Obi Abili

Obi Abili
Born	Obi Abili 1977 (age 47–48) London, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present

Obi Abili is a British stage, television and film actor of Nigerian descent.

Early life

Obi Abili was born in London, England in 1977 and lived in "material comfort" until the family moved to Nigeria and fell into poverty when he was around 8-years-old. Making his way back to London with his father and siblings by age 12, he spent most of his adolescence in foster homes. ^[1]

Career

Abili studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (RADA). In 2006, he made his television debut with a role in the television series Afterlife. In 2012, Abili debuted in the film Gambit alongside Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz and in 2013 he starred as Tula: The Revolt.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2023	Reunion	Mamadou Kargbo
2021	Spinning Gold	Edwin Hawkins
	The Survivalist	John Larsson
2020	Violation	Caleb
	Here After	Stranger	Released as Faraway Eyes in 2020 at the Cinequest Film Festival and in the US as Here After in 2021. [2]
2019	21 Bridges	Sgt. Butchco
2018	London Fields	Thelonius
2017	Forgotten Man	Executive Slazenger
2016	Bachelor Games |	Max
2013	Tula: The Revolt	Tula
2012	Gambit	Executive Slazenger

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2022	Step up: High Water
2018	Billions	Roland Aduba	2 episodes
2016	Delicious	Reverend Norton	3 episodes
2011	Injustice	DS Nick Taylor	5 episodes
2010	The Nativity	Gaspar
2009	The Take	Des
	Moses Jones	Joseph	3 episodes
2008	10 Days to War	James
2006	Afterlife	Aaron

Podcast Series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2025	The Hookup	PNPeter	Series Regular
2021	See You in Your Nightmares

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue(s)	Notes	Ref.
2021	The Oresteia	Agamemnon	Theatre for a New Audience	Virtual premiere	[3]
2017	The Emperor Jones	Brutus Jones	Irish Repertory Theatre		[4] [1]
2016	Six Degrees of Separation	Paul	West End theatre		[5]
2015	Antigone	Guard / chorus	Brooklyn Academy of Music	Performance released as a BBC 4 TV Movie titled, Antigone at the Barbican in 2015. [6]	[1]

References

1. Collins-Hughes, Laura (3 April 2017). "From Lost Soul in London to Glory Off Broadway". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
2. Billington, Alex (15 June 2021). "Dating in Purgatory Seems Like Hell in Trailer for Comedy 'Here After'". www.firstshowing.net. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
3. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Kathleen Chalfant, Obi Abili, Corey Allen & More to Star in Virtual Premeire of THE ORESTEIA". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
4. "Meet the Maker: John Douglas Thompson and Obi Abili". Irish Repertory Theatre. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
5. "Six Degrees of Separation Review | LondonTheatre.co.uk". London Theatre. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
6. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (6 March 2015). "BBC4 to screen Juliette Binoche and Ivo van Hove's Antigone". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.

External links

• Obi Abili at IMDb