Kingsley Ben-Adir
Kingsley Ben-Adir | |
---|---|
![]() Ben-Adir in January 2021 | |
Born | [1] Gospel Oak, London, England | 28 February 1986
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2012–present |
Kingsley Ben-Adir (born 28 February 1986) is a British actor. He has performed in several plays in London theatres. He played pathologist Marcus Summer in ITV's detective drama Vera and private detective Karim Washington on the second season of the Netflix series The OA.[2][3] From 2017 to 2019, he appeared in series four and five of the BBC One television series Peaky Blinders. In 2021, he starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami...
Early life and education[]
Ben-Adir was born in Gospel Oak, London, England, to a black Trinidadian mother and a white English father.[4] He attended William Ellis School in Gospel Oak, Northwest London.[5] He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 2011.[6]
Career[]
In 2011, Ben-Adir performed in Gillian Slovo's critically acclaimed play The Riots at the Tricycle Theatre.[7] In 2012, he played Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
In 2013, he played Borachio in Mark Rylance's production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic in London and also played in God's Property at the Soho Theatre.[8][9]
In 2014, Ben-Adir performed in the play We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915 at the Bush Theatre in London.[10][11][12] The play received positive reviews.[13]
From 2017 to 2019, Ben-Adir appeared in series four and five of the BBC One television series Peaky Blinders, playing the role of Colonel Ben Younger.[14]
In 2020, Ben-Adir starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami... directed by Regina King. Ben-Adir starred along side Eli Goree (Cassius Clay), Leslie Odom Jr. (Sam Cooke), and Aldis Hodge (Jim Brown).
In March 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that Ben-Adir had joined the Secret Invasion series for Marvel Studios as the main villain.[15]
Work[]
Film[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | City Slacker | Thug | |
2013 | World War Z | Officer Hawkins | Uncredited |
2016 | Trespass Against Us | Sampson | |
2017 | King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | Wet Stick | |
2018 | The Commuter | Agent Garcia | |
2019 | Noelle | Jake Hapman | |
2020 | One Night in Miami... | Malcolm X |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Marple | Errol | Episode: A Caribbean Mystery |
2016 | Midsomer Murders | Bartholomew Hines | Episode: Saints and Sinners |
Ordinary Lies | Jake | Episode: Jenna | |
2017 | Death in Paradise | Irie Johnson | Episode: The Impossible Murder |
Diana and I | Russell | Television movie | |
2014–18 | Vera | Dr. Marcus Summer | 16 episodes |
2017–19 | Peaky Blinders | Col. Ben Younger | 5 episodes |
2018 | Deep State | Khalid Walker | 4 episodes |
2019 | The OA | Karim Washington | 6 episodes |
2020 | High Fidelity | Russell McCormack | 7 episodes |
Love Life | Grant | Episode: The Person | |
The Comey Rule | Barack Obama | 2 episodes | |
Soulmates | Franklin | Episode: Watershed | |
2022 | Secret Invasion | TBA | Upcoming Disney+ miniseries |
Theatre[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | The Riots | Performer | Tricycle Theatre, London |
2012 | A Midsummer's Night Dream | Demetrius | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London |
2013 | Much Ado About Nothing | Borachio | The Old Vic, London |
God's Property | Soho Theatre, London | ||
2014 | We Are Proud to Present... | Actor 2 | Bush Theatre, London |
Awards and nominations[]
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | British Academy Film Awards | Rising Star Award | Himself | Nominated |
2021 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
2021 | Independent Spirit Award | Robert Altman Award | Won | |
2020 | Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Actor | Won | |
2020 | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Most Promising Performer | Nominated | |
2020 | San Francisco Film Awards | Outstanding Ensemble | Won | |
2020 | Atlantic Film Critics Circle | Breakthrough Performer | Won | |
2020 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |
2020 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Actor | Nominated |
References[]
- ^ de Semlyen, Phil (1 April 2019). "Introducing Kingsley Ben-Adir – the breakout star of 'The OA' season 2". Time Out.
- ^ "Review: Vera, ITV, 8pm Sunday ". The Journal.
- ^ "Vera, series six, episode one, review: 'rescued by Blethyn'". The Telegraph, Gerard O'Donovan 31 January 2016
- ^ https://www.gq.com/story/kingsley-ben-adir-one-night-in-miami-malcolm-x-regina-king-interview
- ^ Osley, Richard (5 March 2021). "How Kingsley Ben-Adir's escaped spider sparked police panic". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Kingsley Ben-Adir". gsmd.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Khalid Walker - Played by Kingsley Ben-Adir". EPIX
- ^ "Love and Acceptance in ‘God's Property’". The Platform, Dornett Roachford, March 21, 2013
- ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre - review". Evening Standard, 27 February 2013.
- ^ "We Are Proud to Present… review – 'A Pirandellian take on a little-known genocide'". The Guardian. Michael Billington, 5 March 2014
- ^ "We Are Proud to Present, theatre review. Bush Theatre, London". The Independent, Paul Taylor 10 March 2014
- ^ "We Are Proud To Present… at Bush Theatre takes your breath away". Metro, Siobhan Murphy. Friday 7 Mar 2014
- ^ "Review: ‘We Are Proud to present…’". What's On - Africa, March 20, 2014
- ^ Watson, Fay (13 November 2019). "Peaky Blinders: Why did Colonel Ben Younger star Kingsley Ben-Adir leave?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (15 March 2021). "Kingsley Ben-Adir To Star In Marvel's 'Secret Invasion' Series For Disney+". Deadline. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
External links[]
- 1986 births
- 21st-century English male actors
- Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- Black British male actors
- English male stage actors
- English male film actors
- English male television actors
- English male video game actors
- English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
- Living people
- People from the London Borough of Camden