Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Lost Mr. Eko Oz Simon Adebisi Hunted (UK) Deacon Crane The Fix Sevvy Johnson

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a Nigerian English actor, solicitor, chemist and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.

Born in Islington, London, and raised in London, England. He's the son of Nigerian immigrants of Yoruba origin. Around the same period, he appeared in the video for the Pet Shop Boys' hit song "Jealousy" where he played the part of a roguish adulterer.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his career as a model in Milan before moving to Los Angeles to make the transition to acting. Fluent in several languages, including English, Italian, Yoruba and Swahili, he is best known for his roles in the movies Congo and The Mummy Returns, and the HBO series Oz.

His best known acting roles have been as the imposing convict Simon Adebisi in the 1990s HBO prison series Oz, and as Mr. Eko on ABC's survivor drama Lost. He has numerous film credits since he began acting in 1994 and has appeared in many top movies, including The Bourne Identity, in which he played a deposed African dictator, Hitu the police officer in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Lock-Nah in The Mummy Returns, and Heavy Duty in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje has also stated that he will be directing a movie about his life story. More recently, he has guest starred in the second episode of season 8 of Monk, and he has been cast as the character Derek Jameson in the 2011 film The Thing.


TRIVIA:

• He has Nigerians parents
• He is a Buddhist and admitted that he had to chant more than usual while playing the brutal character of "Majestic" in _Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)_ (qv).
• He is fluent in several languages including Italian, Yoruba, Swahili, and (of course) English. He can "get along" in a few other languages, including French.
• Born on the same day as the Alice in Chains singer 'Layne Staley' (qv).
• He went from playing 'Ernie Hudson' (qv)'s good friend, the guide "Kahega" to Hudson's "Capt. Munro" in _Congo (1995)_ (qv), to playing his enemy, the sociopath "Adebisi" to Hudson's hard-headed "Warden Glynn" in _"Oz" (1997)_ (qv).
• The son of immigrants from Nigeria, he has played almost entirely African characters despite having been born and raised in England. He usually employs a deep, Nigerian timber while acting, while off-screen he has a very British, somewhat Cockney accent.
• Is perhaps best known for his role as the cunning, fierce super-criminal Adebisi on _"Oz" (1997)_ (qv).
• Has a masters in Law from the University of London, but took a different career path when bitten by the acting bug.