On Sunday, the 20th of September, Viola Davis, age 50, became the first African-American woman to win the Emmy for outstanding actress in a drama. Her acceptance speech shone the light on the lack of opportunity for black women on television. It was a speech that got a wave of support from black actors like Kerry Washington, Idris Elba, and every black actor who could relate with what she said.
For years, there’s been a conversation on the lack of roles for black actors in film industries in the west, and the need for opportunity, equality, and diversity. This seems to be changing as there seem to be an emergence of opportunities for people of colour, and more importantly, a recognition for their work. Here are five African actors who are changing the conversation for the better.
Uzo Aduba
Contrary to what some people think, the two-time Emmy award winning Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba is not a newcomer on screen. And she is no stranger to awards either. Before landing the role of Suzanne Warren – Crazy Eyes – which turned her into a household name in Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black (OITNB), Aduba had a small role as a nurse on the CBS drama Bluebloods in 2012. This marked her debut on the big screen.
Before her big break on television, Aduba had appeared in four short films and three theatre productions. She was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in the play ‘Translations of Xhosa’, and won an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical performance on stage, at the American Repertory Theatre.
The Nigerian-American actress was about to quit acting when she got the award-winning role on OITNB. She had arrived at the audition late, and thought she wouldn’t land a role because of that. “I thought this through … I had been hearing “No, no, thank you, but no,” since trying this medium. And I sat on the train in tears.” Aduba got home 45 minutes later to receive a phone call that she was going to be a part of the series.
On Sunday, 20th September 2015, Uzo Aduba made history as the first actor since Ed Asner to win an Emmy in both the comedy and drama genres for the same role.
Abraham Attah
This 14 year old Ghanaian teenager who’s become an international movie star was a street vendor. Playing the role of Agu in the screen adaptation of the book Beasts of No Nation shot Attah into fame. Almost overnight, he went from hawking commodities on the streets to jetting around the world, attending film festivals, holding press conferences, gracing magazine pages, and winning awards.
Attah’s performance in Beasts of No Nation has received rave reviews; “Attah plays the role with such convincing reality you’d swear he had been in front of the camera for years prior,” noted Jason Guerrasio. And according to IndieWire, his performance “marks one of the most impressive screen debuts in recent memory.”
It’s been speculated that Abraham Attah could be an Oscar contender, which would definitely skyrocket his acting career – if he chooses that career path – and it appears he has. The young movie star has been cast in the movie ‘Out of the Village’, a short film by Jonathan Stein.
Chiwetel Ejiofor
British-Nigerian Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor is a five-time Golden Globe nominee who’s been acting since he was 13. Ejiofor developed a passion for the stage at a pretty young age, and performed with the National Youth Theatre in London before eventually attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Ejiofor dropped out of the academy after a year to appear in Steven Spielberg’s critically acclaimed Amistad in 1997.
The Ibo native has established himself as a versatile actor, balancing his film and television commitments with a number of prestigious stage productions. “I look at scripts really for whether they can be moving or penetrate some kind of truth. You are constantly chasing that feeling as an actor when every part of a production comes together.”
Spanning his ongoing career, Ejiofor has been nominated for, and won numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award for his stellar performance in the movie 12 Years a Slave. Director Steve McQueen said Ejiofor was his only actor of choice for the character of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, “Chiwetel Ejiofor was always going to be Solomon Northup for me. I was looking for someone that had that genteelness, that kind of humanity… He was the only person.”
In 2008, he was awarded the O.B.E. – Officer of the Order of the British Empire – by Queen Elizabeth 11 for his services to drama. In the month of June, this year, he was also awarded the CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire – in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to Drama.
David Oyelowo
Born in Oxford, England, and partly raised in Nigeria, David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo has become a rising presence in Hollywood with movies like Selma, Paperboy, The Butler, and Lincoln.
The 39-year-old actor graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1998 and received the Scholarship for Excellence in 1998. Upon completion of his studies, Oyelowo dabbled in theatre work. In 2001, his award-winning lead role in Henry VI was the first time a king was portrayed by a black actor in a Royal Shakespeare Company production.
As an actor, Oyelowo has refused to play stereotypical African-American characters and makes career decisions based on what he wants his four children to see. “If you perpetually play the sidekick, the best friend, or the token person of colour in a film, well it allays any guilt some of these decision-makers have about how few of us are given a platform to display our talent. And again, it perpetuates the myth that we are an afterthought, a sidebar.”
Recently, the Actor was caught in a web of media controversy over the Bond franchise as he was picked to portray James Bond in an audiobook. The debate was, should a black actor play the iconic role of James Bond? “Because films and TV affect culture, a black Bond would be a cultural event, a statement, beyond just entertainment,” Oyelowo said.
David Oyelowo has received quite a number of award nominations, and a fair number of wins to his name for his performance in Middle of Nowhere (2012), The Butler (2013), and Selma (2014).
Lupita Nnyog’o
Lupita Amondi Nyong’o shot to fame for playing Patsey in the critically acclaimed 12 Years a slave which earned her an Academy Award, an Oscar, a Critics’ Choice Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2003, Nyong’o earned a degree in film at Hampshire College, Massachusetts and graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 2012. She honed her filmmaking craft by directing and producing a documentary – In My Genes – which followed the stories of several Kenyans who are living with albinism.
“I love filmmaking, but I decided to go to drama school because I thought that when I’m 60 and looking back on my life, if acting hadn’t been a part of it, I would hate myself.”
Nnyog’o was born in Mexico to parents Dorothy and Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o who were in political exile at the time. She started acting as a teenager, and before her big break, she’s appeared on stage and TV in the US and Kenya. Her stage credits include playing Perdita in The Winter’s Tale (Yale Repertory Theatre), and Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. She was also the lead in MTV’s award-winning drama series, Shuga (2009).
Since her rise to Hollywood fame, the Kenyan-Mexican beauty has become a fast-growing fashion icon, with red-carpet appearances and front cover editorials in publications like InStyle and Vogue. In 2014, she was named The Most Beautiful Woman by People and Woman of the Year by Glamour.
Lupita Nyong’o starred in the thriller Non-Stop (2014), and has joined the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) and The Jungle Book (2016).
