THIS WEEK WHO IS WHO NIGERIA WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING NIGERIANS, WORLDWIDE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE.
Sophie Okonedo - born in 1968 to a Nigerian father and a Jewish mother, Okonedo is an award-winning actress known for her roles in successful British and American productions.
In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels.
She has received an Academy Award nomination for her critically acclaimed role in Hotel Rwanda, a Golden Globe nomination for Tsunami: The Aftermath, and BAFTA nominations for Criminal Justice and Mrs. Mandela.
Her other film roles included Aeon Flux, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Dirty Pretty Things, Skin and The Secret Life of Bees.
Okonedo was born in London, the daughter of Joan (née Allman), a pilates teacher, and Henry Okonedo (1939-2009), who worked for the government. Her father was Nigerian, and her mother, an Ashkenazi Jew, was born in the East End, to Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Poland and Russia.
Okonedo trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre and audio drama.
Donald Adeosun Faison - born in 1974, this American actor is probably best known by fans of the popular television Comedy-drama Scrubs (2001-2010).
Bet you didn't know this American actor's middle name is Yoruba, Adeosun.
Faison has also co-starred in the films Remember the Titans (2000), Uptown Girls (2003), Something New (2006), Next Day Air (2009) and Kick-Ass 2 (2013).
Faison was born in Harlem, New York, the son of Shirley, a talent agent, and Donald Faison, a building manager. His parents were active with the National Black Theatre in Harlem.
Faison got his first role in a commercil at the age of 17. He became famous for his role as Murray Lawrence Duvall in the film Clueless (1995) movie, and its subsequent television series, which ran from 1996 to 1999. In 1995, he also appeared in Waiting to Exhale as Tarik. He also starred in Big Fat Liar alongside Frankie Muniz, Paul Giamatti, and Amanda Bynes. He had a recurring role as Tracy on Felicity, appeared in Remember the Titans, as the running-back turned corner-back Petey Jones, and provided voice work for various characters in the MTV animated series Clone High. He had minor roles in the sitcoms Sister Sister and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and in the film Josie and the Pussycats. In 2005, Faison produced one episode of MTV's Punk'd involving his Scrubs co-star Zach Braff. He has also appeared in the music videos for Brandy's "Sittin' Up in My Room", Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It," and Gavin Degraw's "Chariot."
He is currently the host for the TBS comedy sketch show Who Gets the Last Laugh.
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Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje -- This well known figure in Hollywood was born in Islington, London. His parents are Nigerians, of Yoruba origin. He has a law degree from King's College London and a Masters in Law from the University of London.
His best known acting roles have been as the imposing convict Simon Adebisi in the 1990s HBO prison series Oz, and as Mr Eko on ABC's survivor drama Lost. He has numerous film credits since he began acting in 1994 and has appeared in many top films, including The Bourne Identity, in which he played a deposed African dictator, Hitu the police officer in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, and Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
In 2009, Akinnuoye-Agbaje told MTV that he was in talks with Marvel Studios to play Black Panther in the film of the same name. "We're talking to Marvel about 'Black Panther'... But it's about time we have a black superhero, isn't it? He's from a fictional village in Africa, and the timing is so right for that kind of character to come through... And while I'm in my prime, this is the time. We've got [U.S. President Barack] Obama, now we need something onscreen to represent, so..." the actor mused. However, Marvel Studios have not yet confirmed that he will get the role.
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Chiwetelu Umeadi "Chiwetel" Ejiofor, has received numerous acting awards and nominations, including the 2006 BAFTA Awards Rising Star, three Golden Globe Awards' nominations, and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in Othello.
Born July 10, 1977 in London's Forest Gate to Nigerian parents who belonged to the Igbo ethnic group. His father, Arinze, was a doctor, and his mother, Obiajulu, was a pharmacist.
In 1988, when Ejiofor was 11, during a family trip to Nigeria for a wedding, he and his father were driving to Lagos after the celebrations when their car was involved in a head-on crash with a lorry. His father was killed, but Ejiofor survived. He was badly injured, and received the scars on his forehead.
Ejiofor began acting in school plays at the age of thirteen, and soon joined the National Youth Theatre. He then got into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art but had to leave after his first year, after getting a role in Steven Spielberg's film Amistad. He played the title role in Othello at the Bloomsbury Theatre in September 1995, and again at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1996 when he starred opposite Rachael Stirling, who played Desdemona.
Ejiofor made his film debut in the television film Deadly Voyage in 1996. Ejiofor had his first leading film role in 2002's Dirty Pretty Things, for which he won a British Independent Film Award for best actor. In the following year, he was part of the ensemble cast of Love Actually, starred in a BBC adaptation of Chaucer's The Knight's Tale and also starred in the BBC series Trust. Ejiofor's performance in Tsunami: The Aftermath received a 2007 Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a mini-series or film made for TV.
In 2007, Ejiofor starred opposite Don Cheadle in Talk to Me, a film based on the true story of Ralph "Petey" Greene (played by Cheadle), an African-American radio personality in the 1960s and '70s. He performed on stage in The Seagull at the Royal Court Theatre from January 18 to March 17, 2007.
Ejiofor is considered one of the leading candidates to play T'Challa/Black Panther in the proposed Black Panther film based on the Marvel comic books character.
Ejiofor was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. In the same year, he made his directorial debut in the short film Slapper, which he also wrote, based on an idea by editor/director Yusuf Pirhasan. Ejiofor appeared alongside John Cusack in the 2009 film 2012. The film went on to gross over $700 million, and is among the list of highest-grossing films of all time and placing 5th of top films of 2009.
In 2013, Ejiofor appeared in the leading role in the BBC Two drama series Dancing on the Edge, playing the part of band creator Louis Lester.
He is currently working on more award-winning movies.
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Caroline Chikezie -- born February 19, 1974 in England to Nigerian parents, this actress is best known for playing Sasha Williams in As If, and Elaine Hardy in Footballers' Wives.
At fourteen, Chikezie was sent to boarding school in Nigeria in an attempt to make her abandon her dreams to become an actress.
Prior to this, she had attended weekend classes at Italia Conti.
On her return to the United Kingdom, she enrolled into Brunel University where she studied Medicinal Chemistry (she was expected to take over her father's hospital in Nigeria), but left after lecturers decided that she was unsuited to academic life. She later won a scholarship to the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.
As a film actress, Chikezie has starred in lots of films.
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Hakeem Kae-Kazim - Born October 1, 1962, this British-Nigerian actor is best known for his portrayal of Georges Rutaganda in the 2004 motion picture Hotel Rwanda.
He also featured as Colonel Iké Dubaku in season 7 of the Fox television series 24 and the TV film tie-in 24: Redemption.
Other movies are Last Flight to Abuja (2012), Girl Soldier (2011), Darfur (film) (2009), The Fourth Kind (2009), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Big Fellas (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)... and others.
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Born to Nigerian parents, Oyelowo 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 one year 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.
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.
Oyelowo was signed up for the voice cast of the Star Wars Episode 7 animated series being made by Lucasfilm Animation.
The news didn't come as a suprise to those who knew Oyelowo who has starred in a previous Lucasfilm production Red Tails and had a role in Lincoln, which was produced by Star Wars Episode 7's Kathleen Kennedy.
He stars as Forest Whitaker's son in Lee Daniel's The Butler and is currently shooting Interstellar for Christopher Nolan.
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Nonso Anozie - born in 1979, Anozie is a Nigerian actor known for his appearances on stage, and his film and television roles.
In 2002, he played the title role in William Shakespeare's King Lear, and won the Ian Charleson Award in 2004 for his performance in Othello.
Anozie played small roles, such as as Think Tank in Guy Ritchie's film RocknRolla, and Frank Mace in Joe Wright's Atonement. He played the lead in Cass, a 2008 British crime drama film recreating the life of Cass Pennant. In 2009, he appeared in the supporting cast of the BBC TV three-part 2003 Iraq War drama, Occupation, where he played a US Marine-turned-private-military-contractor. In 2011, he played Artus, a Zamoran pirate and close friend of Conan, in Conan the Barbarian. That year, he was also cast to play the role of Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO series Game of Thrones, and was cast as Jackson Burke in The Grey. He also plays the role of Samson in the History Channel's television miniseries The Bible.
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Akinnagbe was in and out of trouble as a youth. He is the second oldest of six children, with one older sister and four younger brothers. Akinnagbe attended Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, majoring in Political Science and English.
In 2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire, and, starting in 2004, began a frequent recurring role. In 2008, during the show's fifth and final season, he was promoted to a series regular. In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, which was released by Sony in June 2009.
In 2010 in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in world premiere play The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre. He was also in this fall's movie Lottery Ticket and is currently in The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton. He is currently starring as Kelly Slater, a new nurse, in the 3rd season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. He will be seen in the lead role of Jack in the upcoming Independent film Home, directed by Jono Oliver. He is currently playing a drug lord in the USA series Graceland.
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Courtessy Naij.com
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