David Oyelowo

David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo OBE (/oʊˈjɛləwoʊ/ oh-YEL-ə-woh;[1] born 1 April 1976[2]) is a British actor and producer with dual British and American citizenship.[3][4] His highest-profile role to date was as Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 biographical drama film Selma. He also took the lead role in A United Kingdom (2016) as well as playing the role of a chess coach in Queen of Katwe (2016). He has played supporting roles in the films Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Lincoln (2012), Jack Reacher (2012), and garnered praise for portraying Louis Gaines in The Butler (2013). On television, he played MI5 officer Danny Hunter on the British drama series Spooks (2002–2004) and Javert in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018).

David Oyelowo

OBE
Born
David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo

(1976-04-01) 1 April 1976
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Other namesDavid O.
Citizenship
EducationCity and Islington College
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
OccupationActor, producer
Years active1998–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1998)​
Children4

Early life

Oyelowo was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England,[5] to Nigerian parents.[6] His father is from Oyo State, Western Nigeria while his mother is from Edo State, Southern Nigeria.[7] He was brought up as a Baptist.[8] He grew up in Tooting Bec, South London, until he was six, when his family moved to Lagos,[9] Nigeria, where his father Stephen[8] worked for the national airline and mother for a railway company. David attended a "'military-style' boarding school" while growing up in Lagos, Nigeria[8] They returned to London when Oyelowo was fourteen,[10][8] settling in Islington.[8] He has been said to have 8 middle names, among which are "Animamoma", "Chukwudi", and "Oyerogba".

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).[8] He finished his three-year training in 1998.[11] He also spent time with the National Youth Theatre.[12]

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[9] 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.[13] He played the title role in Othello in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop with Daniel Craig as Iago, directed by Sam Gold.[14]

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 (2008, as defence attorney Leonard Grisham), while he has played recurring or main characters on Five Days (2007) and The Passion (2008, as Joseph of Arimathea).

In December 2009, he played the leading role of Gilbert in the BBC TV adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel Small Island.[15] In March 2010, he played the role of Keme Tobodo in the BBC's drama series Blood and Oil.[16] He starred in the HBO original film Nightingale (2014).

Voice acting

He appeared as Olaudah Equiano in Grace Unshackled – The Olaudah Equiano Story, a radio play adapting Equiano's autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. This was first broadcast on BBC 7 on 8 April 2007, with his wife Jessica Oyelowo as Mrs. Equiano.

In 2007, Oyelowo was the reader for John le Carré's The Mission Song. AudioFile magazine stated: "Think of David Oyelowo as a single musician playing all the instruments in a symphony. That is essentially what he manages in this inspired performance of John le Carré's suspense novel.... Can it really have been only one man in the narrator's recording booth? This virtuoso performance makes that seem impossible."[17] In 2015, he was selected to portray James Bond in Trigger Mortis, written by Anthony Horowitz.[18]

As of 2014, he provides the voice of Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus on the animated series Star Wars Rebels.[19] As of 2017, Oyelowo voices the spirit of Scar, the main antagonist in season 2 of The Lion Guard. Oyelowo voiced the Tiger in a television adaptation of The Tiger Who Came to Tea which aired on Channel 4 for Christmas 2019.[20]

Film

In 2012, Oyelowo appeared in Middle of Nowhere. Writer-director Ava DuVernay had been a fan of his work and had considered asking him to take the role, however before she could, Oyelowo received the script coincidentally from a friend of a friend of DuVernay's who happened to be sitting next to him on the plane and was considering investing in the project.[21] The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival to critical raves. That same year Oyelowo appeared in Lee Daniels' The Paperboy, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[22] Oyelowo reunited with Daniels the following year in The Butler.[23]

In 2014, Oyelowo formed his own independent production company, Yoruba Saxon Productions which has co-produced movies that featured him including, Nightingale, Captive, Five Nights in Maine, and most recently, A United Kingdom.[24]

He worked DuVernay again for Selma (2014), playing civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. The film, based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches, had originally been set to be directed by Lee Daniels, but the project was dropped by Daniels so he could focus on The Butler.

He is slated to star with Lupita Nyong'o in a film adaptation of the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel Americanah. The story follows a pair of young Nigerian immigrants who face a lifetime of struggle while their relationship endures.

In February 2019, it was announced that Oyelowo had joined the Peter Rabbit cast with James Corden, Rose Byrne and Domhnall Gleeson reprising their roles as the title character, Bea and Thomas McGregor for its sequel due to be released in March 2021.[25][26]

Awards and honours

For his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Oyelowo received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. He received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, while also receiving a nomination for Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor.[27]

Also in 2014, for his performance in Nightingale, he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special and a Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.

Oyelowo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama.[28]

Personal life

He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo,[7] with whom he has four children. They live in Los Angeles, California.[9]

A devout Christian,[9] Oyelowo has stated that he believes God called him to play Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Reflecting on his portrayal of King in the film Selma, Oyelowo has asserted that "I always knew that in order to play Dr. King, I had to have God flow through me because when you see Dr. King giving those speeches, you see that he is moving in his anointing."[29]

A dual citizen, Oyelowo and his wife became naturalized US citizens on 20 July 2016.[30][31] On doing so he stated, "I did a film called Selma... and that film centers on voting rights and I've lived here for nearly 10 years now and to be walking around and doing a film about voting rights and telling people to vote, and you can't vote yourself is a little hypocritical. I decided it's time to do it and no time better than now."[30]

Oyelowo is an omoba (or prince) of the kingdom of Awe, Nigeria, a part of the Nigerian chieftaincy system. He commented, "it was useful for getting dates but probably not much else".[32]

Filmography
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Dog Eat Dog CJ
2005 A Sound of Thunder Payne
The Best Man Graham
Derailed Patrol Officer
2006 As You Like It Orlando De Boys
The Last King of Scotland Dr. Junju
2008 Who Do You Love? Muddy Waters
A Raisin in the Sun Joseph Asagai
2009 Rage Homer
2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Steven Jacobs
The Help Preacher Green
96 Minutes Duane
2012 Red Tails 1st Lt. Joe “Lightning” Little
The Paperboy Yardley Acheman
Middle of Nowhere Brian Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
Lincoln Ira Clark
Jack Reacher Emerson
2013 The Butler Louis Gaines NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2014 Nightingale Peter Snowden Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries
Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie
Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special
Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
Interstellar School Principal
Default Atlas
Selma Martin Luther King Jr. Black Reel Award for Best Actor
African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Kermode Award for Best Actor
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Palm Springs International Film Festival Breakthrough Performance Award
Nominated – Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture
Nominated – Village Voice Film Poll Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
A Most Violent Year Lawrence Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
2015 Captive Brian Nichols
Five Nights in Maine Sherwin [33]
2016 Nina Clifton Henderson [33]
Queen of Katwe Robert Katende Nominated—Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best Actor
Nominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor
Nominated—NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor
A United Kingdom Seretse Khama
2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Kiel
A Wrinkle in Time The It Cameo
Gringo Harold Soyinka
2019 Don't Let Go Detective Jack Radcliff
2020 Come Away[34] Jack Littleton
5150 Executive Producer[35]
The Water Man Amos Directorial debut
The Midnight Sky[36] Commander Tom Adewole
2021 Chaos Walking Aaron Post-production
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway Nigel Basil-Jones Post-production
TBA Solitary[37] Chris Newborn Filming
TBA Untitled Tom George film[38] Filming
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Maisie Raine Sonny McDonald Episode: “Food of Love”
Brothers and Sisters Lester Peters
2002–2004 Spooks Danny Hunter
2005 As Time Goes By Patrick 2 episodes
2006 Shoot the Messenger Joseph Pascale TV movie
The Gil Mayo Mysteries Eddie Barton, “Sexy” M.P. Episode: “Episode #1.8”
2007 Five Days Matt Wellings 4 episodes
2008 A Raisin in the Sun Joseph Asagai TV movie
The Passion Joseph of Arimathea TV miniseries (1 episode)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Kremlin Busang Episode: “The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency”
2009 Small Island Gilbert TV movie
2010 Blood and Oil Keme Tobodo TV movie
2011 The Good Wife Judge Edward Weldon Episode: “Two Courts”
2010–2011 Glenn Martin, DDS Teacher / Clarence (voice) 2 episodes
2013 Complicit Edward Ekubo TV movie
2014–2018 Star Wars Rebels Alexsandr Kallus (voice) 28 episodes[5][19]
2014 Robot Chicken Sebastian (voice) Episode: "Walking Dead Lobster"
2017 The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar Scar (voice) TV movie
2017–2019 The Lion Guard Scar (voice) 17 episodes
2018 The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale Himself Episode: "Pizza Ghost"
2018–2019 Les Misérables Javert 6 episodes
2020 Home Movie: The Princess Bride[39] Humperdinck Upcoming series

References
  1. "David Oyelowo finally reveals how you pronounce his name" by Daisy Watt, The Independent, 30 January 2015
  2. The International Who's Who 2004. Europa Publications / Routledge. 2003. p. 1,271. ISBN 978-1857432176.
  3. Handy, David (7 November 2014). "How David Oyelowo Approached the Daunting role of Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  4. "Oyelowo: British TV 'ignoring' black actors". BBC. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  5. "Oyelowo for Star Wars: Rebels?". Belfast Telegraph. 24 September 2013.
  6. "David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig Face Off in Othello by Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 28 November 2016
  7. "Charlize Theron and David Oyelowo Answer The Web's Most Searched Questions". Wired. U.S.A. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  8. Gilbert, Gerard (9 February 2013). "Upwardly mobile: David Oyelowo on going from Tooting Bec to Tom Cruise's jet". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  9. "From Spooks to Lincoln, Complicit star David Oyelowo is about to make it big in Hollywood". Metro UK. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  10. West, Naomi (8 September 2007). "As he likes it". The Daily Telegraph.
  11. "Notices" (PDF). London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Spring 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  12. NationalYouthTheatre [@NYTofGB] (27 May 2015). "Both #NYTalumni !" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 August 2015 – via Twitter.
  13. John, Emma (1 August 2005). "In my head this is massive". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014.
  14. "For David Oyelowo, the Time Has Come to Play Othello" by Alexis Soloski, The New York Times, 16 November 2016
  15. "Small Island: David Oyelowo plays Gilbert". BBC. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  16. Anthony, Andrew (4 April 2010). "Blood and Oil; Canoe Man; Ashes to Ashes". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  17. "The Mission Song". AudioFile. August 2007. Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014. By John le Carré, Read by David Oyelowo
  18. Hughes, William (12 August 2015). "Selma Star David Oyelowo to Play James Bond—in Audiobook Form". The A.V. Club.
  19. Macaskil, Grace (27 September 2014). "Star Wars Rebels actor David Oyelowo had 'no idea' what he was auditioning for". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  20. “Comedy actors to voice The Tiger Who Came To Tea”. Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2020
  21. Philbrick, Jami (11 October 2012). "IAR Exclusive Interview: David Oyelowo Talks Middle of Nowhere, The Paperboy, Lincoln and Jack Reacher". Iamrogue.com. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  22. Calhoun, Dave. "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". Time Out. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  23. Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 126. Gale Cengage Learning. 2015. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-1-57302-425-9.
  24. "David Oyelowo". Variety. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  25. Kroll, Justin (22 February 2019). "David Oyelowo Joins the Cast of Sony's 'Peter Rabbit' Sequel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  26. "Sony Delays Release of 'Morbius,' 'Ghostbusters,' More Films Due to Coronavirus | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  27. "Golden Globe: 'Birdman,' 'Boyhood' and 'Imitation Game' Top Nominations". Variety. 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  28. "No. 61450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2015. p. N14.
  29. "Selma's David Oyelowo on Playing MLK and What It Means to Be a Christian". Sojourners. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  30. "David Oyelowo was inspired to become a citizen after filming Selma". Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  31. "David Oyelowo on his first Thanksgiving as an American citizen".
  32. "David Oyelowo interview: The 'Selma' actor on being an African prince". The Independent. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  33. Taylor, Ben (14 January 2015). "David Oyelowo: 5 facts including wife, Selma and new movies 2015". Swide. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  34. Hipes, Patrick (10 August 2018). "'Come Away' Fantasy Pic Starring Angelina Jolie And David Oyelowo Adds Cast, Begins Shoot". Deadline Hollywood.
  35. "David Oyelowo, Jovan Adepo & Denzel Whitaker Team Up For '5150' Project On Mental Health". Blackfilm - Black Movies, Television, and Theatre News. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  36. Kroll, Justin (20 August 2019). "David Oyelowo Joins George Clooney in 'Good Morning, Midnight' Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  37. McNary, Dave (18 September 2020). "David Oyelowo Reteams With Nate Parker on Drama 'Solitary'". Variety. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  38. Kroll, Justin; Kroll, Justin (20 November 2020). "Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell And David Oyelowo To Star In Untitled Murder Mystery For Searchlight". Deadline. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  39. Breznican, Anthony (26 June 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
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