Jude Akuwudike

Jude Akuwudike (born 1965) is a Nigerian actor educated in England. He has mostly worked there, on stage and screen.

He has appeared in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.

Early life
Akuwudike trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

Born in Nigeria, West Africa,[1] Akuwudike came to England and was educated at St Augustine's College in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, an independent Roman Catholic boarding school. In 1985 he began to train for an acting career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1987.[2]

Career

In 1988 Akuwudike played Captain Watkin Tench in Our Country's Good at the Royal Court Theatre.[3] His first film appearance was in the same year, as a priest in A World Apart.[4] An early leading role came in 1989 in the play The Fatherland by Murray Watts, at the Bush Theatre at Riverside,[5] and his first significant part on television was as Sergeant Gummer in the drama serial Virtual Murder (1991).[6]

Throughout his career, Akuwudike has worked mainly on stage, including appearing in several productions for the National Theatre, notably Not About Nightingales, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, and Ion. He has also appeared for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as working on Broadway. He has also had many roles in film and television and is a voice actor.[7]

In 1998, in the first British production of Not About Nightingales by Tennessee Williams, directed by Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre, Akuwudike originated the part of "the Queen", a gay prisoner.[8] In 2002 he played the black pimp in a Royal National Theatre production of Edmond, with Kenneth Branagh in the title role.[9]

From February to May 2011, Akuwudike was Abel Magwitch in an English Touring Theatre production of Great Expectations (adapted by Tanika Gupta), with Lynn Farleigh as Miss Havisham.[10][11]

In the Cary Joji Fukunaga film Beasts of No Nation (2015), Akuwudike played Supreme Commander Dada Goodblood, leader of an unnamed West African country torn by civil war.[12]

In September 2018, it was announced that Akuwudike had been cast alongside Joe Cole and Sope Dirisu in a new Cinemax television serial called Gangs of London, then in production.[13]

Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1988 A World Apart Priest
1997 Richard II Scroop TV film
1998 The Ebb-Tide Fakeeva TV film
2000 A Likeness in Stone DC Levi Pryor TV film
2005 Sahara Imam
2010 The Tempest Boatswain
2015 Beasts of No Nation Dada Goodblood
2020 Eyimofe Mofe
TBA Benediction Post-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Screenplay Thomas Episode: "The Land of Dreams"
1992 Virtual Murder Sergeant Gummer Series regular
1993 Between the Lines Custody Sergeant Episode: "Big Boys' Rules: Part II"
1994 The Bill Mr. Jensen Episode: "All Along the Watchtower"
1996-1999 Roger Roger Henry Series regular
1998 Heat of the Sun Elihu Mwangi Episode: "The Sport of Kings"
1999 Kavanagh QC Matthew Atta Episode: "Previous Convictions"
2003 Silent Witness Malcolm Linden Episode: "Running on Empty"
Holby City Derek Fletcher Episode: "Know When to Fold"
2005 Bad Girls Leroy 1 episode
The Last Detective Bradshaw Episode: "Towpaths of Glory"
2007 Silent Witness Willi Episode: "Suffer the Children"
2009 Moses Jones Matthias Mutukula Mini-series
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Oswald Ranta Episode: "The Boy with an African Heart"
Holby City Marvin Stewart Episode: "What Will Survive of Us"
2010 Law & Order: UK Marcus Wright Episode: "Skeletons"
2012 Holby City Gabriel Vaughan Episode: "Hail Caesar"
2013 Doctors Thomas Tembe 3 episodes
2015 Cucumber Ralph Sullivan 1 episode
2016 Stan Lee's Lucky Man Dr. Marghai Episode: "A Twist of Fate"
Undercover Al 1 episode
Friday Night Dinner Custody Sergeant Episode: "The Funeral"
2017 Chewing Gum Alex Episode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number"
Death in Paradise Tony Garret Episode: "In the Footsteps of a Killer"
The A Word Vincent Daniels 3 episodes
2017-2018 Fortitude Doctor Adebimpe Recurring role
2018 Kiri Reverend Lipide 1 episode
2018-2020 In the Long Run Uncle Akie Series regular
2019 Moving On Dr. Bello Episode: "Frozen"
Plebs Agrippa Episode: "The Banquet"
2020 Gangs of London Charlie Carter Recurring role
On the Edge Dad Episode: "BBW"

Notes
  1. Tiziana Morosetti, Africa on the Contemporary London Stage (2018), p. 104.
  2. Jane Milling, Modern British Playwriting: the 80s (2012), p. 211.
  3. Timberlake Wertenbaker, Our Country's Good (2015), p. 16.
  4. J. T. Rogers, The Overwhelming (2006), "Biographies".
  5. "The Fatherland", programme from the Bush Theatre at Riverside, 1989.
  6. Virtual Murder cast at famousfix.com. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  7. About the Players at shakespeare.nd.edu (Shakespeare at Notre Dame). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  8. Plays and Players Applause, Issue 521 (1998), p. 9.
  9. Plays International, Volume 18 (Chancery Publications, 2002), p. 14.
  10. Howard Loxton (2011). "Great Expectations". British Theatre Guide.
  11. Mary Hammond, Charles Dickens's Great Expectations: A Cultural Life, 1860–2012 (2015), Appendix C.
  12. Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, "Idris Elba highlights the flawed Beasts of No Nation", 15 October 2015 at film.avclub.com. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  13. Alex Ritman, Gangs of London Cinemax Series Sets Cast dated 12 May 2018, hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
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