Famous worldwide for playing the character of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave, Chiwetel Ejiofor is a British stage, television, and film actor, producer, and director. He first made an appearance in the Steven Spielberg' s film Amistad (1997), alongside Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins. Ejiofor further received critical appreciation for his performances in acclaimed films like Serenity, Kinky Boots, and Children of Men. For his contribution toward the performing arts, he was honored with an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II, in 2008.
EARLY LIFE
Chiwetel Ejiofor was born to a doctor father, Arinze, and a pharmacist mother, Obiajulu in London, England. He has a younger sister Zaid Asher, who is a financial reporter at CNN, New York. During a trip to Nigeria, in 1988, Ejiofor and his father met with a terrible accident, which took away his father's life. Ejiofor survived, but was hospitalized for more than two months and the car crash left scars, which are still visible on his forehead. At the young age of 13, Ejiofor started his acting career. He joined the National Youth Theater and went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art until he dropped out after being spotted by Steven Spielberg, who offered him his first film.
PERSONAL LIFE
Chiwetel was in a relationship with Canadian model Sari Mercer. The couple parted ways in 2015 and no further details about their separation are known.
MOVIE CAREER
Post appearing in the historical drama film Amistad, in 1997, Ejiofor starred in the 2002 movie Dirty Pretty Things. The British film opened to positive reviews and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won a British Independent Film Award for ''Best Independent British Film'' in 2003. For his performance as Okwe, Chiwetel Ejiofor bagged the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor.
His next film Love Actually was a romantic comedy starring an ensemble cast comprising actors like Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. He gained further critical acclaim and accolades when he appeared in Woody Allen's Merinda and Merinda (2004), Joss Whedon's Serenity (2005), and Julian Jarrold's Kinky Boots (2005). The actor's following release was a sci-fi thriller movie Children of Men. Based on P.D. James novel of the same name, the film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuaron was very well received. With a 92 % rating on Rotten Tomato, Children of Men opened to widespread critical appreciation, receiving several Academy Award, and BAFTA nominations.
Ejiofor then featured in films like American Gangster as Huey Lucas, and in Salt as Peabody. In 2013, he starred in his career-defining role as Solomon Northup in the period drama film 12 Years a Slave. Based on the 1853 memoir of the same name, the movie follows the story of an African-American man Solomon Northup, who is kidnapped and forced into slavery. Directed by Steve McQueen, the movie had Ejiofor essaying the lead role and Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, and Alfre Woodard in supporting roles. The film garnered universal appreciation, winning three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and two BAFTA Awards, out of which Ejiofor won the Best Actor Award.
In 2015, Ejiofor appeared in another multi-starrer film The Martian, which, along with him featured Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie,and Donald Glover in pivotal roles. A sci-fi film directed by Ridley Scott, The Martian was a success both critically and commercially.
In 2016, the actor debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) by essaying the role of Karl Mordo in the superhero movie Doctor Strange, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Ejiofor is set to reprise his role in the upcoming MCU movies.
The actor did not have any releases in 2017, and in the following year, he portrayed excommunicated Christian Bishop Carlton Pearson in the drama film Come Sunday (2018). Notable among Ejiofor's other recent acting credits are the biblical drama Mary Magdalene (2018),the computer-animated comedy Sherlock Gnomes (2018) and the musical adventure comedy The Lion King (2019).