Bambadjan Bamba

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Bambadjan Bamba
Born
Education New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts

Bambadjan Bamba (born in Abidjan) is an Ivorian actor and filmmaker known for his roles in Black Panther , Suicide Squad , and The Good Place . He is also a prominent immigrant rights advocate.

Contents

Life and career

Bamba was born in the Ivory Coast and illegally came to the United States at the age of 10 in the 1990s. [1] He spent his adolescent years in the South Bronx [2] and Richmond, Virginia. [3] He studied at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts in New York City [4] and is the owner of Ivostar Pictures.

He has appeared on television shows such as Grey's Anatomy , The Sopranos , and Bosch , [5] and he had a recurring role on The Good Place . His film credits include Black Panther , [3] Suicide Squad , and Beginners .

Advocacy

In November 2017, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times , Bamba disclosed that he was a DACA recipient. [4] He has since used his platform to advocate for undocumented immigrants to the United States. He has worked with Define American, a nonprofit media and culture organization which provides a venue for undocumented people to tell their own story, [6] and he contributed to the anthology American Like Me: Reflections on life between cultures, edited by America Ferrera. [7]

Bamba received the Courageous Advocate Award from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Courageous Luminary award from NILC (National Immigration Law Center). [8]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006 Law and Order Henry YoungEpisode: "Hindsight"
2007 I Think I Love My Wife Rapper on Elevator
2007 The Sopranos Somali CyclistEpisode: "Kennedy and Heidi"
2007 Spinning into Butter Male Student #2
2009 ER Psychotic And in the End...
2010 Sympathy for Delicious Guy in First RowUncredited
2010 Beginners The Sads
2011 Contagion DreadUncredited
2011 Grey's Anatomy SefuEpisode: "White Wedding"
2012 Bones Sam SachsEpisode: 7x06 "The Crack in the Code"
2014 Reality Tony
2016Everything But a ManMax's Housemate #2
2016 Suicide Squad T-shirt vendor
2016-2019 The Good Place Bambadjan9 episodes
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Taxi DriverUncredited
2018 Black Panther Militant Leader
2020 Bosch Remi Toussaint7 episodes

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References

  1. Bamba, Bambadjan. "The world's most popular superhero is an undocumented immigrant". The Washington Post .
  2. Lopez, Ricardo (28 November 2017). "'Black Panther' Actor Publicly Announces His DACA Status, Lending Voice to Immigration Fight". Variety. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 "'Black Panther' actor is also a Dreamer". CNN. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 Anderson, Tre'vell (November 28, 2017). "Actor Bambadjan Bamba comes out as undocumented: 'We just can't be scared anymore.'". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. "'God Friended Me' Casts Karine Vanasse; Bambadjan Bamba Joins 'Bosch'". Deadline Hollywood . 12 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. Bamba, Bambadjan (24 January 2018). "Actor: I'm a DACA recipient. Please don't deport me". CNN. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. "American Like Me: Reflections on Life between Cultures by America Ferrera". Book Dragon. Smithsonian Asian Pacific Center. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. "Actor's heart is still in Africa". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2016-05-09.