Born in London,
England on August
22, 1967, Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje
split his time as a
youth between the UK
and Nigeria. After
earning a Masters
from London's
prestigious King's
College University,
a career in acting
came his way when
acclaimed director
Frank Marshall cast
him in Congo. He
began working as a
fashion model in
Milan, but
eventually moved to
Los Angeles to act.
He is also fluent in
numerous languages,
including English,
Italian, Yoruba and
Swahili, and can
speak French as
well.
Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje has
been seen on
episodes of New York
Undercover and Red
Shoe Diaries, before
he had his big break
in film. After
playing the
character Kahega in
Congo, he was given
a role in Jim
Carrey’s Ace
Ventura: When Nature
Calls in 1995. His
first stint on
camera was actually
in Dawn Penn’s video
for the song “No,
No, No (You Don't
Love me)”, allowing
him to expand his
career. From 1997 to
2000, he rose to
fame playing the
criminal Simon
Adebisi on the HBO
series Oz. He
followed this up
with an appearance
on the film The
Mummy Returns in
2001, playing
Lock-Nah alongside
Brendan Fraser,
Rachel Weisz, Dwayne
Johnson and John
Hannah. Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje
soon got a part in
the comedy Lip
Service, soon
earning mainstream
popularity for his
performance opposite
Matt Damon in The
Bourne Identity. In
2004, he was cast in
the action film
Unstoppable,
starring Wesley
Snipes. He was
subsequently given a
role in 2005’s The
Mistress of Spices
and became famous
for playing Mr. Eko
on the ABC sci-fi
series Lost. He was
also the star of the
musical drama On the
One, but it failed
to set his career on
a roll. Adewale
Akinnuoye-Agbaje was
also seen on Get
Rich or Die Tryin’,
the
semi-autobiographical
film by 50 Cent.
Some of his other
appearances include
and Legionnaire, the
HBO movie Deadly
Voyage, television
series Cracker, as
well as the ABC
miniseries 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea.