Chiwetel Ejiofor is a British actor of Nigerian descent, winner of several prestigious awards and a nominee for many awards. He is known to many for his roles in such popular films as The Mission of Serenity, Gangster, 12 Years of Slavery, etc. But his filmography includes a lot more projects.
Biography
Chiwetel was born into a Nigerian family in 1977 in the Forest Gate area, located in eastern London. His mother Obyajulu worked in a pharmacy, and father Arins was a doctor. Later, a daughter, Zain Asher, appeared in their family, who is now a correspondent for CNN.
At the age of fourteen, while studying at Dalwich College, Chiwetel Ejiofor began to participate in performances. He even joined the UK National Youth Theater. And once he got the main role in the play "Othello", which first took place at the Bloomsbury Theater in 1995, and then in 1996 at the Royal Theater in Glasgow.
Carier start
The list of films by Chiwetel Ejiofor dates back to 1997, when Steven Spielberg offered him a small role in the historical drama Amistad. The film is based on a real story related to the rebellion that occurred in 1839 on a slave ship. And soon the actor appeared in John Strickland’s musical drama “GMT Time” (1999).
The actor won the first main role only in 2002, when he was offered to star in the British thriller Dirty Charms. This is the story of the survival of the administrator and the cleaning lady, who are forced to work in a hotel, the most criminal establishment in London.
Then Chiwetel Ejiofor got a place in the cast of the criminal thriller Matthias Ledou “Three Blind Mice” (2003). At the same time, he starred in the British mini-series Canterbury Tales (2003), which consists of six separate parts. In 2004, the British Academy of Television Awards nominated the project in three categories. But the best actress was then named Julie Walters.
Also in 2004, another film with Ejiofor was released. This was Woody Allen’s dramatic comedy “Melinda and Melinda, ” in which two plot lines are considered at once - tragic and humorous. And this project was followed by the sci-fi action movie of Joss Whedon “Mission Serenity.” Chiwetel Ejiofor did not receive a place in the main cast and did not win awards. But participating in the filming of such a successful film was a victory in itself.
In 2005, the actor received the main role in the dramatic comedy of the American-British production “Freaky Bots” and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award as “Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical”.
Until 2010, the actor starred in several film projects. In the serial drama of Bharat Nalluri "Tsunami" (2006). In Casey Lemmons’s biographical military drama, Talk to Me (2007). With Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, he starred in Ridley Scott's crime drama Gangster (2007). Got a major role in David Mamet’s sports drama Red Belt (2007). And he joined the company of William Hert on the set of the historical drama "The End of the Game" (2009).
After 2010
In 2010, Chiwetel Ejiofor played the CIA counterintelligence Darryl Peabody in the American action movie Phillip Noyce "Salt" with starring Angelina Jolie. Then he got the main role in the seven-part British drama Hugo Blake “The Shadow Border” (2011), where he played the role of a detective with a bullet in his head, investigating the murder of a drug lord. And a year later, along with Al Pacino, starred in the television historical drama "Phil Spector" (2012).
Since 2013, the actor’s schedule has become denser. For a short period, he appeared in several projects at once, including Steven Polyakoff's mini-series Dancing on the Edge (2012), the Annette Heywood-Carter family drama Savannah (2013), and Steve McQueen's biographical drama 12 Years a Slave (2013)), as well as the melody of Baia Bandele, “Half the Yellow Sun” (2013).
In Craig Zobel’s science fiction drama “Z means Zachariah” (2015), the actor played the role of John Loomis, one of the few survivors of the nuclear disaster. In Ridley Scott’s science fiction film “The Martian” (2015), he played Vincent Kapoor, Ares Program Manager. And the next film with Chiwetel Ejiofor was the thriller “The Secret in Their Eyes” (2015), where the actor played Ray Casten, an FBI officer in the anti-terrorism department.
Of the latest projects, Matt Cooke's action movie Three Nines (2016) can be singled out, where he played one of the bank robbers. And the superhero action movie Doctor Strange, released in the same year, filmed in the Marvel universe, where the actor got the role of the black magician Baron Carl Mordo.
