He had before that appeared in Tomorrow La Scala (2002), Maisie Raine (1998) and Brothers and Sisters (1998).
Shakespeer tiger reel series#
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 played the title role in Othello in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop with Daniel Craig as Iago, directed by Sam Gold. 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. In 2005, he appeared in a production of Prometheus Bound, which was revived in New York City in 2007. 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.
However, he is best known for his next stage performance as King Henry VI 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. 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. He also spent time with the National Youth Theatre. He finished his three-year training in 1998. Oyelowo enrolled for a year in an acting foundation course, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). While enrolled in theatre studies at City and Islington College, his teacher suggested that he become an actor. So it's a bit more like being the Prince of Islington: it was useful for getting dates but probably not much else". There are so many royal families in Africa", "royal families are a dime a dozen in Nigeria" "what we think of as royalty in the UK is very different to royalty in Nigeria: if you were to throw a stone there, you would hit about 30 princes. He has commented of his background: "It sounds way more impressive than it actually is. Oyelowo is an omoba (or prince) of the Yoruba people in the Nigerian chieftaincy system, his grandfather having been king of a "part of Oyo State called Awe". They returned to London when Oyelowo was 14, settling in Islington. Oyelowo attended a "military-style" boarding-school named Lagos State Model College, Meiran. Oyelowo grew up idolizing Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington. He grew up on an estate in Tooting Bec, South London, until he was six, when his family moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where his father worked for the national airline and his mother worked for a railway company. His father, Stephen, is from Oyo State, Western Nigeria, and his mother is from Edo State, Southern Nigeria.
Oyelowo was born on 1 April 1976 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, to Nigerian parents. He also provided the voice for Agent Alexsandr Kallus in the Lucasfilm Animation series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018).
On television, Oyelowo has played MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British drama series Spooks (2002–2004) and Javert in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018). He has also played supporting roles in the films Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Help (2011), Lincoln (2012), Red Tails (2012), and Jack Reacher (2012). He also achieved praise for his roles as Louis Gaines in The Butler (2013), Seretse Khama in A United Kingdom (2016) and Robert Katende in Queen of Katwe (2016). in the biographical drama film Selma (2014) and Peter Snowdin in the HBO film Nightingale (2014), both of which garnered him critical acclaim. Oyelowo rose to prominence for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. In 2016, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a BAFTA Award. David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo OBE ( / oʊ ˈ j ɛ l oʊ w oʊ/ oh- YEL-oh-woh born 1 April 1976 ) is a British actor, director and producer.