fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Kobna Kuttah Holdbrook-Smith MBE (born 23 August 1977) is a Ghanaian-British actor known for his film, television, theatre and voice work.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith MBE
Born	(1977-08-23) 23 August 1977 (age 45)[1] Accra, Ghana
Alma mater	Guildford School of Acting
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002–present

Early life

Holdbrook-Smith was born in Accra, Ghana. He grew up in Frimley, Surrey, England, where he lived with his mother, Tenu; his father, Henry; and his brother, Kofi.[2] He was initially frightened of taking up acting due to his family's disapproval. "I was about 15, I thought, 'I wonder if I could [become an actor]'. I hadn't really suggested it to anyone. It just didn't seem allowed. So there was a slow exploration of [acting] and by the time I was 18, I was resolute."[3]

He attended Guildford School of Acting to study acting,[4] graduating in 2000.[5]

Career

Holdbrook-Smith began his acting career on television in 2002 when he played Orlando Figes in the Judge John Deed episode "Everyone's Child". Since then, he has had roles in TV series such as Little Britain, Star Stories (from 2006 till 2008), Taking the Flak, Sirens, Holby City, Silk, Father Brown, The Last Panthers, Class, Dark Heart, The Split and Red Election.

His first major theatre lead came in 2005, when he played Ken in Mustapha Matura's Playboy of the West Indies at the Tricycle Theatre.[6] He later starred in their critically acclaimed African-American Season, performing in the European premieres of Walk Hard by Abram Hill, Fabulation by Lynn Nottage and Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson. In interviews he has cited August Wilson's plays as personal favourites.[7] In 2006 he played Levee In Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, then four years later he appeared as Herald Loomis in Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson at the Young Vic Theatre.

He first appeared at the Globe in 2007 in Love's Labours Lost, which he also performed later the same year at the National Theatre of Korea, in Seoul. Holdbrook-Smith had his debut at the National Theatre in 2009 and has since starred in four productions there (most notably appearing as Mortimer in Edward II). In 2015 he played Laertes alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre. This play was also broadcast live in cinemas worldwide as part of National Theatre Live.[8]

In 2016 Holdbrook-Smith performed with Benedict Cumberbatch again, this time in Marvel’s Dr Strange.[9] A year later he played the part of Det. Crispus Allen in DC Comics Justice League and also starred as Warden Walker in Paddington 2,[10] and as Father Emery in Ghost Stories. In 2018, he played the role of Oliver in The Commuter and Frye/Weasel in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns.[11]

Holdbrook-Smith has also performed in BBC Radio dramas, including Judas[12] and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.[13] He has narrated a number of audiobooks,[14] most notably the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch.[15]

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is currently starring in the musical Tina as Ike Turner at the Aldwych Theatre.[16]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama,[17] and was recognised as one of the United Kingdom's most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage when Holdbrook-Smith was included in the 2021 edition of the annual Powerlist. [18]

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2011	Rahab	Mill	Short film
2012	Womack	Dan Tan	Short film
2013	The Double	Guard / Doctor
2013	10ml I.V.	Karl	Short film
2014	Trick or Receipt	Martin	Short film
2015	Hamlet	Laertes	Live in theatres
2016	Doctor Strange	Physical Therapist
2017	Ghost Stories	Father Emery
2017	Justice League	Detective Crispus Allen
2017	Paddington 2	Warden Walker
2018	The Commuter	Oliver
2018	Mary Poppins Returns	Frye / Weasel (voice)
2018	Gwen	Doctor Wren
2021	Zack Snyder’s Justice League	Detective Crispus Allen
2023	Wonka		Filming

Television

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2002	Judge John Deed	Orlando Figes	Episode: "Everyone's Child"
2003	Casualty	PC Riddock	Episode: "Never Judge a Book"
2003	Absolute Power	Journalist No. 1	Episode: "Burn and Crash"
2004	Little Britain		2 episodes
2004	Holby City	Lee Holden	Episode: "One More Chance"
2005	Family Affairs	Officer Kennedy	1 episode
2005	According to Bex	Vox Pops	Recurring
2005	Mike Bassett: Manager	Carlton Dawes	Main cast
2006	Pulling	Joe's Father	1 episode
2006–2008	Star Stories	Various	8 episodes
2007	The Bill	Bruno Hammond	Episode: "Code of Silence"
2007	The Whistleblowers	Male Nurse	Episode: "Pandemic"
2007	Katy Brand's Big Ass Show		1 episode
2009	Whatever It Takes	Nifemi	TV Movie
2009	Taking the Flak	Joyful Sifuri	Main cast
2009	PhoneShop	Graham	Episode: "New Man: Pilot"
2010	Whites	Barnaby	1 episode
2011	Roadkill	Tommy	TV Movie
2011	Sirens	Ryan Bailey	Recurring
2011	Holby City	Paul James	2 episodes
2012	Silk	Paul McGovern	1 episode
2013	Frankie	Max Hall	1 episode
2013	The Café	Jason	Recurring
2014	Turks & Caicos	Colin Maitlis	TV Movie
2014	Crackanory	Commander	Episode: "In Space No One Can Hear You Clean & the Weather Man"
2014	Agatha Raisin	Rev. Jez Bloxby	Episode: "The Quiche of Death"
2015	Father Brown	Marvin Morris	Episode: "The Invisible Man"
2015	Midsomer Murders	Rob Mead	Episode: "The Dagger Club"
2015	The Last Panthers	James Davis	Miniseries; main cast
2015	Capital	Mashinko	Miniseries
2016	Class	Jasper Adeola	Episode: "Nightvisiting"
2016	Dark Heart	DS Dave Pulford	1 episode
2018	The Split	Glen Peters	Recurring
2019	Motherland	Nick	Recurring
2021	Superworm	Wizard Lizard (voice)	TV Movie
2021	Red Election	Levi Nichols	Main cast

Awards and nominations

Stage

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2019	Laurence Olivier Award[19]	Best Actor in a Musical	Tina: The Tina Turner Musical	Won
	Black British Theatre Award[20]	Best Male Actor in a Musical		Nominated
	WhatsOnStage Award[21]	Best Actor in a Musical		Nominated

References

External links

• Kobna Holdbrook-Smith at IMDb

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