Jude Akuwudike | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jude Akuwudike 1965 (age 58–59) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Awards | 2008 Red Rock Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize |
Jude Akuwudike (born 1965) is a Nigerian actor. He has mostly worked in the United Kingdom, on screen and stage. [1]
He has appeared in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.
Born in Nigeria, West Africa, [2] Akuwudike came to Britain and was educated at St Augustine's College in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, an independent Roman Catholic boarding school. In 1985, he began to train for an acting career at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1987. [3]
In 1988, Akuwudike played Captain Watkin Tench in Our Country's Good at the Royal Court Theatre. [4] His first film appearance was in the same year, as a priest in A World Apart . [5] An early leading role came in 1989 in the play The Fatherland by Murray Watts, at the Bush Theatre at Riverside, [6] and his first significant part on television was as Sergeant Gummer in the drama serial Virtual Murder (1991).[ citation needed ]
Throughout his career, Akuwudike has worked mainly on stage, including appearing in several productions for the National Theatre, notably Not About Nightingales , Moon on a Rainbow Shawl , and Ion [ citation needed ]. He has also appeared for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as working on Broadway. He has also had many roles in film and television and is a voice actor. [7]
In 1998, in the first British production of Not About Nightingales by Tennessee Williams, directed by Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre, Akuwudike originated the part of "the Queen", a gay prisoner. [8] In 2002 he played the black pimp in a Royal National Theatre production of Edmond , with Kenneth Branagh in the title role. [9]
From February to May 2011, Akuwudike was Abel Magwitch in an English Touring Theatre production of Great Expectations (adapted by Tanika Gupta), with Lynn Farleigh as Miss Havisham. [10] [11]
In the Cary Joji Fukunaga film Beasts of No Nation (2015), Akuwudike played Supreme Commander Dada Goodblood, leader of an unnamed West African country torn by civil war. [12]
In September 2018, it was announced that Akuwudike had been cast alongside Joe Cole and Sope Dirisu in a new Cinemax television serial called Gangs of London , then in production. [13]
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | A World Apart | Priest [14] | |
| 1997 | Richard II | Scroop [15] | TV film |
| 1998 | The Ebb-Tide | Fakeeva | TV film |
| 2000 | A Likeness in Stone | DC Levi Pryor | TV film |
| 2005 | Sahara | Imam | |
| 2007 | Jehovah's Witness | Percy | Short |
| 2010 | The Tempest | Boatswain | |
| 2015 | Beasts of No Nation | Dada Goodblood | |
| 2020 | Eyimofe | Mofe | |
| 2021 | Benediction | Priest | |
| 2023 | The Little Mermaid | Joshua | |
| 2024 | The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim † | TBC | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Screenplay | Thomas | Episode: "The Land of Dreams" |
| 1992 | Virtual Murder | Sergeant Gummer | Series regular |
| 1993 | Between the Lines | Custody Sergeant | Episode: "Big Boys' Rules: Part II" |
| 1994 | The Bill | Mr. Jensen | Episode: "All Along the Watchtower" |
| 1996-1999 | Roger Roger | Henry | Series regular |
| 1998 | Heat of the Sun | Elihu Mwangi | Episode: "The Sport of Kings" |
| 1999 | Kavanagh QC | Matthew Atta | Episode: "Previous Convictions" |
| 2003 | Silent Witness | Malcolm Linden | Episode: "Running on Empty" |
| Holby City | Derek Fletcher | Episode: "Know When to Fold" | |
| 2005 | Bad Girls | Leroy | 1 episode |
| The Last Detective | Bradshaw | Episode: "Towpaths of Glory" | |
| 2007 | Silent Witness | Willi | Episode: "Suffer the Children" |
| 2009 | Moses Jones | Matthias Mutukula | Mini-series |
| The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Oswald Ranta | Episode: "The Boy with an African Heart" | |
| Holby City | Marvin Stewart | Episode: "What Will Survive of Us" | |
| 2010 | Law & Order: UK | Marcus Wright | Episode: "Skeletons" |
| 2012 | Holby City | Gabriel Vaughan | Episode: "Hail Caesar" |
| 2013 | Doctors | Thomas Tembe | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Cucumber | Ralph Sullivan | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Dr. Marghai | Episode: "A Twist of Fate" |
| Undercover | Al | 1 episode | |
| Friday Night Dinner | Custody Sergeant | Episode: "The Funeral" | |
| 2017 | Chewing Gum | Alex | Episode: "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" |
| Death in Paradise | Tony Garret | Episode: "In the Footsteps of a Killer" | |
| The A Word | Vincent Daniels | 3 episodes | |
| 2017-2018 | Fortitude | Doctor Adebimpe | Recurring role |
| 2018 | Kiri | Reverend Lipide | 1 episode |
| 2018-2020 | In the Long Run | Uncle Akie | Series regular |
| 2019 | Moving On | Dr. Bello | Episode: "Frozen" |
| Plebs | Agrippa | Episode: "The Banquet" | |
| 2020 | Gangs of London | Charlie Carter | Recurring role |
| On the Edge | Dad | Episode: "BBW" | |
| 2021 | Manhunt | Delroy Grant | Series regular |
| 2022 | The Crown | Sydney Johnson | Episode: "Mou Mou" |
| 2023 | Casualty | Clark Johnson | Episode: "No Regrets" |
| Culprits | Carl Marking | Episode: "Circle in a Circle" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | GTFO | Dr. Abeo Dauda | |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Martini Rossi TMA Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Poor Super Man | Won | [16] |
| 2008 | Red Rock Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize | Special Achievement in Acting Role | Jehovah's Witness | Won | [17] |
| 2016 | Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Favourite International Film (with Idris Elba & Ama K. Abebrese) | Beasts of No Nation | Won | [18] |
| 2021 | Africa Movie Academy Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Eyimofe | Nominated | [19] |
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