Hakeem Kae-Kazim

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Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Hakeem Kae-Kazim.jpg
Kae-Kazim at a 24 screening event in Los Angeles (2009)
Born1 October 1962
Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present

Hakeem Kae-Kazim /hɑːˈkiːm ˌkeɪ ˈkæzɪm/ (born 1 October 1962[1]) is a British-Nigerian actor best known for his work in the Starz television series Black Sails and his portrayal of Georges Rutaganda in the 2004 drama film Hotel Rwanda.[2]

Early life[]

Kae-Kazim was born in Lagos, Nigeria, where he spent his early years before his family re-located to London, England.[3] His interest in acting began with school plays and The National Youth Theatre,[4] which is when he discovered that he had "a love for theatre, for acting".[3] He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 1987[5] and was offered a space with The Royal Shakespeare Company,[4] where he continued his classical training.

Film and television career[]

After working alongside Brian Cox and Ian McKellen for The Royal National Theatre, Kae-Kazim made a successful transition into British television, appearing in The Bill, Trial & Retribution and multiple episodes of popular BBC series Grange Hill.[3] He then moved to South Africa, where he became well known for film and television roles.[3] However, it was his role as Georges Rutaganda in the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Hotel Rwanda, which brought him to international attention.[6]

Following the success of Hotel Rwanda, Kae-Kazim re-located to Los Angeles, which brought a range of new opportunities his way. He went on to appear in Slipstream alongside Sean Astin and The Front Line before starring in the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as Captain Jocard. He followed it with a role in the blockbuster, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.[6]

Kae-Kazim appeared in various hit television shows including Lost, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Criminal Minds.[3] He also starred as Colonel Iké Dubaku in season 7 of the Fox television series 24 and the television movie tie-in 24: Redemption. Kae-Kazim continued to build up a following with roles in Gotham and Dominion, although his longest running role has been in the Michael Bay produced Starz series, Black Sails. Speaking about his character, Mr Scott, Kae-Kazim claimed to have based him on pirate of the time, Black Caesar.[4] He played Samson in part one of the 2016 miniseries remake Roots.[7] In November 2017, Kae-Kazim was cast in the recurring role of Cesil Colby on The CW reboot series Dynasty.[8]

Kae-Kazim is currently starring in the BBC fantasy series Troy: Fall of a City as Zeus, king of the Olympians.

Voiceover work[]

Called the 'Man with a Beautiful Voice', Kae-Kazim has also done extensive voiceover work ranging from television and radio to video games.[9] His voice has been featured in a number of well known video games including Final Fantasy XIV, Halo 3 ODST, Halo: Reach, Guild Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Golden Compass and The Saboteur.[10] Kae-Kazim has spoken of voice over work as being "a lot of fun", and something he enjoys doing.[9]

Humanitarian causes[]

Kae-Kazim is an appointed global ambassador for Africa 2.0,[11] a civil society organisation providing a platform for emerging and established African leaders to drive forward the transformation of Africa.

Speaking about his role as ambassador, Kae-Kazim said: “I am truly honoured to be associated with Africa 2.0 – a pioneering platform for a new generation of African leaders to inspire and create a solid infrastructure- to shape a brighter future for our continent”.[12]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role
1999 After the Rain Bingo
1999 The Secret Laughter of Women Dr. Ade
2002 Global Effect Satto
2003 God Is African Femi
2004 Critical Assignment Jomo
2004 Coming to South Africa Mike
2004 Hotel Rwanda Georges Rutaganda
2005 Coming to South Africa 2 Mike
2005 Slipstream Runson
2005 Out on a Limb D.I. Edwards
2005 Othello: A South African Tale Iago
2006 The Librarian Jomo
2006 The Front Line Erasmus
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Captain Jocard
2007 Ray Whitehead
2007 Othello Iago
2007 The Jinn Ahmad
2008 Tony 5 Preacher
2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Nigerian Businessman
2009 The One Last Time (short) Batman
2009 Hurricane in the Rose Garden Eddie
2009 The Fourth Kind Awolowa Odusami
2009 Darfur Captain Jack Tobamke
2010 Inale Odeh
2010 Faith and Dreams (short) Rebel Leader
2011 CIS: Las Gidi Commander Mohammad
2011 Black Gold Dede
2011 Man on Ground Ade
2011 Inside Story Valentine
2012 Black November Dede
2012 Last Flight to Abuja Adesola
2012 The American Failure (short) Detective Matheis
2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Captain DUTSE
2015 The Boy (short) The Father
2015 Dias Santana (completed) Obi Mukwa
2015 Daylight's End (post-production) Chris Whitlock
2015 Chasing the Rain (post-production) Mutua
2015 Yefon (pre-production) Fon Nto
2020 Riding With Sugar Mambo
2020 Black Beauty Terry
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Admiral Wilcox

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1987 The District Nurse Ademola 1 episode
1988 The Bill Kuzalo 1 episode
1989 Saracen Bazantsi 1 episode
1991 Screen One Jerome 1 episode
1992 Double Vision Barman Television film
1993 Runaway Bay Henry Ornette 1 episode
1994 Love Hurts Desmond Matankube 1 episode
1994 Grange Hill Mr. Manyeke 11 episodes
1995 Hidden Empire: A Son of Africa Equiano Television film
1996 Ellington Tommy Knight 2 episodes
1996 Testament: The Bible in Animation Ham 1 episode
1997 Trial & Retribution D.C. Cranham / DC Cranham 2 episodes
1997 The Adventures of Sinbad Ali Rashid 1 episode
2000 Die Wüstenrose Raad Television film
2000 Animated Epics: Moby Dick Queequeg Television film
2003 Canterbury Tales Yasouf 1 episode
2004 Human Cargo Youssef 3 episodes
2004 King Solomon's Mines Twala Television film
2005 The Triangle Saunders Miniseries, 3 episodes
2006 The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines Jomo Television film
2006 Lost Emeka 1 episode
2007 Cane Tommy 1 episode
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Chuckwei Bothame 1 episode
2008 Ben 10: Alien Force Sir Connor (voice) 1 episode
2008 24: Redemption Colonel Ike Dubaku Television film
2009 24 Colonel Ike Dubaku Recurring role, 9 episodes
2010 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes T'Chaka (voice) 1 episode
2010 Human Target Andre Markus 1 episode
2011 Criminal Minds Julio Ruiz 1 episode
2011 NCIS: Los Angeles Abdul Habassa 2 episodes
2011 Generator Rex Ghrun Set (voice)
2012 Covert Affairs Somali Pirate 1 episode
2012 Strike Back Sulaimani 2 episodes
2014 Gotham Richard Gladwell 1 episode
2014 State of Affairs 1 episode
2014–2016 Black Sails Mr. Scott Main role, 23 episodes
2015 Dominion The Prophet 4 episodes
2016 Vixen Eshu
(voice) 		5 episodes
2016 Roots Samson Miniseries, 1 episode
2017-2018 Dragons: Race to the Edge Krogan Recurring role, 16 episodes
2017–2019 Dynasty Cesil Colby Recurring role, 6 episodes
2017-2018 MacGyver Solomon 2 episodes
2018 The Looming Tower Commander Onyayango 1 episode
2018 Troy: Fall of a City Zeus Miniseries, 7 episodes
2019 Love, Death & Robots Simon (voice) 1 episode
2019 Deep State Joseph Damba 4 episodes
2020 Silent Witness Adam Brookham 2 episodes
2020-2021 The Watch Captain John Keel 2 episodes
2021 Intergalactic Yann Harper 3 episodes

Video games[]

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Guild Wars Nightfall Djinn / Additional Voices
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Gentleman Jocard
2007 The Golden Compass Nicholas / Samoyed
2009 The Bourne Conspiracy Additional Voices
2009 Halo 3: ODST Dr. Endesha
2009 The Saboteur Mingo
2010 Halo: Reach Jorge
2010 Final Fantasy XIV Additional Voices English dub
2011 Saints Row: The Third Additional voices
2012 Unit 13 Ringo

References[]

  1. ^ "Pulse List: 10 international celebrities of Nigerian descent". Pulse Nigeria. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  2. ^ "BN Saturday Celebrity Interview: The International Nigerian Actor and 'Man with a Beautiful Voice' Hakeem Kae-Kazim speaks Exclusively to BellaNaija!". Bella Naija. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Interview with Hakeem Kae-Kazim – ADUNAGOW Magazine". adunagow.net. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c "THE BIG INTERVIEW: FTN interviews Lost, Hotel Rwanda and Black Sails star Hakeem Kae-Kazim". followingthenerd.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Hakeem Kae". www.gbmnews.com.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b http://nigeriafilms.com. "The great black hope------Hakeem Kae-Kazim". nigeriafilms.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Pauley, Nigel. "1970s slave drama Roots is returning – and it's set to be even more brutal". mirror. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. ^ Clarke, Stewart (24 November 2017). "Hakeem Kae-Kazim to Play Cesil Colby in Dynasty". Variety. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b KamerVibe. "INTERVIEW : The Hollywood Nigerian Actor and 'Man with a Beautiful Voice' Hakeem Kae-Kazim | KamerVibe.com | LatestVibe Magazine". www.kamervibe.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. ^ "Hakeem Kae Kazim | Africability". africability.com. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Hakeem Kae-Kazeem's Africa 2.0 ambassadorship". This Is Africa Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  12. ^ www.dmflex.com, Powered by DMflex WebGen ---. "Kae Kazim Appointed New Global Ambassador for Africa 2.0, Articles | THISDAY LIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2016.

External links[]

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