David Oyelowo Biography

David Oyelowo (born 1 April 1976) is an English actor.

Early life and training

Oyelowo was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, to Nigerian parents.

He first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied theatre studies for A level at City and Islington College and his teacher suggested he should become an actor. After A levels Oyelowo enrolled for a year on an art foundation course, before winning a place and scholarship at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), finishing his three-year training in 1998.

Stage

He began his stage career in 1999 when he was offered a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company playing roles in Ben Jonson's Volpone, as the title character in Oroonoko (which he also performed in the BBC radio adaptation) and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (1999) alongside Guy Henry, Frances de la Tour and Alan Bates. His next theatrical role is his best known one " his performance as King Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2001 productions of Shakespeare's trilogy of plays about the king as a part of its season This England: The Histories. In a major landmark for colour-blind casting, Oyelowo was the first black actor to play an English king in a major production of Shakespeare, and although this casting choice was initially criticised by some in the media, Oyelowo's performance was critically acclaimed and later won the 2001 Ian Charleson Award for best performance by an actor under 30 in a classical play. (A few years later, in comparison, Adrian Lester's casting as Henry V drew little comment.) Oyelowo said of this experience:

"It's fascinating to work with a company of actors of such different ages, experience and talents. I'm one of a generation brought up on television whose acting is more 'naturalistic', whereas with some of the older generation it's more heightened. But I think there's room for both styles."

In 2005, he appeared in a production of Prometheus Bound, which was revived in New York in 2007. In 2006, he made his directorial debut on a production of The White Devil, produced by his own theatre company in Brighton, Inservice, co-run with fellow Brighton- based actors Priyanga Burford, Israel Aduramo, Penelope Cobbuld, and his wife, Jessica.

Television

Oyelowo is best known for playing MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British TV drama series Spooks (known in North America as MI-5) from 2002 to 2004. He had before that appeared in Tomorrow La Scala (2002), Maisie Raine (1998) and Brothers and Sisters (1998). Soon after the end of his time on Spooks Oyelowo made a cameo appearance in the 2005 Christmas special of As Time Goes By. In 2006 he appeared in the TV film Born Equal alongside Nikki Amuka-Bird as a couple fleeing persecution in Nigeria " they also both appeared in Shoot the Messenger (2006), and in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008) as a husband and wife. Other cameos have included Mayo (guest starring on 30 April 2006) and the TV film Sweet Nothing in My Ear (2008, as defense attorney Leonard Grisham), whilst he has played recurring or main characters in Five Days (2007) and The Passion (2008, as Joseph of Arimathea).

In December 2009 he played the leading role of Gilbert in the BBC TV adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel Small Island. In March 2010 he played the part of Keme Tobodo in the BBC's drama series Blood and Oil.

Radio

He appeared as Olaudah Equiano in Grace Unshackled " The Olaudah Equiano Story, a radio play adapting Equiano's autobiography. This was first broadcast on BBC 7 on Easter Sunday 8 April 2007, with Jessica as Mrs Equiano.

Audiobook

In 2007, Oyelowo was the reader for John le Carré's The Mission Song. AudioFile magazine stated: "Think of David Oyelowo as a single musician playing all the instruments in a symphony. That is essentially what he manages in this inspired performance of John le Carré's suspense novel... Can it really have been only one man in the narrator's recording booth? This virtuoso performance makes that seem impossible."

Personal life

He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo, with whom he has four children. They live in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Dog Eat Dog	CJ
2005	A Sound of Thunder	Payne
2005	The Best Man	Graham
2005	Derailed	Patrol Officer
2006	As You Like It	Orlando De Boys
2006	The Last King of Scotland	Dr. Junju
2008	Who Do You Love?	Muddy Waters
2008	A Raisin in the Sun	Joseph Asagai
2009	Rage	Homer
2011	Rise of the Planet of the Apes	Steven Jacobs
2011	The Help	Preacher Green
2011	Selma	Martin Luther King Jr
2011	96 Minutes	Duane
2012	Red Tails	Lt. Joe "Lightning" Little
2012	The Paperboy	Yardley Acheman
2012	Middle of Nowhere	Brian	Nomination - Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2012	Lincoln	Ira Clark
2012	Jack Reacher	Emerson
2013	The Butler	Louis Gaines
2015	Jurassic World