Malachi Kirby facts for kids

Malachi Kirby is a talented British actor and writer. He became well-known for his roles in the 2016 TV show Roots and an episode of Black Mirror called "Men Against Fire". He even won a special award called a BAFTA for his acting in the movie Mangrove in 2020.

Malachi Kirby's Early Life

Malachi Kirby grew up in London, England, as an only child. His parents were born in London, and his grandparents came from Jamaica. When he was six years old, his father passed away.

When he acted in Roots, Malachi took a DNA test. The results showed he was mostly from West Africa, with some South Asian and a little bit of European heritage. He hopes to learn even more about his family's history.

Malachi went to Southfields Academy for school. He first loved reading and writing. But in year nine, he found acting through a class at the Battersea Arts Centre. He later studied at Richmond upon Thames College and joined the Identity School of Acting in 2007.

Malachi Kirby's Acting Career

Malachi Kirby started his acting journey in theatre plays. He still says he is a theatre actor "at heart." He was nominated for a special award, Outstanding Newcomer, in 2011 for his role in a play called Mogadishu.

He also appeared in many TV shows and movies. These included a part in the popular show EastEnders and the main role in the TV movie My Murder. In 2013, he was named a "Star of Tomorrow" by Screen International, which is a big honor for young actors.

Big Roles and Awards

In 2016, Malachi starred as Kunta Kinte in the American miniseries Roots. This show was a new version of a famous 1977 miniseries. Critics really liked his performance. Later that year, Malachi also appeared in an episode of the TV series Black Mirror called "Men Against Fire".

Malachi won the Rising Star award in 2016 and the Male TV Performance award in 2017 at the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards. For his work in Roots, he was also nominated for awards at the Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards.

After these successes, Malachi played Michael Garwick in the 2019 TV show Curfew. He also played Oliver Harris in the Italian series Devils. In 2019, he wrote his first play, called Level Up, which was performed at the Bush Theatre.

In 2020, Malachi took on the role of Darcus Howe in the movie "Mangrove". This film was part of Steve McQueen's Small Axe series. It was the first time Malachi got to play a character who was clearly from the Caribbean. For this role, he won the 2021 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. This is a very important award in British television.

In 2021, it was announced that Malachi would star in the Amazon Prime show Anansi Boys. He will play two characters, Charlie and Spider, who are the sons of Mr. Nancy.

Malachi Kirby's Personal Life

Malachi Kirby was not raised in a religious family. However, he became a Christian as an adult and is part of a Christian group in East London.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Casualty	Group Leader	Episode: "Interventions"
2008	Silent Witness	Tic-Toc	2 episodes
2009	The Bill	Michael Clark	Episode: "Back to School"
2011	Doctors	Tony Coe	Episode: "Decent People"
2012	My Murder	Danny McLean	Television film
2013	Way to Go	Nkanta	2 episodes
2013	Lawless	Tyler Repton	Television film
2014	EastEnders	Wayne Ladlow	8 episodes
2014	BBC Comedy Feeds	DJ Dee Danger	Episode: "Vodka Diaries"
2015	Doctor Who	Gastron	Episode: "Hell Bent"
2015	Jekyll and Hyde	Spring Heeled Jack Burton	Miniseries; 2 episodes
2016	Roots	Kunta Kinte	Miniseries
2016	Black Mirror	Stripe	Episode: "Men Against Fire"
2017	The Machine	Aaron	Television film
2019	Curfew	Michael Garwick	Main role
2020	Devils	Oliver Harris	Main role
2020	Small Axe	Darcus Howe	Miniseries; episode: "Mangrove"
2022	My Name is Leon	Tufty Burrows	Television film; upcoming
TBA	Anansi Boys	Charlie / Spider	Main role; upcoming
TBA	A Thousand Blows	Hezekiah Moscow	Main role; upcoming

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
TBA	Squadron 42	Joachim Steiger	Upcoming

Awards and Nominations