Edi Gathegi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edi Gathegi
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Gathegi in 2009
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Edi Mūe Gathegi
March 10, 1979 Nairobi, Nairobi City County, Kenya
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| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse(s) | Adriana Marinescu (m. 2018) |
Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is an actor from Kenya and the United States. He became well-known for playing Dr. Jeffrey "Big Love" Cole in the TV show House in 2007. He also played Cheese in the 2007 movie Gone Baby Gone.
Edi Gathegi is also famous for his roles as the vampire Laurent in the movies Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. He played Darwin in X-Men: First Class. He was also a secret agent named Matias Solomon in The Blacklist and its spin-off show The Blacklist: Redemption.
More recently, Gathegi has been in the AMC series Into the Badlands as Baron Jacobee. He also had a main role in Startup, a drama series on Crackle. Since 2022, Gathegi has played engineer Dev Ayesa in the Apple TV+ science fiction show For All Mankind. He also played Mister Terrific in the DC Universe movie Superman (2025).
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Early Life and Education
Edi Gathegi was born on March 10, 1979, in Nairobi, Kenya. He grew up in Albany, California, in the U.S. He went to the University of California, Santa Barbara. There, he played basketball. However, a knee injury stopped his basketball career.
After his injury, Gathegi started taking acting classes. He then studied acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He finished his studies in 2005. Gathegi started his acting career in theatre. He performed in many plays, including Two Trains Running, As You Like It, and Othello.
Acting Career Highlights
Gathegi's first professional acting job was in the 2006 movie Crank. He played a Haitian Cabbie. He was not sure about doing a Haitian accent at first. But a friend from Haiti helped him learn it.
Early TV and Movie Roles
In 2007, Gathegi appeared in TV shows like Lincoln Heights and Veronica Mars. He then acted in movies such as Death Sentence and Gone Baby Gone. He also had a repeating role as Dr. Jeffrey Cole in the medical drama House. His character was a Mormon intern. Dr. House, who was an atheist, often made jokes about his religious beliefs.
In 2008, he was a guest star in CSI: Miami and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Becoming a Vampire in Twilight
Later in 2008, Edi Gathegi was cast as Laurent in the movie Twilight. This movie was based on the popular book series by Stephenie Meyer. When he first tried out for the role, he did not know about the Twilight books. He also did not know that his character was a vampire. Now, he has read all the books and says he is a big fan of the series.
Other Notable Roles
Gathegi played Eddie Willers in Atlas Shrugged (2011). This movie was based on the novel by Ayn Rand. He also played another Haitian character, Jean Baptiste, in the TV show Justified. However, he was not happy with this role and asked to leave the show.
He also had a repeating role in NBC's The Blacklist. He played Matias Solomon, a secret agent. Gathegi played this role again in the 2016–2017 spin-off show The Blacklist: Redemption. He also plays Ronald Dacey in the series StartUp. In 2025, Gathegi appeared as Mister Terrific in the DC Universe film Superman.
Personal Life
Edi Gathegi married Adriana Marinescu from Romania in 2018.
Selected Film Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Crank | Haitian Cabbie | |
| 2007 | Gone Baby Gone | Cheese | |
| The Fifth Patient | Darudi | ||
| Death Sentence | Bodie | ||
| 2008 | Twilight | Laurent | |
| 2009 | My Bloody Valentine 3D | Deputy Martin | |
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Laurent | ||
| 2010 | This Is Not a Movie | Ghost of Jimmy | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Armando Muñoz / Darwin | |
| Atlas Shrugged | Eddie Willers | ||
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I | Laurent | Flashback only | |
| 2014 | Bleeding Heart | Dex | |
| 2015 | This Isn't Funny | Ryan | |
| Aloha | Lt. Col. Curtis | ||
| Criminal Activities | Marques | ||
| 2016 | The Watcher | Noah | |
| 2018 | Better Start Running | Fitz Paradise | |
| 2019 | Princess of the Row | Beaumont "Bo" Willis | |
| 2020 | The Last Thing He Wanted | Jones | |
| 2021 | Caged | Harlow Reid | |
| The Harder They Fall | Bill Pickett | ||
| 2023 | Aporia | Mal | |
| 2025 | Superman | Michael Holt / Mister Terrific |
Television Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | House | Dr. Jeffrey Cole | Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| Lincoln Heights | Boa | 3 episodes | |
| Veronica Mars | Zeke Molinda | Episode: "I Know What You'll Do Next Summer" | |
| 2008 | CSI: Miami | Freddie Mays | Episode: "Tunnel Vision" |
| Life on Mars | Fletcher Bellow | Episode: "Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead" | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Skinny Dude | Episode: "Leave Out All the Rest" | |
| 2011 | Nikita | Kalume Ungara | Episode: "Girl's Best Friend" |
| 2012 | Phineas and Ferb | Iggy/Various characters | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | The Family Tools | Darren Poynton | Main role; 10 episodes |
| Beauty & the Beast | Kyle | 3 episodes | |
| Red Widow | Leon | ||
| 2014 | Justified | Jean Baptiste | 4 episodes |
| Wild Card | Tres | Unsold television pilot | |
| 2015 | Proof | Zed | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | The Blacklist | Matias Solomon | Recurring role; 13 episodes |
| 2015 | Into the Badlands | Jacobee | 2 episodes |
| 2016–18 | StartUp | Ronald Dacey | Main role; 30 episodes |
| 2017 | The Blacklist: Redemption | Matias Solomon | Main role; 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Briarpatch | A.D. Singe | Main role |
| 2022 | The Guardians of Justice | Mr. Smiles | 7 episodes |
| 2022–present | For All Mankind | Dev Ayesa | Main role; season 3–present |
Audio Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Mantawauk Caves | James Fincher | Main role; podcast |
Awards and Nominations
Edi Gathegi has won several awards for his acting:
* 2018: Won a Special Award for his last-minute performance in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train.
* 2018: Won an OBIE Award for his role as Lucius Jenkins in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train.
- Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards
* 2011: Won an LADCC Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play for his role as Franco Wicks in Superior Donuts.
- Method Fest Independent Film Festival
* 2019: Won the Breakout Acting Award for his role as Beau Willis in Princess of the Row.
He has also been nominated for other awards:
- Ovation Awards
* 2011: Nominated for Featured Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts.
- Lucille Lortel Awards
* 2018: Nominated for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train.
See also
In Spanish: Edi Gathegi para niños
