Philip Akin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philip Akin
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Akin in 2019
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| Born | April 18, 1950 Kingston, Surrey County, Jamaica
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| Alma mater | Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
Philip Akin (born April 18, 1950) is a well-known Canadian actor and director. He has been a part of the acting world for over 40 years.
You might have seen him in big movies like The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin'. He is also a talented voice actor. He voiced the character Bishop in the popular X-Men cartoon and Tripp Hansen in Monster Force.
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Early Life and Starting His Career
Philip Akin was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He was one of five brothers. In 1953, his parents moved to Oshawa, a city in Ontario, Canada. A year later, Philip and his brothers joined them. He has lived in Ontario ever since.
After high school, Akin went to the Ryerson Theatre School in Toronto. In 1975, he became the first person to graduate from the school's acting program. Just a few days later, he got his first professional acting job in a play called Caesar and Cleopatra at the famous Shaw Festival.
Besides acting, Akin is skilled in martial arts. In 1983, he started studying Yoshinkan aikido and now holds a 5th-degree black belt. He has also trained in Jing Mo kung fu and tai chi.
Rise to Fame in Film and Television
Akin became more widely known in the 1980s. He appeared on the comedy show Bizarre and played a boxer in an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series.
One of his most famous roles was Norton Drake in the science-fiction TV series War of the Worlds. He played a computer expert who used a wheelchair. He also had a memorable role as Charlie DeSalvo in the popular show Highlander: The Series.
Akin has appeared in many movies and TV shows over the years. In the 2007 film Shake Hands with the Devil, he played Kofi Annan, who was a leader at the United Nations. He has also made guest appearances on shows like Flashpoint and The Expanse.
Work in Theatre and Directing
In 2007, Akin performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, a very important theatre festival. He played the main character in William Shakespeare's famous play Othello. He also acted in a play based on the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Akin is one of the founders of the Obsidian Theatre Company in Canada. This theatre company focuses on telling stories by Black artists. He was the artistic director from 2006 to 2020. In this role, he helped create programs to train and support Black theatre directors.
In 2012, he won a major award, the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play/Musical, for directing the play Topdog/Underdog.
Awards and Recognition
In 2019, Akin received the Herbert Whittaker Award for his important contributions to Canadian theatre. That same year, a major newspaper, The Globe and Mail, named him one of Canada's top artists.
When he left the Obsidian Theatre, the company created a special award in his name: The Black Shoulders Award. This award helps Black artists continue to learn and improve their skills.
Selected Roles
Akin has been in dozens of movies and television shows. Here are some of his notable roles.
Famous Movie Roles
- Running (1979)
- Iceman (1984)
- Fly Away Home (1996)
- Pushing Tin (1999)
- Left Behind (2000)
- The Sum of All Fears (2002) as General Wilkes
- Cube 2: Hypercube (2002) as The General
- S.W.A.T. (2003)
- Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) as Reverend
- Shake Hands with the Devil (2007) as Kofi Annan
- P2 (2007) as Karl
- Robocop (2014) as Dr. Alan
Popular Television Roles
- War of the Worlds (1988–1989) as Norton Drake
- X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1995) as the voice of Bishop
- Highlander: The Series (1993–1995) as Charlie DeSalvo
- Goosebumps (1998) as Bob Erikson
- Flashpoint (2008–2011) as Commander Norm Holleran
- The Expanse (2015–2016) as Craig
