ Star Jovan Adepo Joins Ensemble Of Damien Chazelle’s ‘Babylon’ At Paramount
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adepo, Jovan Living people 1988 births 21st-century English male actors African-American Christians African-American male actors American male television actors American male film actors American people of Nigerian descent Black British male actors Bowie State University alumni Christians from Maryland British emigrants to the United States English male actors English male television actors English male film actors English people of African-American descent English people of Nigerian descent Male actors from Oxfordshire People from Cherwell District People from Waldorf, Maryland 21st-century African-American people