David Oyelowo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Oyelowo OBE
Oyelowo in 2015
Born	David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo (1976-04-01) 1 April 1976 (age 49) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Other names	David O.
Citizenship	British (1976–present) Nigerian (1976–present) U.S. (2016–present)
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor director producer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Jessica Watson ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	4

David Oyelowo (born April 1, 1976) is a talented British actor, director, and producer. He has won several awards, including a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards. He has also been nominated for many other big awards, like the Golden Globe Awards and Emmy Awards. In 2016, he was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his amazing work in drama.

David Oyelowo became very well-known for playing Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie Selma (2014). He also received great reviews for his role as Peter Snowden in the HBO film Nightingale (2014). Other popular roles include Louis Gaines in The Butler (2013), Seretse Khama in A United Kingdom (2016), and Robert Katende in Queen of Katwe (2016). He has also appeared in supporting roles in movies like Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and Lincoln (2012).

On television, Oyelowo played MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British series Spooks from 2002 to 2004. He also voiced Agent Alexsandr Kallus in Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018). More recently, he starred in and helped produce the 2023 Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Early Life and Education

David Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England, on April 1, 1976. His parents are from Nigeria. His father is from Oyo State, and his mother is from the Igbo group. He grew up in South London until he was six. Then, his family moved to Lagos, Nigeria, where his parents worked for an airline and a railway company. David looked up to famous actors like Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington.

David is an omoba, which means he is a prince of the Yoruba people in Nigeria. His grandfather was a king in a part of Oyo State. He has explained that being a prince in Nigeria is different from being a prince in the UK. There are many royal families in Nigeria, so it's not as rare as it might sound.

He went to a "military-style" boarding school in Nigeria. When he was 14, his family moved back to London. While studying theatre in college, his teacher suggested he become an actor. He then trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), finishing his studies in 1998. He also spent time with the National Youth Theatre.

Acting Career Highlights

Stage Performances

David Oyelowo started his stage career in 1999 with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He played roles in plays like Volpone and Antony and Cleopatra. He is most famous for playing King Henry VI in Shakespeare's plays about the king in 2001. This was a big moment because he was the first Black actor to play an English king in a major Shakespeare production. Even though some people questioned this choice at first, David's performance was highly praised. He won the 2001 Ian Charleson Award for his role.

In 2006, he directed a play called The White Devil. In 2016, he played the main role in Othello in New York City, acting alongside Daniel Craig. In 2024, he starred in Coriolanus at the Royal National Theatre.

Television Roles

Oyelowo is widely recognized for his role as MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British drama series Spooks (also known as MI-5 in North America). He was on the show from 2002 to 2004. He also appeared in the Christmas specials of As Time Goes By in 2005. In 2006, he acted in the TV film Born Equal as a man fleeing persecution from Nigeria. He also played Gilbert in the BBC TV show Small Island in 2009.

In 2014, he starred in the HBO film Nightingale. He currently stars in and co-produces the 2023 American western series Lawmen: Bass Reeves. This show is about Bass Reeves, a former slave who became one of the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals.

Voice Acting Work

David Oyelowo has also lent his voice to many projects. In 2007, he read the audiobook for John le Carré's novel The Mission Song. Critics praised his performance, saying he sounded like a whole orchestra. In 2015, he was chosen to voice James Bond in an audiobook called Trigger Mortis.

Since 2014, he has voiced Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus in the animated series Star Wars Rebels. He also voiced the spirit of Scar in season 2 of The Lion Guard starting in 2017. In 2019, he voiced the Tiger in a TV adaptation of The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

Film Appearances

In 2012, Oyelowo appeared in Middle of Nowhere. The director, Ava DuVernay, was a fan of his work. He also appeared in The Paperboy and The Butler in the following year.

In 2014, David Oyelowo started his own production company called Yoruba Saxon Productions. This company has helped produce movies he starred in, such as Nightingale and A United Kingdom. He worked with Ava DuVernay again for Selma (2014), where he played civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.. This film was based on the important 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery.

In 2019, he joined the cast of Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, which was released in 2021. In 2020, Oyelowo starred with George Clooney in the Netflix movie The Midnight Sky. His company, Yoruba Saxon, also signed a deal with Disney. The first film from this deal will be The Return of the Rocketeer, a sequel to the 1991 film The Rocketeer. David and his wife, Jessica, will produce it.

Awards and Honors

For his role as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, David Oyelowo won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. He was also nominated for his first Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actor.

In 2014, his performance in Nightingale earned him the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for this role.

David Oyelowo was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016. This honor was given to him for his contributions to drama. In 2024, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance in Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Personal Life

David Oyelowo is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo. They met while studying at LAMDA and have four children together. They used to live in Brighton, England, before moving to Los Angeles, California. David is a pescetarian, meaning he eats fish but no other meat.

He is a very religious Christian. He has said that he believes God called him to play Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma. He felt that to play Dr. King, he needed God's guidance.

David and his wife became naturalized U.S. citizens on July 20, 2016. He explained that he did this after making the film Selma, which was about voting rights. He felt it was important to be able to vote himself, especially after telling others to do so.

He has also shown support for Palestine during the Gaza war. He signed a letter with other artists, asking the US President to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

See also

In Spanish: David Oyelowo para niños