Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetelu " Chiwetel " Ejiofor Umeadi, OBE (* July 10, 1977 in London) is a British actor.
Life and work
The son of Nigerian parents was born in 1977 in London's Forest Gate. During his school days Ejiofor played with in several school plays, which awakened his passion for acting. From the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he received a scholarship, became a member of the National Youth Theatres and played his first major role as Othello at the Bloomsbury Theatre in 1995. In the same year he was a year later in Steven Spielberg's Amistad got in Deadly Voyage his first television role, his first small role in a movie.
This was followed by roles in the films G: MT Greenwich Mean Time and It Was an Accident. In 2000 he stood as Romeo in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet on stage, which earned him a nomination for the Ian Charleson Award. In the same year Ejiofor was awarded the Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.
In 2002, Ejiofor in Dirty Pretty Things on the side of Audrey Tautou his first starring role, for which he was honored at the British Independent Film Awards 2003 for Best Actor. This was followed by roles in fact ... Love, Red Dust - The truth leads to freedom, Melinda and Melinda, Four Brothers, Serenity - Escape to new worlds and Children of Men From January to March 2007, he joined the Royal Court Theatre in the play the seagull on and took off again at the role of Othello in a production of the play at the Donmar Warehouse. The staging and especially Ejiofors play was praised by the critics. For this role, he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
After supporting roles in the feature films in 2012 and Salt to Ejiofor initially turned to the television and was seen among others in the TV movie The case of Phil Spector. 2013 he took over the role of Solomon Northup, for which he was nominated for the 2014 Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actor in Steve McQueen's film drama 12 Years a Slave. For his portrayal of bandleader Louis Lester in the miniseries Dancing on the Edge Ejiofor was named " Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film " nominated for a Golden Globe.
Filmography (selection)
Awards (selection)
- 2000: nominated for the Ian Charleson Award ( prize for the best British actor under 30 lines ) for his role as Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
- 2000: London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Newcomer for his role in Joe Penhall's Blue / Orange
- 2000: nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- 2001: nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- 2002: British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in Dirty Pretty Things
- 2004: Nomination for the European Film Award for Best Actor in Dirty Pretty Things
- 2005: nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor in Kinky Boots
- 2006: Nominated for the Black Movie Award for Best Actor in Kinky Boots
- 2007: nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in Kinky Boots and Tsunami - The Killer Wave.
- 2008: Appointed Officer of the British Empire
- 2014: nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Drama in 12 Years a Slave and as 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: nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor - Drama in 12 Years a Slave