Babou Ceesay | |
---|---|
Born | Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay 1979 (age 44–45) London, England, UK. |
Education | Imperial College London |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Spouse | Anna Ceesay |
Children | 2 |
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay (born 1979) is a British actor. He is known for his role in Guerrilla . He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series Into the Badlands .
Ceesay was born in London, England, and grew up in West Africa. He is a dual-national and is of Gambian descent. [1] He trained at Oxford School of Drama. He has also been involved in many significant projects on stage, including The Overwhelming opposite Andrew Garfield and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He studied Microbiology at Imperial College London, and also worked as an internal auditor at accounting firm, Deloitte. [2]
Ceesay's first major role was in the horror/comedy film Severance . Two years later, he got a role on TV in an episode of Whistleblower . He made guest appearances in multiple British TV shows, including Silent Witness , Law & Order: UK , Casualty , Strike Back , Luther , Getting On and Lewis .
In 2013, he appeared in the Nigerian film, Half of a Yellow Sun , alongside Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and another rising star, John Boyega. [3] In 2014, he starred in '71.
In 2015, he was cast in NBC's TV drama, A.D. The Bible Continues as John the Apostle . [4] He also appeared in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015) [5] and the British action comedy Free Fire (2016), set in Boston, and starring Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley and Armie Hammer.
He made a return to television with a major role in the Channel 4 drama National Treasure as Jerome Sharp, the lawyer of Paul Finchley, played by Robbie Coltrane. [6] He then starred in a BBC One television movie Damilola, Our Loved Boy , based on the murder of Damilola Taylor, a ten-year old Nigerian boy living in London, and the trial which followed. [7] He played the role of the father Richard Taylor, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. [8]
In August 2016, he was cast in the British miniseries, Guerrilla , alongside Idris Elba and Freida Pinto. [9]
In 2019, he was cast as Manny Mensah in the BBC One drama television series Dark Money , with John Schwab and Joseph May. He also performed in the American civil rights drama The Best of Enemies (2019), about school integration and an unlikely alliance in a town in North Carolina.
In 2020, Ceesay was cast as DI Jackson Mendy in the Alibi television series We Hunt Together , with Eve Myles, Hermione Corfield and Dipo Ola in the other main roles. [10] In 2021, Paul Abbott's crime drama Wolfe premiered on Sky, in which Ceesay plays the title role as a forensic scientist in Manchester.
He lives in London with his wife, journalist Anna Ceesay, and their two children. [11]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Severance | Billy | Comedy/Horror |
2011 | Stolen | David | TV film |
Shirley | Henry Bassey | TV film | |
2013 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Okeoma | Drama/Romance Director: Biyi Bandele |
2014 | '71 | Corporal | Action/Crime/Drama Director: Yann Demange |
2015 | Eye in the Sky | Sergeant Mushtaq Saddiq | Action/Drama/Thriller Alongside Aaron Paul |
2016 | Free Fire | Martin | Action/Comedy/Crime Alongside Brie Larson |
Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Richard Taylor | TV film | |
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Lieutenant Sefla | Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi | |
2019 | The Best of Enemies | Bill Riddick | Biography/Drama/History |
2020 | The Show | Second Cabby | Drama/Fantasy/Mystery |
2021 | Resurrection | John | Biography/Drama/History |
2023 | Iris | The Doctor | Short film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Whistleblower | Dr. Abdulrazzad | Miniseries |
Silent Witness | DS Gayle | Episode: "Death's Door" | |
2009 | Law & Order: UK | Daniel Matoukou | Episode: "Care" |
2011 | Casualty | Jake Maddick | Episode: "Til Death Us Do Part" |
Luther | Adewale Omotoso | Episode: "#2.3" | |
2012 | Strike Back: Vengeance | Ozzy Osondu | Recurring role, 2 episodes |
Getting On | Hansley | Series 3 regular | |
2013 | Lewis | DC Alex Gray | Episode: "The Ramblin' Boy" |
2014 | Puppy Love | Dennis | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | John | Series regular, 12 episodes |
2016 | National Treasure | Jerome | Miniseries |
2017 | Guerrilla | Marcus Hill | Series regular, 6 episodes |
2018-19 | Into the Badlands | Pilgrim | Recurring role, 16 episodes |
2019 | Dark Money | Manny Mensah | Miniseries |
2020-22 | We Hunt Together | DI Jackson Mendy | Series regular, 12 episodes |
2021 | Wolfe | Wolfe Kinteh | Series regular, 6 episodes |
2024 | Shardlake | Abbot Fabian | Series regular, 4 episodes |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 12th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Male Performance in TV | Nominated | |
63rd British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
2018 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | |
Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, rapper, singer and DJ. An alumnus of the National Youth Music Theatre in London, he is known for roles including Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire (2002–2004), DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther (2010–2019), and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). For Luther, he received four nominations each for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, winning one of the former.
Darren John Boyd is a British actor who starred in the Sky 1 series Spy, for which he won BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Comedy Performance. His work in television and film spans comedy and drama.
Jim Field Smith is an English film and television director, writer and producer.
Nicola Jane Walker is an English actress, known for her starring roles in various British television programmes from the 1990s onwards, including that of Ruth Evershed in the spy drama Spooks and DCI Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten (2015–2021). She has also worked in theatre, radio and film. She won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and was twice nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for the BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax.
Stephen James Mangan is an English actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He has played Guy Secretan in Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge, Seán Lincoln in Episodes, Bigwig in Watership Down, Postman Pat in Postman Pat: The Movie, Richard Pitt in Hang Ups, Andrew in Bliss (2018), and Nathan Stern in The Split (2018–2022).
Stephen Walters is an English actor. A regular in British television and film, he has played a wide range and variety of character roles in both drama and comedy. Walters is most commonly associated with unpredictable, complex figures. He was nominated for a Royal Television Society Best Actor award in 2013 for his role in the Sky Arts drama Ragged and in 2023 for a Supporting Actor (Male) award for his role in the ITV drama Anne.
Nonso Anozie is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles as Xaro Xhoan Daxos in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2012), R.M. Renfield on the Sky series Dracula (2013), Abraham Kenyatta on the CBS series Zoo (2015–2017), and Tommy Jepperd on the Netflix series Sweet Tooth (2021–2024). For the latter, he won a Children's and Family Emmy Award and was nominated for a BAFTA.
Oluwunmi Mosaku is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries Moses Jones (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series Vera (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gloria Taylor in the TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy (2016). In 2019, she starred in the fifth series of Luther. In 2020, she starred as Ruby Baptiste in HBO's Lovecraft Country, and starting in 2021, starred as Hunter B-15 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Loki.
Alex Lanipekun is a British actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but left early to join the cast of the BBC drama Spooks as journalist-cum-spy Ben Kaplan, the role for which he is best known.
Johnny Harris is an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
Luther is a British psychological crime thriller television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, written by Neil Cross. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him. The first series is composed of six episodes which ran in May and June 2010. A second series of four episodes aired on BBC One in June and July 2011, and a third was commissioned in 2012 composed of four episodes which aired in July 2013. A two-episode fourth series was broadcast in December 2015, and a fifth series of four episodes premiered on 1 January 2019. BBC Studios handled distribution for the TV series.
Thomas Cullen is a Welsh actor and director. He had roles in the independent film Weekend (2011), as Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham in the television series Downton Abbey, and as Sir Landry in the historical drama series Knightfall. He also appeared in another historical drama playing the role of Thomas Seymour in Becoming Elizabeth.
Levi David Addai is a British playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning Damilola, Our Loved Boy, the critically acclaimed Youngers and his stage plays 93.2FM and Oxford Street.
Misan Sagay is a British-Nigerian screenwriter, best known for the 2013 film Belle.
Guerrilla is a British drama television series set in early 1970s London, against the backdrop of the Immigration Act 1971 and British black power movements such as the British Black Panthers and Race Today Collective. It was written and directed by John Ridley and stars Idris Elba, Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay in leading roles. Guerrilla debuted on Sky Atlantic on 13 April 2017 and on Showtime on 16 April 2017.
Damilola, Our Loved Boy is a British television film about the events surrounding the 27 November 2000 death of Damilola Taylor. The film aired on BBC One on 7 November 2016, and was written by Levi David Addai, directed by Euros Lyn, and starred Babou Ceesay and Wunmi Mosaku. The film received three nominations at the 2017 British Academy Television Awards, winning Best Single Drama and Best Supporting Actress for Mosaku.
Eugene Khumbanyiwa is a Malawian South Africa-based stage, television, film and voice actor, popularly known for playing the role of Obesandjo in the 2009 Oscar nominated sci-fi hit District 9.
The 2020 British Academy Television Awards were held on 31 July 2020, hosted by British director and comic actor Richard Ayoade.
We Hunt Together is a British crime drama television series created by Gaby Hull. The series stars Babou Ceesay, Eve Myles, Hermione Corfield and Dipo Ola. The first series began its run on 27 May 2020 on Alibi. The second series was premiered on Alibi on 5 May 2022. The first series was shown by the BBC from 26 June 2023.
Wolfe is a British police procedural drama television series created by Paul Abbott for Sky Max. It follows Professor Wolfe Kinteh, a crime scene investigator and academic who solves crimes in Northern England. It stars Babou Ceesay as the titular lead. It began on 10 September 2021.
Babou Ceesay as John
Ceesay
Jerome Sharpe (Babou Ceesay)