Arinzé Kene

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Arinzé Kene
Born1987 (age 33–34)
Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationActor, Playwright

Arinze Mokwe Kene MBE (/əˈrɪnzeɪ ˈkɛni/)[1][2] is a British actor and playwright.[3]

Early life[]

In 1987, Kene was born in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to London when he was four.[4] Kene's father was a taxi driver.[5]

Career[]

Kene has appeared in stage productions such as playing Simba in The Lion King, Daddy Cool,[6] and in June 2009 played strutting lothario Raymond LeGrendre in the musical Been So Long, based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, which opened at the Young Vic.[7] Kene also plays the lead in 2010 UK Film Council feature Freestyle.[3] In 2010, he joined the cast of the BBC's EastEnders as Connor Stanley,[8] for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards.[9] His play Suffocation opened at the Oval House Theatre in London in 2011.[10] Kene was also a member of the series 3 writing team for EastEnders: E20.[11] In April 2011, his casting as Rocco in Hollyoaks was announced.[12]

In 2013, Kene's play God's Property was a Talawa Theatre Company, Soho Theatre and Albany Theatre co-production, directed by Michael Buffong. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

In 2016 he portrayed Tyler in the television series Crazyhead.[18] From 6 October to 3 December 2016 Kene acted and sang in the role of Sam Cooke in the Donmar Warehouse production of the European premiere of One Night in Miami, a play by Kemp Powers[19] He also appeared opposite Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen in How to Build a Girl, directed by Coky Giedroyc.[20]

In 2018, Arinze starred in Misty, which in September transferred to Trafalgar Studios, following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre earlier in the year. The play was written by Kene, directed by and produced by .[21] [22]

On 17 February 2020, it was announced that Arinzé Kene would play the role of Bob Marley in the new musical Get Up, Stand Up! [23]opening at the Lyric Theatre in February 2021 in London's West End, before being postponed to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

Kene was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama and screenwriting.[25]

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Freestyle Leon feature film
2010 Casualty Jacob Maynard TV series, 3 episodes
2010 EastEnders Connor Stanley TV series, 41 episodes
2011 Drink, Drugs and KFC Jason Simpson short film
2011 Hollyoaks Rocco TV series, 2 episodes
2013 Youngers Ashley TV series, 16 episodes
2014 Our Girl Corp. Kinders TV series, 5 episodes
2016 The Pass Ade feature film
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Auror 6 feature film
2016 Crazyhead Tyler TV series, 6 episodes
2018 Been So Long Raymond feature film
2018 Informer Sal Brahimi TV series, 6 episodes
2019 I Am Hannah James Standalone drama
2019 How to Build a Girl Kenny feature film
2019 Flack Sam TV series, 7 episodes
2020 I'm Your Woman Cal feature film
TBA Text for You feature film
TBA Ear for Eye feature film
TBA Tuesday feature film

Awards and nominations[]

Stage[]

Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2010 Off West End Theatre Award New Play Estate Walls Nominated [26]
Most Promising New Playwright Won [27]
2011 Off West End Theatre Award New Play Little Baby Jesus Nominated [28]
2013 Off West End Theatre Award New Play God's Property Nominated [29]
2018 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Musical Performance Misty Nominated [30]
2019 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Play Nominated [31]
Best Actor Nominated
Black British Theatre Award Best Male Actor in a Play Won [32]
Off West End Theatre Award New Play Nominated [33]
Performance Piece Won
WhatsOnStage Award Best New Play Nominated [34]
Best Actor in a Play Nominated
2020 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role Death of a Salesman Nominated [35]
Black British Theatre Award Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play Nominated [36]

References[]

  1. ^ "Arinze Kene's Top Tips For Becoming A Writer". BBC Radio 1. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the Writer | Arinzé Kene | Misty". Bush Theatre. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RISING PLAYWRIGHT AND ACTOR". Nigeriafilms.com. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ "From Misty to Miller… how Arinzé Kene is reshaping theatre". 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview: Arinzé Kene." theguardian.com. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  6. ^ Ositelu, Tola (21 September 2010). "Arinze Kene Interview: It's The Choices You Make That Mark Your Destiny". Soul Culture. Soul Culture Media Ltd.
  7. ^ "First Night Feature:Been So Long". Society of London Theatre. 18 January 2009.
  8. ^ Williams, Karla (27 January 2010). "An Interview with Rising Playwright and Actor". The New Black Magazine.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (13 February 2011). "In Full: All About Soap Bubble nominations". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  10. ^ Tim Masters (12 January 2011). "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. ^ "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC News. BBC. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (12 April 2011). "'Enders Connor to appear in 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  13. ^ "God's Property".
  14. ^ "God's Property".
  15. ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre | reviews, news & interviews | the Arts Desk".
  16. ^ "God's Property – review". 7 March 2013.
  17. ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre - review". 23 March 2013.
  18. ^ Christopher Hooten (9 May 2016). "Crazy Face: Misfits creator lands new E4 and Netflix drama about 'angst and exorcism'". Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (16 July 2018). "Beanie Feldstein Comedy 'How To Build A Girl' Adds Cast, Lionsgate With Shoot Under Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Misty". trafalgarentertainment.com. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  22. ^ "From Misty to Miller… how Arinzé Kene is reshaping theatre". 27 April 2019.
  23. ^ Limited, London Theatre Direct (17 May 2021). "First Look: Images of Arinzé Kene from Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical have been released!". London Theatre Direct. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Brand-new musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Story announced today starring Arinze Kene". London: BestofTheatre.co.uk. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  25. ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B19.
  26. ^ "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  27. ^ "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  28. ^ "2011: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Little Baby Jesus – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  29. ^ "2013: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – God's Property – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  30. ^ "Read the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  31. ^ Longman, Will (5 March 2019). "Olivier Awards 2019: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  32. ^ "2019 Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  33. ^ "2019 Awards – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Shortlisted nominees announced for 2019 WhatsOnStage Awards". West End Wilma. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  35. ^ Thomas, Sophie (3 March 2020). "Olivier Awards 2020: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Black British Theatre Awards winners announced including Miriam-Teak Lee and Layton Williams | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

External links[]

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