Babou Ceesay
Babou Ceesay | |
|---|---|
| Born | Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay 1979 London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Babou Ceesay (born 1979) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in Guerrilla and Rogue One. He also starred as supportive Main Role, and Main Antagonist/ Last Villain for Season 3 AMC Into the Badlands.
Early life and education[]
Ceesay was born in London, England, and grew up in West Africa. He is a dual-national and is of Gambian descent.[1] He trained at Oxford School of Drama. He has also been involved in many significant projects on stage include The Overwhelming opposite Andrew Garfield and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He studied Microbiology at Imperial College London and also worked as an internal auditor at accounting firm, Deloitte.[2]
Career[]
Ceesay's first major role was in a horror/comedy film, Severance. Two years later he got a role on TV in an episode of Whistleblower. He made guest appearance in multiple British TV shows including Silent Witness, Law & Order: UK, Casualty, Strike Back, Luther, Getting On and Lewis.
In 2013, he worked in the Nigerian film, Half of a Yellow Sun, alongside Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and another rising star, John Boyega.[3] In 2014, he worked on '71.
In 2015, he was cast in NBC's TV drama, A.D. The Bible Continues as John the Apostle.[4] He also appeared in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015)[5] and the British action comedy Free Fire (2016), set in Boston, and starring Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, and Armie Hammer.
He made a return to television with a major role in the Channel 4 drama, National Treasure as Jerome Sharp, Paul Finchley's (played by Robbie Coltrane) lawyer.[6] He then signed up for and starred in a BBC One television movie, Damilola, Our Loved Boy, based on the murder of Damilola Taylor, a ten-year old Nigerian boy living in Peckham, London and the trial which followed.[7] He played the role of the father, Richard Taylor for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.[8]
In August 2016, he was cast in the British miniseries, Guerrilla, alongside Idris Elba and Freida Pinto.[9]
In 2019, he was cast as Manny Mensah in the BBC One drama television series Dark Money, with John Schwab and Joseph May. He also performed in the American civil rights drama, The Best of Enemies (2019), adapted from a history about school integration and an unlikely alliance in a town in North Carolina.
In 2020, Ceesay was cast as DI Jackson Mendy in the Alibi television series We Hunt Together, with Eve Myles, Hermione Corfield, and Dipo Ola.[10]
Personal life[]
He lives in London with his wife, journalist Anna Ceesay, and their two children.[11]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Severance | Billy | |
| 2013 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Okeoma | |
| 2014 | '71 | Corporal | |
| 2015 | Eye in the Sky | Sergeant Mushtaq Saddiq | |
| 2016 | Free Fire | Martin | |
| 2016 | Rogue One | Lieutenant Sefla | |
| 2019 | The Best of Enemies | Bill Riddick |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Whistleblower | Dr. Abdulrazzad | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Silent Witness | DS Gayle | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Law & Order: UK | Daniel Matoukou | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Casualty | Jake Maddick | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Luther | Adewale Omotoso | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Strike Back | Ozzy Osondu | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Getting On | Hansley | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Lewis | DC Alex Gray | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Puppy Love | Dennis | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | John the Apostle | 12 episodes |
| 2016 | National Treasure | Jerome | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Richard Taylor | TV movie |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Marcus | 6 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Into the Badlands | Pilgrim | Series regular |
| 2019 | Dark Money | Manny Mensah | Series regular |
| 2020 | We Hunt Together | DI Jackson Mendy | Series regular |
| 2021 | Wolfe Kinteh | Main role |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 12th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Male Performance in TV | Nominated | |
| 63rd British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Lewis's new sidekick breaks crime mould". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Marcus Hill Played by Babou Ceesay – Guerrilla | SHOWTIME". SHOWTIME.com. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "TIFF Movie Review – Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Behind The Bible AD: Casting a More Diverse Bible Story". NBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Babou Ceesay as John
- ^ "Eye in the Sky". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Ceesay
- ^ "Meet the cast of National Treasure". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Jerome Sharpe (Babou Ceesay)
- ^ "Damilola Taylor: TV drama tells the story behind the headlines". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. "The Crown royally sweeps the 2017 Bafta TV awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear and more join Idris Elba in Guerrilla". Empire. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "'We Hunt Together': TV Review". 7 August 2020.
- ^ Wallis, Lucy (19 August 2019). "'I feared they'd take my child if I admitted how I felt'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
External links[]
- Babou Ceesay on Facebook
- Babou Ceesay at IMDb
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- Living people
- 1979 births
- Black British male actors
- English people of Gambian descent
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century English male actors
- Alumni of the Oxford School of Drama
- Gambian actors
- Male actors from London
- English television actor stubs