The Veteran English actor you will never know is a Nigerian

March 4, 2024 Legends In Nollywood 78
Post Views: 633

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British – Nigerian actor known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in Oz, Mr. Eko in Lost, Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity, Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Kurse in Thor: The Dark World, Killer Croc in Suicide Squad, Malko in the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones, Dave Duerson in the NFL biopic drama Concussion, and Ogunwe in His Dark Materials.

BACKGROUND

Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s feature directorial debut, Farming, wrapped production in 2017 and had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.

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, Essex. 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.

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 unable to assimilate, he was returned to Tilbury shortly thereafter. The brief exposure to Nigeria left him struggling to reconcile his heritage with the distinctly British culture and environment he was raised in. As a young boy, he was subject to continual racial abuse in the white neighbourhood he grew up. After enduring repeated physical attacks by local skinheads, he earned their respect by standing up to them and eventually aligned forces with them. At 16 years old, his birth 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.

He went on to earn his Bachelor’s from the University of London at large and subsequently a Master’s in Law from King’s College London. While a university student, Akinnuoye-Agbaje worked in a clothes shop where he was introduced to the world of modelling. On March 17, 2017, he was awarded an Honorary PhD by Princess Anne, Chancellor of the University of London.

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

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. 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. 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.

He guest starred in the second episode of season 8 of Monk, and played Derek Jameson in the 2011 film The Thing. He portrayed Kurse in the Marvel Studios film Thor: The Dark World. He portrayed the character Malko in the fifth season of Game of Thrones. 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. In 2016, he co-starred in the DC Comics film Suicide Squad, as the Batman villain Killer Croc.

In 2012, Akinnuoye-Agbaje stated that he had been developing a film about his life story, which he also planned to direct. 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. The film went on to win the Michael Powell Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival for Best British Feature and Best Performance in a British Feature for Idris.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje lives in Los Angeles. He is a Nichiren Buddhist[18] and a member of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist association.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje asked to be written off Lost, citing a desire to return to London after his foster parents’ deaths and to direct a film there. He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

At Nigerian Books of Record, we keep track of record breakers, impact makers, and change agents. We aim to document, celebrate, and honor the remarkable achievements and excellent records of people.

By honoring new generations of game-changers and sharing their authentic stories, we aim to break boundaries, entertain, inspire, and inform the world.

Books of Record will always strive to encourage, find, and share the uniqueness in every achiever who has distinguished themselves through hard work in every professional calling of life.

Always visit this platform for the latest updates on any of our inductions. Send us an email for suggestions on how we can serve you better or suggestions on the next NBR Hall of Famer.

Advertise with us here.

Please, follow Nigerian Books of Record on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

78 Comments

  5. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you can be a great author.I will always bookmark your blog and will come back someday. I want to encourage you continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!

    Reply

  8. Discover the future of decentralized finance with Woofi Finance, a cutting-edge platform for seamless crypto staking and yield farming. Maximize your returns with low fees and high rewards. Join the revolution in DeFi today!

    Reply

  27. nice article ave a look at my site “https://www.newsbreak.com/crypto-space-hub-313321940/3799652652916-top-crypto-investments-in-2025-bitcoin-ai-projects-tokenized-assets”

    Reply

  29. I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this website. I’m hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my very own site now 😉

    Reply

  30. You are so awesome! I do not suppose I’ve read through anything like this before. So nice to discover somebody with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that’s needed on the web, someone with a little originality.

    Reply

  38. Hello there! This article could not be written much better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about this. I’ll forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a very good read. Many thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  40. Hello! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!

    Reply

  53. It’s really a great and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  57. แทงบอลเช่นไรให้ได้เงิน พนันบอลชนะอย่างไรไม่ถูกทุจริต UFABET จ่ายจริงจ่ายไม่ยั้งระบบเข้าใจง่าย เพียงแต่คลิกสมัครก็ทำเงินได้อย่างไม่ยากเย็นกับคาสิโนออนไลน์ สะดวกสุดๆชีวิตชิวๆชีวิตคลูๆทำเงิน สร้างผลกำไรสบายๆจำเป็นต้องที่ UFABET

    Reply

  69. Thank you for every other great article. The place elsemay just anyone get that type of info in such a perfect approach ofwriting? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the search for such information.My blog: Merry

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*