Wednesday 19 August 2015

Nigerian Celebrities in diaspora: David Oyelowo


He was recently announced to have been chosen to play James Bond in the audiobook of 'Trigger Mortis', Anthony Horowitz version of James Bond story. This making him the first black to be taking that role.

Known mostly for his role as Henry VI in the popular play of Shakespeare story, David Oyelowo is a Nigerian. He is an English actor and has starred in various award winning films. His role as king in Henry VI made him the first black to be acting an English king in a major Shajespeare production. The actor, producer, director and writer David was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England to Nigerian parents of Yoruba decent on 1 April 1976. He is married to Jessica Oyelowo with whom he has four children. His mother worked for British Rail while his father worked for the then state-owned British Airways. He studied theatre studies at City and Islington College and later enrolled for a year in an art foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. While in City and Islington, a teacher suggested that he should go into acting. 

David began his career in 1999 with his picking a role in a season with the Royal Shakespeare company playing roles in Ben Jonson's Volpone. His role as King Henry VI was received with massive criticism as it was considered colour-blind casting. However, he won himself Ian Charleson award for Best Performance by an actor under 30 in a classical film in 2001 for his performance.

David who has also acted several television series, stage and radio dramas has won himself several awards and got many nominations. Some of his notable works include: Rise of the planet of apes; Selma; Lincoln; Middle of Nowhere; Nightingale among others. As a Director, he made his debut in 2006 with 'The White Devil'. David is alongside Lupita Nyongo casted in the adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie' Americanah.

David believed God called him to act Martin Luther King Jnr in the movie selma. This is what he had to say about playing the role, "I always knew that in order to play Dr. King, I had to have God flow through me because when you see Dr. King giving those speeches, you see that he is moving in his anointing." Everyone is however expecting he nails the role of James Bond in the audio book, but that doesn't change the fact that David Oyeolowo is one of the very best amongs the Nigerian celebrities in diaspora. 


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