Tongayi Chirisa

Last updated

Tongayi Chirisa
Born
Tongayi Arnold Chirisa

Nationality Zimbabwean
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, poet
Years active2002-present
Known forActing
Websitewww.tongayichirisa.com [1]

Tongayi Arnold Chirisa is a Zimbabwean actor and singer known for playing Man Friday on NBC's Crusoe television series, Father Nicholas on The Jim Gaffigan Show , Hekule on Leon Schuster's Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past , and Cheetor in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts .

Contents

Education

Chirisa attended Lomagundi College. [2] He also studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Live Performance at AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy. [3]

Acting career

He played the part of "Detective Trevor Davies" in the popular Zimbabwean television series Studio 263. [4] He also appeared in numerous feature films, the most well known being Tanyaradzwa in 2004, for which he won the Best Actor for Film and Television Award. [5] [ better source needed ] He has also featured in music videos and is a singer. He also starred in a serial radio drama Mopani Junction that was taken off air at the height of political turmoil in Zimbabwe.[ citation needed ] He has been nominated and won many NAMA Awards over the last five years. He recently played the lead in the comedy feature film Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past . He made a dramatic appearance in the mini-series Rough directed by British director, Andy Wilson, appeared in an international feature film Skin, directed by Anthony Fabian and co-starring Sam Neill, and played a lead in a local drama series Redemption for SABC 1. He played Man Friday on the NBC international television series Crusoe , based on the classic story Robinson Crusoe . [6] He also appeared in Sleepy Hollow based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. He played Father Nicholas on The Jim Gaffigan Show (2017). [7] He played the Maximal Cheetor in the film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. (2023) [8]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005Tanyaradzwa
2008Ace of HeartsTebsane MasaShort
2008ZimbabweCharles
2008 Skin Township Priest
2008 Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past Hekule
2009GargoyleThembaShort
2011GeezasSammy the Mouth
2013Stand ByDeeShort
2014Whipping BoyOlly 'Napalm' HarrisShort
2016 Happiness Is a Four-letter Word Thomas
2017The ZimWilliam ZimunyaShort
2020 Palm Springs Jerry Schlieffen
2020 Antebellum Eli Stokes/Professor
2022 Next Exit Father Jack
2023 Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Cheetor (voice)

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002-2004Studio 263Detective Trevor DavisSoap Opera
2008–2009 Crusoe Friday Main role
2009DiamondsOba SeweleTV film
2010Mrs MandelaArguing husbandTV film
2010Barack Obama's CousinBarack Obama's CousinTV miniseries
2011 NCIS: Los Angeles InterrogatorEpisode: "Betrayal"
2012 American Horror Story: Asylum MilesEpisode: "Dark Cousin"
2012 H+: The Digital Series African Soldier2 episodes
2013 Sleepy Hollow Arthur BernardEpisode: "The Sin Eater"
2013GaffiganFather Nicholas NgungumbaneTV film
2015 Whitney Gary HoustonTV film
2015–16 The Jim Gaffigan Show Father NicholasMain role
2016Mars ProjectNeil CormackTV film
2017–2019 iZombie Justin BellRecurring role (season 3), guest (seasons 4–5)
2018 Hawaii Five-0 DonEpisode: "Kopi Wale No I Ka I'a A 'Eu No Ka Ilo"
2018 The Guest Book KwameEpisode: "2.5"
2020 The Good Doctor Kerryś HusbandGuest (season 3 episode 11)
2021 Another Life Richard NcubeRecurring role (season 2)
2022 Women of the Movement Medgar Evers4 episodes
2023–present Mayfair Witches Ciprien GrieveMain role

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2024 Assassin's Creed Shadows Yasuke (voice) [9]

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References

  1. https://tongayichirisa.com/ [ dead link ]
  2. "Chirisa traces journey to Hollywood". Zim News Blog. 2 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2017. I proceeded to 'A' Level (Lomagundi College)
  3. Quinn, Nicola (6 July 2015). "Chirisa gains Hollywood fame". NewsDay . Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  4. http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/entertainment/14154.html
  5. "Tanyaradzwa" via www.imdb.com.
  6. "Crusoe". www.nbc.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008.
  7. "Father Nicholas Ngugumbane/Tongayi Charisa". TVLand. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  8. "Transformers on Instagram: "Maximals, Maximize 👊 Welcoming the voice of Cheetor, @tongayichirisa, to the pack. #Transformers #RiseOfTheBeasts"". Instagram. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  9. ZiFM Stereo [@ZiFMStereo] (16 May 2024). "American based Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Chirisa will feature in the upcoming Assassin's Creed:Shadows game where he voices the character Yasuke" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 June 2024 via Twitter.