Who is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje?
British actor and former model Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was born in Islington, London, England, on 22 August 1967, making his zodiac sign Leo. He’s had roles in nearly 60 movies and TV series, and is perhaps best known for his playing of Femi in the 2018 drama movie “Farming”, which he also wrote and directed; the film also starred Leke Adebayo, Ademola Adedoyin and Adejola Adeyemi, and follows a Nigerian boy whose parents gave him to a British family so that he could have a better life, while he’s now become the leader of a skinhead gang; the film won three of its six award nominations.
Education and early life
Adewale’s parents were from Nigeria, and his mother gave birth to him while she and her husband were studying in London. Adewale and his two sisters were adopted by a British working-class family when he was to two months old; his adoptive parents had more than 10 African adoptive children; Adewale’s movie “Farming” is based on his childhood.
His adoptive parents took him to Nigeria when he was eight, but because he wasn’t able to speak the Yoruba language, he was taken back to London. Adewale was bullied while growing up, because he was a black boy living in a white neighborhood, but after he stood up to his skinhead bullies, he earned their respect.
He was 16 when he was sent to a boarding school in Surrey, South East England, but where he attempted suicide; Adewale matriculated in 1985 and then enrolled at University of London, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1989. He continued his education at King’s College London, graduating with a Master’s degree in law in 1991.
Roles in movies
Adewale’s debut film appearance was in the 1993 music video “Mary J. Blige: Love No Limit”, and he gained recognition in 1995, when cast to play Hitu in the critically acclaimed adventure crime comedy “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls”, written and directed by Steve Oedekerk, and which starred Jim Carrey, Ian McNeice and Simon Callow. It follows a pet detective as he’s investigating the disappearance of an African tribe’s white bat, and the movie won seven of its 13 award nominations.
Adewale appeared in only one other movie in the remainder of the ‘90s: the 1998 action adventure drama “Legionnaire”.
He portrayed Lock-Nah in the 2001 action adventure fantasy “The Mummy Returns”, and the year 2002 saw him play Wombosi in the hit action mystery thriller “The Bourne Identity”, which Doug Liman directed, and which starred Chris Cooper, Matt Damon and Franka Potente. It follows a man who’s suffering from amnesia, and is trying to learn about himself while assassins are trying to kill him; the movie won three of its nine award nominations.
The year 2005 saw Adewale appear in three movies: the romantic drama “The Mistress of Spices”, the musical comedy “Preaching to the Choir” and the biographical crime drama “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”.
In 2009, Adewale portrayed Heavy Duty in the action science fiction adventure “G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, which Stephen Sommers directed, and which starred Marlon Wayans, Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid. It follows the elite military unit G. I. Joe as they’re trying to catch an arms dealer, and the movie won three of its 19 award nominations.
Some of Adewale’s following notable performances were in the 2011 action crime thriller “Killer Elite”, the 2012 drama “Best Laid Plans”, and the 2013 action fantasy adventure “Thor: The Dark World”.
In 2016, he played Killer Croc in the action adventure fantasy “Suicide Squad”, written and directed by David Ayer, and which starred Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie. It follows a group of villains who’ve been hired by the government to save the world from an apocalypse, and the movie won 19 of its 59 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Achievement in Make-up and Hairstyling.
Adewale’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2017 adventure sports comedy “Tour de Pharmacy”, the 2019 crime thriller drama “Wetlands”, and the 2022 thriller “Marlowe”; he’s currently shooting for the upcoming movies “Our Man from Jersey” and “Late in Summer”.
Roles in TV series
Adewale’s debut TV series appearance was in the 1994 episode “Written Word” of the romantic drama “Red Shoe Diaries”, and the rest of the 1990s saw him make an appearance in an episode or two of various series, including the romantic science fiction adventure “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, the action drama “Pensacola: Wings of Gold”, and the comedy drama “Linc’s”.
In 2005 and 2006, Adewale played Mr. Eko in the critically acclaimed fantasy adventure drama “Lost”, which Jeffrey Lieber and J. J. Abrams created, and which starred Yunjin Kim, Josh Holloway and Jorge Garcia. It follows the people whose plane’s crashed on a deserted tropical island – the series aired from 2004 to 2010, and won 123 of its 520 award nominations.
In 2009, Adewale played Samuel Waingaya in the episode “Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man” of the crime comedy drama “Monk”, and 2011 saw him play Tahir in two episodes of the action thriller drama “Strike Back”.
https://www.facebook.com/HBOMaxSE/photos/a.859133790915727/859133940915712/
In 2017, he portrayed John Bird in the drama “Ten Days in the Valley”, created by Tassie Cameron, and in which Adewale starred alongside Kyra Sedgwick and Erika Christensen. It follows a TV producer whose daughter’s just gone missing, and the series won a Joey Award for Best Recurring or Leading Actress in a Television Series 5-9 Years (Abigail Pniowsky).
Adewale’s three most recent TV series roles have been in seven episodes of the animated action “Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure” between 2017 and 2019 (voice role), two episodes of the 2020 animated family drama “Moominvalley” (voice role), and eight episodes of the 2022 family adventure drama “His Dark Materials”.
Other credits
Adewale has three writing, two producing and three directing credits (including “Farming”). He wrote the 2007 series “Africana!”, produced the 2017 movie “Elizabeth Blue”, and is the director of the upcoming movie “Last Meals”.
He’s been featured in several documentaries, including the 1997 movie “The Making of Special: ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’”, the 2016 short video “Task Force X: One Team, One Mission” and the 2018 mini-series “They’ve Gotta Have Us”.
Adewale’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “Entertainment Tonight”, “The Real”, and “Larry King Now”, amongst others.
Awards and nominations
Adewale’s won three of his 14 award nominations. He and his colleagues won a 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for “Lost”, and Adewale won a 2019 Volkswagen Financial Services Filmpreis Award for Best European Debut or Second Feature Film, and a 2019 The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, both for “Farming”.
Love life and wife
Adewale’s shared only a couple of details about his love life with his fans, revealing that he dated many women simultaneously, but that he’s now focused on dating only one woman at a time.
He hasn’t revealed if he’s dating anyone today, but some of his fans have claimed to have seen him spending time in public with a non-celebrity American woman who could perhaps be his girlfriend, however, Adewale hasn’t addressed this.
There are some who believe that he’s married and has a daughter, but no evidence has been provided to support these claims.
Adewale seems to be unattached as of October 2022, hasn’t married, and doesn’t have children.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO9mDCRh55M/
Interesting facts and hobbies
Adewale’s a Nichiren Buddhist, and is a member of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International.
He’s a huge fan of soccer, and cheers for the London Arsenal Football Club.
After his adoptive parents died, Adewale asked to be removed from the series “Lost”, so that he could return to London.
He enjoys learning languages, and is today fluent in English, Swahili, Yoruba and Italian.
Adewale was a successful model prior to becoming an actor, and was signed to agencies in both Paris, France and Milan, Italy.
His favorite actors are Paul Winfield and Idris Elba, and some of his favorite movies include “Three Thousand Years of Longing”, “The Dark Tower” and “Concrete Cowboy”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Adewale’s age is 55. His eyes are brown and he has short black hair; he weighs around 200lbs (90kgs) and is 6ft 2ins (1.88m) tall.
Adewale’s net worth’s been estimated at over $3 million, as of October 2022.
