Babou Ceesay | |
|---|---|
 Ceesay in 2025 | |
| Born | Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay 1979 (age 45–46) 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 the 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 |
| 2025 | Alien: Earth | Kumi Morrow | Series regular, 6 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 | |
Babou Ceesay as John
Ceesay
Jerome Sharpe (Babou Ceesay)
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