Arnold Oceng | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Arnold Oceng 30 November 1985 |
| Nationality | Ugandan, British |
| Other names | Snakeyman |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Awards | National Film Awards, 2017 |
Arnold Oceng, sometimes known as Snakeyman, (born 30 November 1985), is a Ugandan-born British actor and singer. [1] Oceng is best known for the roles in Grange Hill, Adulthood and Brotherhood. [2]
He was born on 30 November 1985. [3] In 1986 when he was one year of age, his family moved to Brixton, South London as refugees. [1]
He started acting at the age of 6 as a child artist. [4] In school, he played as 'King Herod' in the play at the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic primary school on Brixton Hill. [2]
In 1999, he made his acting debut as a child artist with the role 'Calvin Braithwaite' in the 73 episodes of BBC children's television drama serial Grange Hill . The series was highly popular and continued until 2004. [5] Since then he acted in minor supportive roles in many television serials including, Casualty, The Bill and Sold. Oceng made his maiden cinema appearance in 2008 film Adulthood . He later followed with supportive roles in independent UK films, 4.3.2.1. and My Brother The Devil. [1] [2]
In 2014, he acted alongside Reese Witherspoon in the film The Good Lie , which became his first Hollywood role. In 2016, he made the role 'Charles' in the film A United Kingdom which had its premier in BFI London Film Festival. Then he starred in the Danish biopic The Greatest Man screened in 2016. [1] In the same year, he joined the cast of film Brotherhood . [2] In 2017, he was nominated for the Male Performance in Film award at Screen Nation Film and Television Awards which was held at the Park Plaza London Riverbank hotel on 7 May 2017. [6] In the same year, he won the award for the Best Supporting Actor at National Film Awards UK for his role in Brotherhood. [7]
| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Prodigals | Marlon | Short film |
| 2008 | Adulthood | Henry | |
| One of Those Days | Angel Steward #4 | Short film | |
| 2009 | Dog Endz | Quinton | TV film |
| 2010 | 4.3.2.1. | Dark Chocolate | |
| 2011 | The Tapes | Nathan | |
| Victim | Jayden | ||
| Demons Never Die | Curtis | ||
| Point Blank | TV film | ||
| 2012 | My Brother the Devil | Aj | |
| Payback Season | Maxy | ||
| The Knot | Fulishio Akinkugbe | ||
| 2013 | Circle of Revenge | Lil Reese | |
| It's a Lot | Aasif | ||
| 2014 | The Good Lie | Mamere | |
| 2016 | Brotherhood | Henry Okocha | |
| A United Kingdom | Charles | ||
| 2017 | Breathe | Arnold | Short film |
| Pound for Pound | Ayub Kalule | ||
| TBC | Finding Forever† | Marvin | Pre-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2004 | Grange Hill | Calvin Braithwaite | Series regular; 73 episodes |
| 2006 | Casualty | Solomon 'Sol' Lakah | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 2007 | The Bill | Wayne Tindle | Episode: "The Good Old Days" |
| Sold | Josh | Series 1, Episode 3 | |
| 2011 | Top Boy | Femi | Series 1, Episode 1 |
| 2017 | This World | Joseph | Episode: "The Attack: Terror in the UK" |
| 2018 | Age Before Beauty | Leon | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Dark Money | Ryan Osei | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2022 | The Underground | Jaidai | Miniseries |
| 2025 | MobLand | Stevensons gang member |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | National Film Awards | Best Newcomer | The Good Lie | Nominated |
| 2017 | National Film Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance in a Film | Brotherhood | Nominated |
| National Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Brotherhood | Won | |
| Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Male Performance in Film | Brotherhood | Nominated | |