The Elephant Queen

BAFTA-winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has a breadth of critically acclaimed work across stage and screen.

Ejiofor lent his voice to the infamous character of Scar in Disney’s “The Lion King” — a CG animated re-imagining of the 1994 Walt Disney classic — where he starred alongside Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, Alfre Woodard and Beyoncé Knowles. Ejiofor appeared in “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” the sequel to the 2014 film, alongside Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer.

The start of 2018 saw Ejiofor in “Mary Magdalene” alongside Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix, followed by Netflix’s “Come Sunday” with Lakeith Stanfield, Jason Segel and Martin Sheen. Ejiofor also lent his voice in “Sherlock Gnomes” alongside Emily Blunt, Johnny Depp, James McAvoy, Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Michael Caine.

Ejiofor also starred in his directorial debut in “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind,” which he adapted from the book of the same name, written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.

In 2016, Ejiofor was seen in the much anticipated Marvel film “Doctor Strange.” Prior to this, Ejiofor was seen in John Hillcoat's crime thriller “Triple 9.” That year, Ejiofor was awarded a CBE for services to drama and also starred in a number of films and returned to the stage in “Everyman,” Rufus Norris’ inaugural play as artistic director of The National Theatre in London.

2015 saw Ejiofor in the award winning sci-fi drama “The Martian” and Craig Zobel’s thriller “Z For Zachariah.”

In 2014, Ejiofor starred in Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave” as Solomon Northup, which gained him Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG nominations and won him a BAFTA for Best Actor. Later in the year, Ejiofor also starred in “Half of a Yellow Sun” based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same title.

2013 saw Ejiofor star in Stephen Poliakoff’s BBC series “Dancing on the Edge” which gained him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Mini Series and an Emmy Award nomination.

In 2011, television audiences saw him in the award winning “The Shadow Line,” a thrilling drama for the BBC in which he played lead character Jonah Gabriel.

Ejiofor has also appeared in a number of films including “Salt,” alongside Angelina Jolie and Liev Schreiber and, in 2009, he starred in Roland Emmerich’s action feature, “2012.” In the same year his performance in “Endgame,” Channel 4’s moving drama set in South Africa, earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Ejiofor balances his film and television commitments with his theatre work. In 2008 he was seen in three very different roles; his performance in the title role of Michael Grandage’s “Othello” won him the 2008 Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor, as well as nominations for the South Bank Show Awards 2009 and the What’s On Stage Theatregoers’ Choice Awards. His other stage credits include Roger Michell’s “Blue/Orange” in 2000 which received an Olivier Award for Best Play, and the same year Tim Supple’s “Romeo and Juliet” inIn 1996, Ejiofor caught the attention of Stephen Spielberg who cast him in the critically acclaimed “Amistad,” starring alongside Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins. He returned to the big screen in Stephen Frears’ 2001 thriller “Dirty Pretty Things” for which his performance as Okwe won him the Best Actor award at the British Independent Film Awards, the Evening Standard Film Awards, and the San Diego Film Critics Society Awards.  which Ejiofor took the title role.

In 2003, he co-starred in three films: Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually,” “Slow Burn,” and Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda.” 2008 saw Ejiofor star in Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” and in David Mamet’s “Redbelt.” Ejiofor’s other film credits include “Kinky Boots” (2005) in which he played the loveable drag queen Lola, the drama “Four Brothers,” Spike Lee’s heist film “Inside Man,” and the Oscar-nominated “Children of Men.”

In addition to his acting career, Ejiofor has also directed two short films including “Columbite Tantalite,” which he also wrote, and the short film “Slapper,” which was screened at the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival.