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Sharlto Copley
Sharlto Copley by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Copley at the 2024 WonderCon
Born (1973-11-27) November 27, 1973 (age 51)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Occupation Actor
Years active 1996–present
Spouse(s)
(m. 2016)
Children 1

Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973) is a well-known actor from South Africa. He has starred in many exciting movies and TV shows. Some of his most famous roles include the science fiction film District 9, the action movie The A-Team, and the fantasy adventure Maleficent. He also played the main robot character in the movie Chappie.

Sharlto Copley is married to Tanit Phoenix, who is also a South African actress and supermodel.

Early Life and Education

Sharlto Copley was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He went to school at St. Andrew's Preparatory School and Redhill School. His father, Dr. Bruce Copley, was a university professor. Sharlto also has a brother, Donovan, who is a singer in a band called Hot Water.

Acting Career

After finishing high school, Sharlto Copley met Neill Blomkamp. Neill was six years younger than Sharlto. Sharlto let Neill use computers at his company. This helped Neill develop his skills in 3D animation and design.

Breakthrough in District 9

In 2009, Sharlto Copley starred in Neill Blomkamp's film District 9. He played the main character, Wikus van der Merwe. Wikus was a government worker who had to move aliens living in a slum in Johannesburg. These aliens were often called "prawns". Sharlto made up all of his character's lines as he went along. He won awards for his performance, including "Favorite Hero" and "Best Performance".

The A-Team and Other Roles

In 2010, Sharlto Copley produced, wrote, and directed a short video for the South African Film and Television Awards. It was called "Wikus and Charlize" and featured fellow South African star Charlize Theron.

Later that year, Copley starred in The A-Team movie. He played the character H.M. Murdock. He used a special Southern American accent for this role. He also used other accents like Scottish and Australian. The actor who played Murdock in the original TV show praised Sharlto's acting.

Sharlto Copley also appeared on WWE Raw as a guest host in 2010.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Films

In 2013, Copley played astronaut James Corrigan in the film Europa Report. This movie was about a mission to one of Jupiter's moons. The same year, he played the villain Agent Kruger in Elysium. This was another science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It also starred Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

Copley took on another villain role as Adrian Pryce in Oldboy. In 2014, he starred alongside Angelina Jolie in the Disney movie Maleficent. He played King Stefan, who was Princess Aurora's father.

In 2015, he played the main robot character, Chappie, in the film Chappie. This movie was also directed by Neill Blomkamp. Sharlto provided the voice and movements for the robot.

Television and Recent Projects

From 2015 to 2016, Sharlto Copley starred in the superhero TV series Powers. He played the character Christian Walker.

He also played Jimmy in the action film Hardcore Henry in 2015. In 2018, he starred in the crime comedy Gringo. More recently, he played the main character in Ted K, a film about Ted Kaczynski. In 2022, he was in the movie Beast.

Personal Life

Sharlto Copley has been with actress and supermodel Tanit Phoenix since 2012. They got married on February 15, 2016, in Cape Town, South Africa. They have one daughter together. Sharlto Copley lives in both Cape Town and Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes
2006 Yellow Soldier Neill Blomkamp Short film
Alive in Joburg Sniper Short film; also producer
2009 District 9 Wikus van der Merwe
2010 Wikus and Charlize Himself Short film; also producer, writer and editor
The A-Team Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock Joe Carnahan
2013 Europa Report James Corrigan Sebastián Cordero
Elysium Agent M. Kruger Neill Blomkamp
Oldboy Adrian Pryce Spike Lee
Open Grave John Doe / Jonah Cooke Gonzalo López-Gallego
2014 Maleficent King Stefan Robert Stromberg
The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King Orm Aleksey Tsitsilin Voice; English dub
2015 Chappie Chappie / policeman (cameo) Neill Blomkamp Dual role
2016 Hardcore Henry Jimmy Ilya Naishuller Also executive producer
The Hollars Ron Hollar John Krasinski
Free Fire Vernon Ben Wheatley
2017 God: Serengeti God Neill Blomkamp Short film
2018 Gringo Mitch Rusk Nash Edgerton
God: City God Neill Blomkamp Short film
2020 The Last Days of American Crime William Sawyer Olivier Megaton
2021 Ted K Ted Kaczynski Tony Stone Also producer
Seal Team Switch Greig Cameron & Kane Croudace Voice
2022 Beast Martin Battles Baltasar Kormákur
2023 Boy Kills World Glen van der Koy Moritz Mohr
2024 Monkey Man Tiger Dev Patel
TBA Desert Warrior Rupert Wyatt Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015–16 Powers Christian Walker Main role; 20 episodes
2022 Russian Doll Chez Recurring role (season 2); 3 episodes
2024 Curb Your Enthusiasm Michael Fouchay (season 12); 2 episodes

Video games

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 Payday 2 Jimmy Voice and face, reprising role from Hardcore Henry

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Rooster Teeth Shorts Jimmy Episode: "Hardcore Henry Meets Rooster Teeth"

Awards and Nominations

Year Film Award Category Result Ref.
2009 District 9 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Most Promising Performer Nominated
IGN Movie Awards Favorite Summer Hero Won
Golden Schmoes Awards Best Actor of the Year Nominated
Breakthrough Performance of the Year 2nd place
2010 Empire Award Best Newcomer Nominated
International Cinephile Society Award Best Actor Nominated
MTV Movie Award Best Scared-As-St Performance Nominated
Online Film & Television Association Best Breakthrough Performance - Male Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Award Best Actor Nominated
Scream Award Best Science Fiction Actor Nominated
Breakout Performance - Male Nominated
Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actor - Sci-Fi Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Sharlto Copley para niños

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