Joey Ansah

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Joey Ansah
Born Joey Ansah
(1982-11-24) 24 November 1982
London, England
Occupation Actor, martial artist, fight choreographer, producer, director

Joey Ansah (born 24 November 1982) is a British actor and martial artist best known for his roles in The Bourne Ultimatum and Street Fighter: Legacy.

Early life

Ansah was born in London, England of mixed ethnicity, the second son of celebrated Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi Ansah[1] and his Devon-born wife Nicola. He lived in London for the first 10 years of his life before emigrating with his family to Ghana. While in Ghana, he studied the martial art of Tae Kwon Do for 4 years and took up hip hop dance and motorbike racing. At 15 he returned to England, settling with his mother and young sister in Plymouth. Whilst studying for his GCSEs and A levels at Devonport High School for Boys, he began training in the martial art of Ninpo Taijutsu. This would include a period of training with Bujinkan Grandmaster Masaaki Hatsumi. Later, while studying for his degree in Human Biology at Oxford Brookes University, he began training in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. He also worked as a model and extra at this time.

Acting career

His first important role as an actor was in the UK indie film Love Struck (2005). Notable appearances on British TV followed in episodes of BBC productions Spooks (2005) and Timewatch (2006).

Ansah went on to play a minor role as one of the Shadow Warriors in Batman Begins (2005). However, his most noteworthy role to date came in 2007, when Ansah appeared in The Bourne Ultimatum as Desh Bouksani, an assassin tracking down Jason Bourne. His performance was notable for an extended set-piece fight scene between himself and Matt Damon, regarded by one reviewer as one of the best ever filmed,[2] in which Ansah performed all of his own stunts. In 2008 he was nominated for a MTV Film Award in the 'Best Fight' category.

Ansah has also acted in British independent martial arts films, such as Left for Dead and Underground.

Other work

Ansah has choreographed, co-written and directed the short film Street Fighter: Legacy. A self-proclaimed fan of the video game series, Ansah wanted the short to be the most accurate depiction of the series, different from the two theatrically released films. He and collaborator Christian Howard whom he worked with on SFL have worked on the live-action Street Fighter series Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist.

Family

His artistic family includes:

  • Kofi Ansah (father) – fashion designer[3]
  • Kwaw Ansah (uncle) – award-winning film director[4]
  • Tumi Ebow Ansah (uncle) – actor, composer, ethnomusicologist and researcher [5]
  • Ryan Ansah (brother) – musician[6]
  • Tanoa Ansah - (sister) CEO of Dæ.WEAR

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ Alfred Tamakloe. Celebration of local fabrics. Djembe Online – No 28
  2. ↑ Bourne Ultimatum : Review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2012-05-28.
  3. ↑ African Clothes | Women's Clothing | Vlisco Wax Prints Holland at. Kofiansah.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-28.
  4. ↑ Kwaw Ansah at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ Tommy Ebow Ansah at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ MySpace.com – Foolish Earthlings – London, UK – Funk / Rock / Soul – www.myspace.com/foolishearthlings. Foolish Earthlings. Retrieved on 2012-05-28.
  7. ↑ This Could Be The Best Street Fighter Film Ever Created | Kotaku Australia. Kotaku.com.au (May 2010). Retrieved on 2012-05-28.

External links

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