While it may seem like all the greats from Hollywood come from California—Clint Eastwood we’re looking at you—the truth is there’s a lot of diversity among the ranks if you look for it, especially when it comes to African actors on the big screen.
From blockbuster favorites to Academy Award winners, these five African Actors in the Hollywood scene are at the top of their game, and at the top of the industry.
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon has starred in some of the biggest Hollywood pictures from Best Picture Winners such as Gladiator to box office hits such as Furious 7, The Guardian of the Galaxy, How to Train Your Dragons 2 and critically acclaimed titles including Blood Diamond and The Tempest—meaning Hounsou is one busy guy. The Beninese-American model turned actor was born in Benin in April 1964 and moved to the US from France in 1990 to pursue roles in Hollywood. With big movies under his belt and even better stories, Hounsou is one of the big players in the business who has the record to prove his acting chops.
Charlize Theron
The Oscar Best Actress winner (for Monster in 2003, portraying serial killer Aileen Wournos) may be an unlikely African pick, but the South African native was born in Benoni, Gauteng in August 1975. Becoming an American citizen in 2007 (while still retaining her South African citizenship), she first came to Hollywood by way of Milan through a modeling contract and the Joffrey School of Ballet before a knee injury ended her career. Her first movie role was non-speaking in “Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest” in 2005, but her careers has since exploded, including parts in The Devil’s Advocate, The Legend of Bagger Vance, North Country and Snow White & The Huntsman as the Evil Queen.
Edi Gathegi
Best known for his roles in the smash hits “Twilight” and “New Moon”, as Laurent, and as Dr. Jeffrey Cole on the television show “House,” Edi Gathegi is a talented Nairobi-born African actor who has made it big in Hollywood. Born in Eastlands, Nairobi, Kenya, Gathegi grew up in California and studied at UC Berkeley before enrolling in classes New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated in 2005. A celebrated stage actor, Gathegi is best known for his parts in As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cyrano de Bergerac, and in a production of Two Trains Running, which was shown at the Old Globe Theatre. Currently on the NBC television show, The Blacklist, a crime drama, Gathegi plays Mathias Solomon, an operative sent to hunt down one of the show’s main characters.
Peter Mensah
Peter Mensah’s claim to fame may be his part in 300 as one of the Persian messengers demanding fealty to Xerxes, who gets kicked in the well by Leonides, but his movie list is so much longer and more diverse. Including STARZ original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and Spartacus: Vengeance, the Accra, Ghana-born actor has also starred in Tears of the Sun, Hidalgo, Avatar, The Incredible Hulk and Dead Space and has had roles in television shows such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Tracker, Witchblade, Blue Murder, Relic Hunter, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven, TrueBlood, and La Femme Nikita.
David Ballie
The British-South African actor starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy as the mute pirate Cotton, who spoke through a trained parrot, and more of his accolades include a part on British classic Doctor Who, as well as Blake's 7. Working extensively with the National Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Springs, South African native is also an accomplished portrait photographer with a gallery of his work on display in the West End.
While Hollywood can be known for its cookie cutter roles and social settings, these African actors add more than just diversity to their parts, but unique voices and extreme talent to the work that they do.
About the Author: Isa is a digital nomad who splits her time between writing for Culture Coverage and Secure Thoughts and reading her way through the stacks at Barnes and Noble. Whether it's written or watchable, great storytelling is her weakness, and she's out to share the written (and spoken) word with the world.
From blockbuster favorites to Academy Award winners, these five African Actors in the Hollywood scene are at the top of their game, and at the top of the industry.
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon has starred in some of the biggest Hollywood pictures from Best Picture Winners such as Gladiator to box office hits such as Furious 7, The Guardian of the Galaxy, How to Train Your Dragons 2 and critically acclaimed titles including Blood Diamond and The Tempest—meaning Hounsou is one busy guy. The Beninese-American model turned actor was born in Benin in April 1964 and moved to the US from France in 1990 to pursue roles in Hollywood. With big movies under his belt and even better stories, Hounsou is one of the big players in the business who has the record to prove his acting chops.
Charlize Theron
The Oscar Best Actress winner (for Monster in 2003, portraying serial killer Aileen Wournos) may be an unlikely African pick, but the South African native was born in Benoni, Gauteng in August 1975. Becoming an American citizen in 2007 (while still retaining her South African citizenship), she first came to Hollywood by way of Milan through a modeling contract and the Joffrey School of Ballet before a knee injury ended her career. Her first movie role was non-speaking in “Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest” in 2005, but her careers has since exploded, including parts in The Devil’s Advocate, The Legend of Bagger Vance, North Country and Snow White & The Huntsman as the Evil Queen.
Edi Gathegi
Best known for his roles in the smash hits “Twilight” and “New Moon”, as Laurent, and as Dr. Jeffrey Cole on the television show “House,” Edi Gathegi is a talented Nairobi-born African actor who has made it big in Hollywood. Born in Eastlands, Nairobi, Kenya, Gathegi grew up in California and studied at UC Berkeley before enrolling in classes New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated in 2005. A celebrated stage actor, Gathegi is best known for his parts in As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cyrano de Bergerac, and in a production of Two Trains Running, which was shown at the Old Globe Theatre. Currently on the NBC television show, The Blacklist, a crime drama, Gathegi plays Mathias Solomon, an operative sent to hunt down one of the show’s main characters.
Peter Mensah
Peter Mensah’s claim to fame may be his part in 300 as one of the Persian messengers demanding fealty to Xerxes, who gets kicked in the well by Leonides, but his movie list is so much longer and more diverse. Including STARZ original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and Spartacus: Vengeance, the Accra, Ghana-born actor has also starred in Tears of the Sun, Hidalgo, Avatar, The Incredible Hulk and Dead Space and has had roles in television shows such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Tracker, Witchblade, Blue Murder, Relic Hunter, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven, TrueBlood, and La Femme Nikita.
David Ballie
The British-South African actor starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy as the mute pirate Cotton, who spoke through a trained parrot, and more of his accolades include a part on British classic Doctor Who, as well as Blake's 7. Working extensively with the National Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Springs, South African native is also an accomplished portrait photographer with a gallery of his work on display in the West End.
While Hollywood can be known for its cookie cutter roles and social settings, these African actors add more than just diversity to their parts, but unique voices and extreme talent to the work that they do.
About the Author: Isa is a digital nomad who splits her time between writing for Culture Coverage and Secure Thoughts and reading her way through the stacks at Barnes and Noble. Whether it's written or watchable, great storytelling is her weakness, and she's out to share the written (and spoken) word with the world.
The Top African Actors in Hollywood
Reviewed by Victor Kolawole
on
July 12, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Victor Kolawole
on
July 12, 2016
Rating:
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