Eugene Wanangwa Khumbanyiwa

Eugene Khumbanyiwa is a Malawian[1] South Africa-based stage, television, film and voice actor, popularly known for playing the role of Obesandjo in the 2009 Oscar nominated sci-fi hit District 9.[2]

Eugene Khumbanyiwa
Wanangwa
Born (1976-12-26) December 26, 1976 (age 47)
Zomba, Malawi
Alma materUniversal Group of Colleges
Known forDistrict 9, Chappie, Death Race: Inferno

Career

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He started his acting career as an extra in the 2004 Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda,[3][4] starring Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, playing one of the hotel staff members. After that he worked sporadically, hustling his way in the film industry by appearing in TV commercials and prime-time soaps like Generations, Scandal, and also had a role in South African independently produced hit film Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema[5] before landing a role as an underground warlord in the Peter Jackson-produced and Neill Blomkamp-directed four-times Oscar-nominated sci-fi hit District 9[6][7][8] Upon gaining critical acclaim for his performance in District 9, he attracted new international attention and even appeared in an American TV commercial for a famous cyber fraud security product called 'Identity Guard.[9]'.

He went on to feature in Hollywood movies like Death Race 3: Inferno,[10][11] alongside stars like Danny Trejo and Luke Goss, also appeared in Chappie[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] starring Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel and Sigourney Weaver. He teamed up with director Blomkamp again and Sigourney Weaver playing lead role Amir the saviour in a short sci-fi film called Rakka.[20][21][22] Khumbanyiwa has appeared in three of Hollywood director Neill Blomkamp's films.

He played Pastor Peter in a two time BAFTA-winner Damilola, Our Loved Boy,[23] a British television film about the events surrounding the 27 November 2000 death of Damilola Taylor. The film aired on BBC One on 7 November 2016, and was written by Levi David Addai, directed by Euros Lyn, and starred Babou Ceesay and Wunmi Mosaku. He also appeared in the critically acclaimed US TV miniseries The Looming Tower,[4] directed by Alex Gibney which premiered on Hulu on February 28, 2018, starring Jeff Daniels and Peter Sarsgaard, based on Lawrence Wright's 2006 book of the same name. He played a Kenyan security guard at the US Embassy in Nairobi who survived the embassy bombing and became a crucial witness.

He has over 25 screen acting credits to his name. He does voices for both TV and radio. His voice work credits include the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON2013) soccer tournament's "hello" radio ads campaign for the City of Johannesburg.

On 9 July 2016, Khumbanyiwa was awarded the Best Achiever in Entertainment at the Malawi Achievers Awards- South Africa.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
2004 Hotel Rwanda Hotel staff (uncredited)
2008 Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema Drug Dealer
2009 District 9 Obesandjo
2009 Crime Safari Subre
2011 Paradise Stop Malawian trucker
2013 Death Race: Inferno Nero
2013 Algiers Murders Ferdinand
2014 SEAL Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines  Arms Cache Manager
2015 Chappie  King
2017 Harry's Game  Moggomo
2017 Rakka  Amir
2018 The Roar  Poacher
2018 Beautifully Broken Augustine

Television

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Year Title Role TV Channel
2006 Scandal Motor Examiner Etv
2006 Generations Henchman SABC1
2009 7de Laan Derin SABC2
2010 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls Moeke Etv
2011 Laugh Out Loud   Prince Mzansi Magic
2011 Rhythm City Carlos Etv
2014 Muvhango  Kanu Nkosi SABC2
2015 Getroud met rugby  Troy KykNET TV
2016 Damilola, Our Loved Boy Pastor Peter BBC One
2016 90 Plein Street  Kenyan Ambassador SABC 2
2017 Ses'Top La Akina Nix SABC1
2017 Lockdown  Jones Mzansi Magic
2018 The Looming Tower Trenton Okuru Hulu (USA)

References

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  1. ^ "Malawi Goes To Hollywood | The Nation Online | Malawi Daily Newspaper". 26 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Eugene Khumbanyiwa speaks movies - The Times Group Malawi". Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  3. ^ Chappie: Eugene Khumbanyiwa Interview on YouTube
  4. ^ a b "Eugene Khumbanyiwa In New Hollywood Movie | The Nation Online | Malawi Daily Newspaper". 24 April 2018.
  5. ^ Stevens, Michael. ""Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema"- Take Your Dreams By Force".
  6. ^ "District 9 -- Film Review | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 28 July 2009.
  7. ^ Busch, Anita (April 12, 2018). "'Beautifully Broken' Gets Theatrical Release In August".
  8. ^ "Nigeria 'offended' by sci-fi film". September 19, 2009 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Malawian actor shines in new Hollywood flick: Eugine Khumbanyiwa". www.nyasatimes.com. 6 February 2013.
  10. ^ https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-sunday-independent/20151025/281530814878488 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ "Eugene Khumbanyiwa satisfied with Malawi's new movie Fatsani | Malawi 24 - Malawi news". February 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Hugh Jackman Set For Chappie". Empire. September 29, 2013.
  13. ^ "StackPath". www.thehollywoodnews.com. 9 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Blomkamp casts sci-fi legend". The Citizen. 30 October 2013.
  15. ^ Kriedemann, Kevin (March 6, 2015). "Neill Blomkamp Puts South Africa in the Spotlight with 'Chappie'".
  16. ^ "Malawi actor Khumbanyiwa in new Hollywood movie 'Chappie'". www.nyasatimes.com. 30 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Neill Blomkamp's new movie CHAPPIE - 5FM".
  18. ^ "Murmures | Africultures : Khumbanyiwa dreams on".
  19. ^ "Sigourney Weaver joins cast in new SA sci-fi film". All4Women. October 30, 2013.
  20. ^ "Watch Sigourney Weaver Fight Aliens in Neill Blomkamp's 'Rakka' Short". Movieweb. June 15, 2017.
  21. ^ Liptak, Andrew (June 14, 2017). "Director Neill Blomkamp breaks down his new sci-fi short Rakka". The Verge.
  22. ^ "RAKKA (2017) Short Film: Aliens Have Invaded, Enslaved Humanity, & Terraformed Earth". June 15, 2017.
  23. ^ "Damilola, Our Loved Boy – the 16 years of agony behind one boy's shocking death". the Guardian. November 7, 2016.
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