Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel Ejiofor was recently a double Golden Globe Award nominee, for his performances in Julian Jarrold's Kinky Boots and the miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath (directed by Bharat Nalluri), and a nominee for the BAFTA "Orange Rising Star" Award.

Born in the Forest Gate section of London to Nigerian parents, he started acting in school plays at the age of 13 and then earned a scholarship to the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. He made his feature film debut in Steven Spielberg's Amistad.

Mr. Ejiofor's performance in Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things earned him Best Actor honors from the British Independent Film Awards, the San Diego Film Critics Society, and the Black Reel Awards, among other accolades. His other films include Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men; Spike Lee's Inside Man and She Hate Me; Joss Whedon's Serenity; John Singleton's Four Brothers (which also starred Taraji P. Henson of Talk to Me); Woody Allen's Melinda and Melinda; and Richard Curtis' Love Actually.

Mr. Ejiofor will soon be seen in a dual role in Michael Almereyda's independent feature Tonight at Noon; and with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's highly anticipated American Gangster.

In addition to working in films, he has starred onstage in the U.K. His performance in Joe Penhall's play Blue/Orange (at the Royal National Theatre) earned him the London Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer, the London Critics Circle Theatre Awards' Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and an Olivier Award nomination. Most recently, Mr. Ejiofor starred opposite Kristin Scott Thomas in the Royal Court Theater staging of Chekhov's The Seagull (adapted by Christopher Hampton).