Chiwetelu Umeadi "
Chiwetel"
Ejiofor,
CBE ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. After enrolling at the
National Youth Theatre in 1995, and gaining a scholarship to the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, at age 19 and three months into his course, Ejiofor was cast by
Steven Spielberg to play a supporting part in the film
Amistad as
James Covey. In 2005, he played gangster Victor Sweet in the film
Four Brothers alongside Mark Wahlberg. Ejiofor is known for his portrayal of Okwe in
Dirty Pretty Things (2002), the Operative in
Serenity (2005), Lola in
Kinky Boots (2005), Luke in
Children of Men (2006), and Dr. Adrian Helmsley in
2012 (2009). He played
Solomon Northup in
12 Years a Slave (2013), for which he received
Academy Award and
Golden Globe nominations, along with the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He was nominated for a 2014
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his performance in
Dancing on the Edge.