Thomas Antony Olajide | |
|---|---|
 Olajide in 2017 | |
| Born | Thomas Antony Olajide |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, writer |
| Years active | 2010s–present |
Thomas Antony Olajide, sometimes also credited as Thomas Olajide, is a Canadian actor and writer from Vancouver, British Columbia. [1] He is most noted for his performance in the 2021 film Learn to Swim , for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022, [2] and as co-creator with Tawiah M'carthy and Stephen Jackman-Torkoff of Black Boys, a theatrical show about Black Canadian LGBTQ+ identities which was staged by Buddies in Bad Times in 2016. [3] Olajide, M'carthy, and Jackman-Torkoff were collectively nominated for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards in 2017. [4]
His other stage roles have included productions of William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale for The Dream in High Park; [5] King Lear , [6] A Midsummer Night's Dream [7] and Love's Labour's Lost [8] for the Stratford Festival; Lynn Nottage's Ruined for Canadian Stage; [9] and Michel Nadeau's And Slowly Beauty for the Belfry Theatre and the National Arts Centre. [10]
Olajide has also starred in the short film Mariner and the feature film White Lie . [11] [12] [13] He had regular roles in the web series Inhuman Condition and Nomades, and received a Prix Gémeaux nomination for Best Actor in a Youth Digital Series in 2020 for the latter. [1] [14]
In 2023, he played a regular supporting role in the television series The Spencer Sisters as police officer Zane Graham. [15] That year, he also starred in the Canadian sports film Backspot , [16] which premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. [17]
He is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and of the Actors Conservatory at the Canadian Film Centre. [1]