Kingsley Ben-Adir (born 20 November 1986) is a British actor. His credits include playing pathologist Marcus Summer in ITV's Vera (2014–2018), private detective Karim Washington on Netflix's The OA (2019), Colonel Ben Younger in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders (2017–2019), and the Skrull Gravik in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries Secret Invasion (2023).
Kingsley Ben-Adir | |
|---|---|
 Ben-Adir in 2021 | |
| Born | 20 November 1986[1] Kentish Town, London, England |
| Alma mater | Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Awards | List |
He starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami... (2020), for which he won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Performer, and as Bob Marley in Bob Marley: One Love (2024).
Early life and education
editBen-Adir was born in Kentish Town, London, England.[2] His maternal grandparents were from Trinidad and Tobago.[3] His paternal grandparents were born in England; his surname is Hebrew, meaning son of the strong or mighty.[4] He attended Rhyl Street Primary School in Kentish Town, London.[5]
He attended secondary school at William Ellis School in Gospel Oak, Northwest London.[6] He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2011.[7]
Career
edit
In 2011, Ben-Adir performed in Gillian Slovo's play The Riots at the Tricycle Theatre.[8] In 2012, he played Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[citation needed]
In 2013, he played Borachio in Mark Rylance's production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic in London and also played in God's Property at the Soho Theatre.[9][10]
In 2014, Ben-Adir performed in the play We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915 at the Bush Theatre in London.[11][12][13] The play received positive reviews.[14]
From 2017 to 2019, Ben-Adir appeared in series four and five of the BBC One television series Peaky Blinders, playing Colonel Ben Younger.[15] He played private detective Karim Washington on Netflix's The OA (2019),[16]
In 2020, Ben-Adir starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami... directed by Regina King.[2] In February 2022, Ben-Adir was cast as Bob Marley in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and released on 14 February 2024.[17][18][19]
In April 2022, he joined the ensemble cast of Barbie.[20] In 2023, he appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Secret Invasion as Gravik, a Skrull rebel plotting to conquer Earth.[4]
Acting credits
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | City Slacker | Thug | |
| 2013 | World War Z | Officer Hawkins | Uncredited |
| 2016 | Trespass Against Us | Sampson | |
| 2017 | King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | Wet Stick | |
| 2018 | The Commuter | Agent Garcia | |
| 2019 | Noelle | Jake Hapman | |
| 2020 | One Night in Miami... | Malcolm X | |
| 2023 | Barbie | Basketball Ken | |
| 2024 | Bob Marley: One Love | Bob Marley |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Errol | 1 episode |
| 2014–2018 | Vera | Dr. Marcus Summer | Main role, 16 episodes |
| 2016 | Midsomer Murders | Bartholomew Hines | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Ordinary Lies | Jake | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Death in Paradise | Irie Johnson | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Diana and I | Russell | Television film |
| 2017–2019 | Peaky Blinders | Col. Ben Younger | Main role, 5 episodes |
| 2018 | Deep State | Khalid Walker | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The OA | Karim Washington | Main role, 6 episodes |
| 2020 | High Fidelity | Russell McCormack | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
| 2020 | Love Life | Grant | 1 episode |
| 2020 | The Comey Rule | Barack Obama | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Soulmates | Franklin | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Secret Invasion | Gravik | Miniseries, main role, 6 episodes |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Riots | Performer | Tricycle Theatre, London |
| 2012 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Demetrius | Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London |
| 2013 | Much Ado About Nothing | Borachio | The Old Vic, London |
| 2013 | God's Property | Soho Theatre, London | |
| 2014 | We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915 | Actor 2 | Bush Theatre, London |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | British Academy Film Awards | Rising Star Award | Himself | Nominated |
| 2021 | Cannes Film Festival | Trophée Chopard of Male Revelation | Himself | Won |
| 2021 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture | One Night in Miami | Nominated |
| 2021 | Independent Spirit Award | Robert Altman Award | Won | |
| 2020 | Gotham Awards | Breakthrough Actor | Won | |
| 2020 | Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Most Promising Performer | Nominated | |
| 2020 | San Francisco Film Awards | Outstanding Ensemble | Won | |
| 2020 | Atlantic Film Critics Circle | Breakthrough Performer | Won | |
| 2020 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Actor | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ de Semlyen, Phil (1 April 2019). "Introducing Kingsley Ben-Adir – the breakout star of 'The OA' season 2". Time Out.
- ^ a b Cherelus, Gina (15 January 2021). "From Malcolm X to Barack Obama: Kingsley Ben-Adir Has the Range". gq.com.
- ^ "Kingsley Ben –Adir(TBA)". www.showtimes.com. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ a b Jordan, Eliana (4 August 2023). "Who is Kingsley Ben Adir, the British Jewish Ken from the Barbie movie". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ url=https://www.rhylprim.camden.sch.uk/
- ^ Osley, Richard (5 March 2021). "How Kingsley Ben-Adir's escaped spider sparked police panic". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "Kingsley Ben-Adir". gsmd.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Khalid Walker – Played by Kingsley Ben-Adir". EPIX.
- ^ Roachford, Dornett (21 March 2013). "Love and Acceptance in 'God's Property'". The Platform.
- ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre – review". Evening Standard. 27 February 2013.
- ^ Billington, Michael (5 March 2014). "We Are Proud to Present… review – 'A Pirandellian take on a little-known genocide'". The Guardian.
- ^ Taylor, Paul (10 March 2014). "We Are Proud to Present, theatre review. Bush Theatre, London". The Independent.
- ^ Murphy, Siobhan (7 March 2014). "We Are Proud To Present… at Bush Theatre takes your breath away". Metro.
- ^ "Review: 'We Are Proud to present…'". What's On – Africa. 20 March 2014.
- ^ Watson, Fay (13 November 2019). "Peaky Blinders: Why did Colonel Ben Younger star Kingsley Ben-Adir leave?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Whetstone, David (28 April 2014) "Review: Vera, ITV, 8pm Sunday " The Journal.Archived 12 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (11 February 2022). "Kingsley Ben-Adir To Play Reggae Legend Bob Marley In Paramount Biopic". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Wang, Jessica (4 December 2023). "Kingsley Ben-Adir didn't initially think he could play Bob Marley". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Lamont, Tom (21 January 2024). "'Interview | Thank God I asked for a singing teacher!': Kingsley Ben-Adir on bringing Bob Marley to life". The Observer.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (15 April 2022). "'Barbie': Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell, Scott Evans, More Round Out Cast Of Warner Bros, Mattel And LuckyChap Pic". Deadline Hollywood.
