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Lost Eko
Background:
"Being a black man in Europe and then an Afro-European in Africa, you have your
foot in both places but don't really belong in any of them and you're trying to
find your voice. In Europe, we were very familiar with the black American
experience, but (in America) they're not that familiar with the Afro-European
generation that existed. So this is really the Afro-European black voice that
has not really been heard." Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
British actor and a former male fashion model Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his
career as a model in Milan before moving to Los Angeles to branch out into
acting. After appearing in Congo (1995) and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
(1995), he became a TV star when he was cast as Simon Adebisi (1997-2000), the
fiercest, most powerful, and most violent inmates on HBO one-hour prison drama
series "Oz" and as Mr. Eko (2005-2006), a former ruthless and vicious warlord in
Nigeria, on the ABC hit survivor drama series "Lost."
Meanwhile, moviegoers could catch the 6' 2'' tall, well-built and striking
performer of African descent in such films as The Mummy Returns (2001), The
Bourne Identity (2002) and Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005). He will lent his voice
in the upcoming animated movie, Horton Hears a Who.
Triple A
Childhood and Family:
In London, England, Adewale Rotimi O. C. E. Akinnuoye Agbaje (Adewale means "the
crown has arrived") was born on August 22, 1967. His parents are immigrants from
Nigeria and he has four sisters. When he was six weeks old, he moved with
sisters from North London birthplace to his parents' native Nigeria where they
were raised by a foster family while their parents built careers.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje, nicknamed “Triple A” or “Wally,” later returned to London at
age 15. A fluent in Italian, Yoruba, Swahili and English, Akinnuoye-Agbaje has a
Master in Law from Kings College, the University of London. He is a Buddhist.
Oz Villain
Career:
"The only way you can influence your fate is to put your soul into your
performance and hope it registers with the audience." Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
London-born Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his career in show biz as a model in
Milan. In 1992, he moved to the United States where he was featured in Mary J
Blige’s "Love No Limit" and EnVogue’s "Giving Him Something He Can Feel" music
videos. Meanwhile, he began to win acting roles, starting with guest spots in a
1994 episode of Showtime’s dramatic series "Red Shoe Diaries" and an April 1995
episode of Fox's one-hour urban cop drama "New York Undercover."
Akinnuoye-Agbaje made his first appearance in feature film in Frank Marshall's
adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel, Congo (1995; starring Dylan Walsh, Laura
Linney and Tim Curry). That same year, he could be seen in Zalman King's film
version of Anaďs Nin's 1969 novel, Delta of Venus (starring Audie England and
Costas Mandylor), and Steve Oedekerk's sequel to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
(1994), Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995; starring Jim Carrey).
The next years, Akinnuoye-Agbaje worked mostly on the small screen. He secured
significant roles in the HBO’s searing drama based on a true incident, Deadly
Voyage (1996; with Omar Epps and Chiwetel Ejiofor), and in ABC's updated take on
Jules Verne's novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997; alongside Michael Caine
and Patrick Dempsey). He was also spotted as guest in an episode of the American
version of the British crime-drama series "Cracker" (he played a young priest
who doesn't remember a series of gruesome murders he may have committed) and in
the syndicated television series based at the famous Naval Air Station Pensacola
in Pensacola, Florida, "Pensacola: Wings of Gold" (both in October 1997).
In 1997, Akinnuoye-Agbaje landed his first regular role on TV, as the villainous
gang leader and drug dealer Simon Adebisi, the fiercest, most powerful, and most
violent inmates on HBO one-hour prison drama series "Oz." He stayed on the show
until its fourth season in 2000. On his brutal "Oz" character Adebisi,
Akinnuoye-Agbaje explained: "I think, essentially, they're the same. But it's
just that, in society, you learn to curb your natural instincts when they go too
far. In terms of the drive, the determination, the conviction, it's the same.
It's just that I don't go killing people, I don't rape people. You curb yourself
outside."
During his “Oz” years, Akinnuoye-Agbaje had a recurring role as a Nigerian cab
driver in Showtime's drama comedy "Linc's" and co-starred with action star
Jean-Claude Van Damme in Peter MacDonald's period drama Legionnaire (1998). He
also acted opposite Jane Seymour in the Showtime original biopic Enslavement:
The True Story of Fanny Kemble (2000).
2001 saw Akinnuoye-Agbaje supported Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, playing a
villain in writer-director Stephen Sommers' blockbuster sequel The Mummy
Returns, and appeared in writer-director Shawn Schepps' drama comedy Lip Service
(with Gail O'Grady, Jami Gertz and Kari Wuhrer). He followed it up with
supporting roles in Doug Liman's spy thriller The Bourne Identity (2002;
starring Matt Damon), which was loosely based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, and
in David Carson's action-adventure film starring Wesley Snipes, Unstoppable
(2004). The subsequent year, He was cast in Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical
drama about rapper 50 Cent, Get Rich Or Die Tryin', playing the drug
kingpin-father figure Majestic, as well as starred as Bull Sharky in Charles
Randolph-Wright's musical drama comedy On the One and co-starred with Aishwarya
Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges' romantic drama Mistress of
Spices.
In 2005, Akinnuoye-Agbaje nabbed his most popular role to date, as Mr. Eko, a
former ruthless and vicious warlord in Nigeria, on the ABC Emmy and Golden Globe
award-winning survivor drama series "Lost." His character later was killed, and
was buried in the episode "I Do," the sixth episode of the show's third season
(2006). Being asked about how he grasped the intensity of Mr.Eko,
Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who stayed in character throughout the entire day, explained:
"The only way I know how to deliver (on set) is to focus; some people can turn
it on or off - I'd rather stay in character. There was no socializing. I would
start two hours before I went to the set and I wouldn't say any other words
other than the ones that I needed to say, that's just the way I work and I think
that intensity comes across in my characters."
Akinnuoye-Agbaje is currently filming directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve
Martino's animated movie Horton Hears a Who, in which he will provide the voice
of Town Crier, alongside Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.
"Well, I get invited to every party, I get women offering me their numbers now,
I get magazines asking me if I'm interested in doing covers and articles. I
mean, doors are open I thought were firmly bolted. It's all extremely good."
Akinnuoye-Agbaje (on his new fame).
Awards:
- Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama
Series, “Lost,” 2006
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