David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo Biography / Profile

David Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England, on April 1st, 1976, to Nigerian parents of Yoruba ethnicity, living in the United Kingdom.

David Oyelowo Age

David Oyelowo is 48 years old.

David Oyelowo Early Life

Oyelowo and his family lived in the UK until he was 6 years old when they relocated to Nigeria—where he discovered his family was of royal lineage—for seven years.He is an omoba, or prince, of the kingdom of Awe, Afijio local government of Oyo State, Nigeria.

Oyewolo returned to the country of his birth and lived in London, though he was bullied at school by other youth for his courteous manner. He was brought up as a Baptist and his father, Stephen, worked for the national airline while his mother, for a railway company. Oyelowo developed a passion for acting, eventually attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, graduating in 1998.

David Oyelowo Career

After completing his studies, Oyelowo took to more stage work, being featured in The Suppliants. In 2001, his award-winning lead role in Henry VI was the first time a king was portrayed by a black actor in a Royal Shakespeare Company production. He later acted in The God Botherers and Prometheus Bound. He turned to television as well, starring for a time in the British spy series Spooks, billed as MI-5 during its American run on A&E. He then launched his international film career with parts in the sci-fi adventure A Sound of Thunder (2005) and the Idi Amin biopic The Last King of Scotland (2006), which starred Forest Whitaker, Kerry Washington and James McAvoy. Oyelowo also co-wrote the BBC movie Graham and Alice (2006) and continued to shine with Shakespeare, portraying Orlando de Boys in Kenneth Branagh's HBO production of As You Like It (2007).

Oyelowo has undertaken a rich assortment of big and small screen projects over the years, showing his versatility and commitment as a thespian. He played a passionate academic in the 2008 U.S. TV production of A Raisin in the Sun and had a lead role with Noamie Harris in the 2009 British TV adaptation of the novel Small Island. He shined in his role as a demanding, rigid executive in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and later portrayed a Tuskegee pilot in Red Tails (2012). Other projects on the actor's plate have included The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2009), The Help (2011), Jack Reacher (2012) and the award-winning Lincoln (2012).

In 2013, Oyelowo was prominently featured in The Butler, depicting the activist son of Cecil and Gloria Gaines, portrayed by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. Oyelowo was reunited with director Lee Daniels for the film, with the two having worked together on 2012's Paperboy. He had also co-starred in the 2012 independent drama Middle of Nowhere, directed by Ava DuVernay. He and DuVernay worked together again for her next film, the riveting drama Selma (2014), in which Oyelowo portrays Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The actor earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.

David Oyelowo Personal Life

During his time as a teen with the National Youth Music Theatre, he met his future wife, Jessica Watson. A devout Christian, he lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and four kids including Asher Oyelowo, and Caleb Oyelowo. He and his wife became naturalized US citizens on July 20th, 2016.

David Oyelowo Awards

In 2015, Oyewolo received a second Golden Globe nomination as well as Emmy consideration for his portrayal of a psychologically troubled war veteran in the HBO film Nightingale. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama.