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Actor · Acting

David Oyelowo

Born 1976-04-01
📍 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo (/oʊˈjɛloʊwoʊ/ oh-YEL-oh-woh; Yoruba pronunciation; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award, two NAACP Image Awards, and nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was appointed as an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.

Oyelowo rose to prominence for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the biographical drama Selma (2014) and Peter Snowden in the HBO film Nightingale (2014), which garnered him critical acclaim. He also achieved praise for his roles as Louis Gaines in The Butler (2013), Seretse Khama in A United Kingdom (2016) and Robert Katende in Queen of Katwe (2016). He has also played supporting roles in the films Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Help (2011), Lincoln (2012), Red Tails (2012), and Jack Reacher (2012).

On television, Oyelowo has played MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British drama series Spooks (2002–2004) and Javert in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018). He also provided the voice for Agent Alexsandr Kallus in the Lucasfilm Animation series Star Wars Rebels  (2014–2018) and Holston Becker in the Apple+ drama series Silo. He stars in and co-produces the 2023 Paramount+ western series Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Description above from the Wikipedia article David Oyelowo, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography 108

Clarissa
as Peter
2026
Newborn
as Chris Newborn
2026
The American Revolution
as Olaudah Equiano / Sam (voice)
2025
Government Cheese
as Hampton Chambers
2025
National Theatre Live: Coriolanus
as Coriolanus
2025
Big Cats, Small World
as Narrator (voice)
2024
Becoming King
as Self
2024
The After
as Dayo
2024
After Midnight
as Self
2024
The Book of Clarence
as John the Baptist
2024
Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter
as Self
2023
Role Play
as Dave
2023
Lawmen: Bass Reeves
as Bass Reeves
2023
Silo
as Sheriff Holston Becker
2023
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
as The Tiger (voice)
2022
Sherri
as Self - Guest
2022
The Jennifer Hudson Show
as Self
2022
See How They Run
as Mervyn Cocker-Norris
2022
Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire
as Narrator
2022
The Bastard King
as The Bastard King
2022
Earth's Great Rivers II
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2022
The Girl Before
as Edward Monkford
2021
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
as Nigel Basil-Jones
2021
Chaos Walking
as Aaron
2021
The Midnight Sky
as Adewole
2020
Come Away
as Jack Littleton
2020
The Water Man
as Amos Boone
2020
Home Movie: The Princess Bride
as Prince Humperdinck
2020
Tamron Hall
as Self - Guest
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2019
Don't Let Go
as Detective Jack Radcliff
2019
Brave Girl Rising
as Narrator
2019
Earth's Great Rivers
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2019
Les Misérables
as Javert
2018
Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us'
as Self
2018
Gringo
as Harold Soyinka
2018
A Wrinkle in Time
as The It (voice)
2018
The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale
as Self - Special Guest
2018
The Cloverfield Paradox
as Kiel
2018
Family Feud
as 2148 Descendant
2018
August 28: A Day in the Life of a People
2017
The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar
as Scar (voice)
2017
A United Kingdom
as Seretse Khama
2016
Queen of Katwe
as Robert Katende
2016
Five Nights in Maine
as Sherwin
2016
Nina
as Clifton Henderson
2016
The Lion Guard
as Scar
2016
Captive
as Brian Nichols
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
as Self
2015
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
as Agent Kallus (voice)
2015
A Most Violent Year
as D.A. Lawrence
2014
Selma
as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self
2014
Interstellar
as School Principal
2014
Default
as Atlas
2014
Star Wars Rebels
as Agent Kallus (voice)
2014
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
as Agent Kallus (voice)
2014
Nightingale
as Peter Snowden
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self
2014
9 Kisses
as Customer
2014
Off Camera with Sam Jones
as Self
2014
The Arsenio Hall Show
as Self
2013
The Butler
as Louis Gaines
2013
Jack Reacher: When the Man Comes Around
as Self
2013
The Frame
as Steven Jacobs
2013
Complicit
as Edward Ekubo
2013
Jack Reacher
as Det. Emerson
2012
Lincoln
as Corporal Ira Clark
2012
Middle of Nowhere
as Brian
2012
The Paperboy
as Yardley Acheman
2012
Rahab
as Cen
2012
Red Tails
as Joe 'Lightning' Little
2012
96 Minutes
as Duane
2011
The Help
as Preacher Green
2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
as Steven Jacobs
2011
Conan
as Self
2010
Blood And Oil
as Keme Tobodo
2010
Small Island
as Gilbert
2009
Rage
as Homer
2009
The Good Wife
as Judge Edward Weldon
2009
Glenn Martin, DDS
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2009
Who Do You Love
as Muddy Waters
2008
Sweet Nothing in My Ear
as Leonard Grisham
2008
The Passion
as Joseph of Arimathea
2008
A Raisin in the Sun
as Joseph Asagai
2008
Five Days
as Matt Wellings
2007
Born Equal
as Yemi
2006
The Last King of Scotland
as Dr. Thomas Junju
2006
As You Like It
as Orlando De Boys
2006
The One Show
as Self
2006
Shoot the Messenger
as Joseph Pascale
2006
Mayo
as Eddie Barton, 'Sexy' M.P.
2006
Derailed
as Patrol Officer
2005
The Best Man
as Graham
2005
A Sound of Thunder
as Marcus Payne
2005
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Guest
2003
Tomorrow La Scala!
as Charlie
2002
Spooks
as Danny Hunter
2002
Dog Eat Dog
as CJ
2001
Maisie Raine
as Sonny McDonald
1998
The View
as Self
1997
As Time Goes By
as Patrick
1992
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
as Self - Guest
1988
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
1956
The Oscars
as Self
1953