Tony Okungbowa

Tony Okungbowa
Tony Okungbowa in 2013
Born	Anthony Victor Okungbowa c. 1967or1968(age 57–58) London, England
Other names	Tony Okungbowa, DJ Tony O.
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Middlesex University
Occupations	Actor, film producer, DJ
Years active	1994–present
Website	tonyokungbowa.com

Anthony Victor Okungbowa (born c. 1967/1968) ^[1] is an English-American actor, film producer, and DJ. He was the resident DJ for The Ellen DeGeneres Show from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2013 when he was replaced by Stephen "tWitch" Boss. He returned as a guest on April 28, 2014. Since 2019, Okungbowa has played Kofo in the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola .

Early life

Okungbowa is of Nigerian descent and grew up in Nigeria and London. ^[2] He has a degree in drama from Middlesex University in Middlesex, London. ^[3] He moved to New York City in 1992 to do post-graduate work at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute; he left for Los Angeles in 1998. ^{[1] [3]}

Career

The Ellen DeGeneres Show featured a DJ to provide musical accompaniment, a role Okungbowa began in 2003 and continued until the end of season three of the show in 2006, when he left to further his acting career. ^{[4] [5]} He was replaced at the beginning of season four by Jon Abrahams, who is also an actor. Okungbowa returned in 2007 making occasional substitute appearances. He returned to DJ full-time for the sixth season which began September 8, 2008. He DJ'd for the 2004 Grammy Awards.

His acting roles include guest spots on The X-Files , NYPD Blue , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS: Los Angeles in 2014. He was executive producer of and acted in the film Restless City which had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2011. ^[6] As of January 7, 2013 or earlier, Okungbowa became a naturalized citizen of the United States. ^[7]

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1993	The Punk	Punk Friend #2
2002	The Wild Thornberrys Movie	Ranger	Voice
2003	Gate to Heaven	Amadou
2008	Miracle of Phil	Seth
2009	The One Last Time	Scarecow
2011	Restless City	Bekay
	CIS: Las Gidi	The Tax Man
2013	Mother of George	Biyi
2014	Echo Park	Alex
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	The X-Files	Barnes' Driver	Episode: "The Sixth Extinction"
2000	Arli$$	Homeless Joe	Episode: "Where There's a Will"
2001	NYPD Blue	Tristan L. Gibbs	Episode: "Fools Russian"
2001; 2010	The Bold and the Beautiful	Diver/Dempsey	6 episodes
2003–06; 2008–13	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	Himself/DJ	1,672 Episode
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Bakari	Episode: "Trials"
2014	NCIS Los Angeles	Bakari Deng	Episode: "Exposure"
2015	Kids Say the Darndest Things Nigeria	Himself/host	2 episode
2017	Ballers	Dr. Dester	Episode: "Alley-Oops"
2017	Ray Donovan	Bolaji	Episode: "Horses"
2019–2024	Bob Hearts Abishola	Kofo	Main role
2022	YE! [8]	Lenny

Discography

Mixed compilations

• 2005: Hollywood Sessions, Vol. 1
• 2009: Total Dance 2009
• 2012: "A Night to Remember"

References

1. King, Susan (January 8, 2006). "Putting his spin on TV talk". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Age: 38(subscription required)
2. "Biography: Anthony Okungbowa", TV.com.
3. "Actor / DJ". Tony Okungbowa official website. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013..
4. Kugel, Allison (June 1, 2006). "Tony Okungbowa: Resident Deejay on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Blazes His Own Trail in Hollywood" (Press release). Tony Okungbowa. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017 – via PR.com.
5. Boone, Keyairah. "Former 'Ellen' DJs Speak Out About Their Experiences On The Set". ESSENCE. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
6. Anderson, John (February 1, 2011). "Review: 'Restless City'". Variety .
7. Tony is an American Citizen!. The Ellen DeGeneres Show . January 7, 2013. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2019– via YouTube.
8. Otosirieze. "How Dakore Egbuson-Akande and Tony Okungbowa Traverse Trauma in YE!". Open Country Mag. Retrieved December 7, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Anthony Okungbowa at IMDb