Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( CHOO-ə-tel EJ-ee-oh-for; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award, with nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.

After enrolling at the National Youth Theatre in 1995 and attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, at age 19 and three months into his course, Ejiofor was cast by Steven Spielberg to play a supporting role in the film Amistad (1997) as James Covey.

Ejiofor portrayed the characters Okwe in Dirty Pretty Things (2002), Peter in Love Actually (2003), Lola in Kinky Boots, Victor Sweet in Four Brothers, The Operative in Serenity (all 2005), Luke in Children of Men (2006), Thabo Mbeki in Endgame, Adrian Helmsley in Roland Emmerich's 2012 (both 2009), Darryl Peabody in Salt (2010), Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Vincent Kapoor in Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015), Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange (2016) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), and Trywell Kamkwamba in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019). He voiced Dr. Watson in Sherlock Gnomes (2018), Scar in The Lion King (2019), and featured in the fantasy film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).

For 12 Years a Slave, Ejiofor received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, along with the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for a 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance on Dancing on the Edge. In 2022, he played the lead role in the Showtime science fiction television series The Man Who Fell to Earth.

In 2008, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He was elevated to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Birthday Honours.