There's a good reason why this magnetic actor's breakthrough performance as a Nigerian doctor/illegal immigrant in the 2002 British drama
Dirty Pretty Things was so convincing: He based it on his own physician father. Unfortunately, his real-life dad died in a tragic car accident that also left the then-11-year-old Ejiofor with a prominent scar on his forehead. Despite this tragedy (or perhaps, inspired by his brush with mortality) Ejiofor pursued his performing dreams and made an auspicious big-screen debut at age 20 in Steven Spielberg's 1997 slave drama
Amistad. The theater-trained actor spent the next few years on the English stage, racking up rave reviews, notably for his Olivier-nominated turn as a schizophrenic in
Blue/Orange, which also netted him a Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Although
Dirty Pretty Things established him as a formidable screen presence and led to a slew of work in auteur-helmed films (Spike Lee's
She Hate Me and
Inside Man, Woody Allen's
Melinda and Melinda, John Singleton's
Four Brothers), the chameleon-like Ejiofor was a perpetual supporting player. But all that changed in 2006, when the up-and-comer proved he could be a leading man with a pair of Golden Globe-nominated performances. As Lola, a singing drag queen with a penchant for fancy footwear in the feature
Kinky Boots, Ejiofor again channeled his father, who was a Nigerian pop star in addition to being a doc. And in the TV-movie
Tsunami: The Aftermath,
Ejiofor inverted his own personal grief to play a dad desperately searching for his missing daughter.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Fast Facts:
- First name means "God brings" and his last name is a region in Nigeria.
- Friends call him Chewie.
- Studied at London's prestigious National Youth Theatre as a child.
- Attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a scholarship.
- Chiwetel Ejiofor Awards:
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- College:
- London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, London, England
