David Oyelowo

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David Oyelowo

Oyelowo with his wife Jessica at the International Press Academy’s 12th Annual Satellite Awards
Born April 1, 1976 (1976-04-01) (age 32)
Oxford, England
Spouse(s) Jessica Oyelowo

David Oyelowo (born 1 April 1976 in Oxford) is an English actor of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons.

Contents

[edit] Education

Oyelowo first went to drama classes since he fancied a girl who was also going.[1] He then studied Theatre Studies for A level and his teacher suggested he should become an actor. After A levels Oyelowo enrolled for a year on an Art foundation course before being funded through training at LAMDA by Nicholas Hytner. Having been offered television work Oyelowo left LAMDA before completing the course.

[edit] Stage

His best known theatrical role was his performance as King Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2001 productions of Shakespeare's trilogy of plays about the king - part of its season This England: The Histories. 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 Ian Charleson Award for best performance by an actor under 30 in a classical play, in the same year. (A few years later, in comparison, Adrian Lester's casting as Henry V drew little comment.) Oyelowo said of this experience:

"It's fascinating to work with a company of actors of such different ages, experience and talents. I'm one of a generation brought up on television whose acting is more 'naturalistic', whereas with some of the older generation it's more heightened. But I think there's room for both styles."[2]

He had begun his stage career in 1999 when he was offered a season with the RSC playing roles in Ben Jonson's Volpone, as the title character in Oroonoko (in 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.

In 2005 he appeared in a production of Prometheus Bound, which was revived in New York in 2007. In 2006, he made his directorial debut on a production of The White Devil, produced by his own theatre company in Brighton, Inservice, co-run with fellow Brighton based actors Priyanga Burford, Israel Aduramo, Penelope Cobbuld and his wife, Jessica. [3]

[edit] Film

He played the male lead in Kenneth Branagh's film of As You Like It. He also appears as Dr Junju, alongside Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, in The Last King of Scotland. Oyelowo will be playing Muddy Waters in the 2008 film Chess.

[edit] TV

Oyelowo is best known for playing agent Danny Hunter in the British TV drama series Spooks (known in North America as MI-5).

He had before that appeared in Tomorrow La Scala (2002), Maisie Raine (1998) and Brothers and Sisters (1998).

Oyelowo appeared in the TV movie Born Equal[4], a film exploring aspects of poverty, race, inequality, and class in Britain today. Written and directed by Dominic Savage, the film was likened to a British version of the Oscar-winning Crash.[5] Its working title was London/The London Project, but by the time of its broadcast on BBC 1 on 17 December 2006 it had been renamed. Oyelowo appeared alongside Nikki Amuka-Bird as a couple fleeing persecution in Nigeria - they also both appeared in Shoot the Messenger, and in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as a husband and wife.

Other TV appearances include:

[edit] Radio

He appeared as Olaudah Equiano in Grace Unshackled – The Olaudah Equiano Story, a radio play adapting Equiano's autobiography. This was first broadcast on BBC 7 on Easter Sunday 8 April 2007, with Jessica as Mrs Equiano.[7]

[edit] Quotations

  • "I think it's vital to have something outside your acting to keep you rooted in the real world, and help you fill the vacuum. If you have nothing else, it can be unhealthy. For me being a Christian has been invaluable: it simply means acting isn't the centre of my life."
  • "For me, there are three important things in my life - God first, family second, and work third, in that order".

[edit] References

  1. ^ My first boss, interview, Guardian
  2. ^ His IMDB page.
  3. ^ In my head this is massive, interview, Guardian 2005
  4. ^ BBC site for Born Equal
  5. ^ Race drama tipped as a British Crash, The Daily Mail, April 7, 2006
  6. ^ BBC site for Shoot the Messenger
  7. ^ BBC - Press Office - Network Radio Programme Information Week 15 Easter Sunday 15 April 2007

[edit] External links

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