Jimmy Akingbola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Olatokunbo Akingbola
Akingbola in Out of Darkness, 2012 short film by Manjinder Virk
Born	(1978-04-07) 7 April 1978 (age 47) Plaistow, London, England
Nationality	United Kingdom, Nigeria
Occupation	Television, theatre and film actor
Years active	1999–present
Relatives	Fola Evans-Akingbola (niece)

James Olatokunbo Akingbola (born 7 April 1978) is a talented Nigerian-British actor. He has starred in many TV shows, plays, and movies. You might know him as PC Neil Parker from Holby Blue or Antoine Malick from Holby City. He also played Koji in Kate & Koji and Mick in Rev.. More recently, he's been in In the Long Run, Bel-Air, and The Tower.

Early Life and Education

Jimmy Akingbola was born in London. His parents came from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria.

In 1996, Jimmy started studying acting. He went to the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in London. He completed a three-year acting course there.

Theatre Performances

Jimmy Akingbola began his acting career on stage. His first play was The Nativity at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He then performed in Baby Doll at the Royal National Theatre. He also appeared in Naked Justice with actor Leslie Phillips.

In 2004, Jimmy played Elvis in the play Behzti. He also worked with actor Riz Ahmed in the play Prayer Room. Critics praised his performance as Bunce in that play.

Jimmy won his first award for his role as Christopher in Blue/Orange. This play was first shown at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. He acted alongside Roger Lloyd-Pack and Shaun Evans in this award-winning play.

Later, Jimmy starred in The Cut with Ian McKellen. He also played Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger in 2008. He was the first black actor to play this role. In the same year, he played the main character in Othello. This role also earned him an award.

Television Roles

Jimmy Akingbola's TV career started in the BBC sitcom The Crouches. He played the funny character Dennis Dutton. Since then, he has appeared in many shows. These include The Bill, The Royal, and Doctors.

His first big TV role was as PC Neil Parker in HolbyBlue. He starred with Kacey Ainsworth in this police drama. In 2010, he showed his comedy skills in Rev.. He played the popular character "Mick" alongside Tom Hollander and Olivia Colman. For this role, he was nominated for "Best TV Comedy Performance." He also played Malick in Holby City and PC Johnson in Silk.

In 2015, Jimmy played Baron Reiter in Arrow season 4. In 2020, he played Koji in the ITV sitcom Kate & Koji. He also appeared in Most Dangerous Game. He later returned as Valentine in In the Long Run with Idris Elba. He also joined the cast of Ted Lasso for Apple TV+.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage Performances

Voice Acting and Radio Work

Jimmy Akingbola has lent his voice to many popular computer games. These include games for brands like EA, Disney, and PlayStation. Some game titles are Dead Space 2, Pirates of the Caribbean, and James Bond: Golden Eye.

He also works with BBC Radio. He is a regular voice actor for shows on BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4, and BBC Radio 7.

Awards and Nominations

Jimmy Akingbola has won several awards for his acting.