Chiwetel Ejiofor

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Chiwetel Ejiofor at Comic-Con 2016

Chiwetelu "Chiwetel" Umeadi Ejiofor , CBE [ ˈtʃuːwɨtɛl ˈɛdʒi.oʊfɔr ] (born July 10, 1977 in London ) is a British actor .

life and work

The son of Nigerian parents was born in 1977 in Forest Gate , London . Already during his school days Ejiofor played in various school performances, which aroused his passion for acting. He received a scholarship from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , became a member of the National Youth Theater and played his first major role as Othello in 1995 at the Bloomsbury Theater . In the same year he got his first television role in Deadly Voyage , a year later in Steven Spielberg's Amistad his first small role in a film.

This was followed by roles in the films G: MT Greenwich Mean Time and It Was an Accident . In 2000 he appeared as Romeo in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , which earned him a nomination for the Ian Charleson Award . In the same year Ejiofor received the Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the Critics' Circle Theater Awards .

In 2002 Ejiofor took on his first leading role in Little Dirty Tricks opposite Audrey Tautou , for which he was named Best Actor at the 2003 British Independent Film Awards . This was followed by roles in Actually… Love , Red Dust - The Truth Leads to Freedom , Melinda and Melinda , Four Brothers , Serenity - Escape into New Worlds and Children of Men . From January to March 2007 he appeared in the play The Seagull at the Royal Court Theater and then took over again the role of Othello in a production of the play at the Donmar Warehouse . The staging, and especially Ejiofor's play, received critical acclaim. For this role he received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor .

After supporting roles in the movies in 2012 and Salt , Ejiofor first turned to television and was seen in the television film The Phil Spector Case , among others . In 2013 he took on the role of Solomon Northup in Steve McQueen's drama 12 Years a Slave , for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for best actor in 2014 . For his portrayal of the band leader Louis Lester in the miniseries Dancing on the Edge Ejiofor was nominated for "Best Actor - Mini-Series or TV Movie" for the Golden Globe.

Filmography (selection)

Chiwetel Ejiofor (2015)

Awards (selection)

  • 2000: Nomination for the Ian Charleson Award (prize for the best performance of British actors under 30) for his role as Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
  • 2000: Jack Tinker Award at the Critics' Circle Theater Awards as a promising newcomer.
  • 2000: London Evening Standard Theater Award for Best Newcomer for his role in Joe Penhall's Blue / Orange
  • 2000: Nomination for the Laurence Olivier Theater Award for Best Supporting Actor.
  • 2001: Nomination for the Laurence Olivier Theater Award for Best Supporting Actor.
  • 2002: British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in Dirty Pretty Things
  • 2004: Nomination for the European Film Awards for Best Actor in Dirty Pretty Things
  • 2005: Nomination for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in Kinky Boots
  • 2006: Nomination for the Black Movie Award for Best Actor in Kinky Boots
  • 2007: Nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in Kinky Boots and in Tsunami - Die Killerwelle .
  • 2008: Laurence Olivier Theater Award for Best Actor in Shakespeare's Othello at Donmar Warehouse, London.
  • 2008: Appointed Officer of the British Empire
  • 2014: Nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actor - Drama in 12 Years a Slave and Best Actor - Mini-Series or TV Movie in Dancing on the Edge
  • 2014: British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in 12 Years a Slave
  • 2014: Nomination for an Oscar for Best Actor in 12 Years a Slave
  • 2014: Nomination for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a TV Movie in Dancing on the Edge
  • 2015: Appointed Commander of the British Empire

Web links

Commons : Chiwetel Ejiofor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press reviews: Othello at bbc.co.uk, accessed December 31, 2013
  2. ↑ Queen's birthday honors list: knights outnumber dames five to one in: The Guardian, June 12, 2015, accessed June 13, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Ejiofor, Chiwetel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ejiofor, Chiwetelu Umeadi (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH London Borough of Newham , United Kingdom