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Arinzé Kene

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Arinzé Kene
MBE
Born1987 (age 36–37)
Lagos, Nigeria
Occupation(s)Actor, Playwright

Arinzé Mokwe Kene MBE (/əˈrɪnzeɪ ˈkɛni/)[1][2] is a Nigerian-born British actor and playwright.[3]

Early life

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Kene was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1987 and moved to London when he was four.[4] Kene's father was a taxi driver. Kene was bullied growing up and was encouraged to take kickboxing lessons. When he turned 16, he started his amateur kickboxing career and went on to win two national championships. He quit kickboxing at 21 years old and went on to pursue an acting career. [5]

Career

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Kene has appeared in stage productions such as playing Simba in The Lion King, Daddy Cool,[6] and in June 2009 played strutting lothario Raymond LeGrendre in the musical Been So Long, based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, which opened at the Young Vic.[7] Kene also plays the lead in 2010 UK Film Council feature Freestyle.[3] In 2010, he joined the cast of the BBC's EastEnders as Connor Stanley,[8] for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards.[9] His play Suffocation opened at the Oval House Theatre in London in 2011.[10] Kene was also a member of the series 3 writing team for EastEnders: E20.[11] In April 2011, his casting as Rocco in Hollyoaks was announced.[12]

In 2013, Kene's play God's Property was a Talawa Theatre Company, Soho Theatre and Albany Theatre co-production, directed by Michael Buffong.[13][14][15][16][17]

In 2016 he portrayed Tyler in the television series Crazyhead.[18] From 6 October to 3 December 2016 Kene acted and sang in the role of Sam Cooke in the Donmar Warehouse production of the European premiere of One Night in Miami, a play by Kemp Powers.[19] He also appeared opposite Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen in How to Build a Girl, directed by Coky Giedroyc.[20]

In 2018, Arinzé starred in Misty, which in September transferred to Trafalgar Studios, following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre earlier in the year. The play was written by Kene, directed by Omar Elerian and produced by Trafalgar Entertainment Group.[21][4]

On 17 February 2020, it was announced that Arinzé Kene would play the role of Bob Marley in the new musical Get Up, Stand Up!,[22] opening at the Lyric Theatre in February 2021 in London's West End, before being postponed to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] In 2022, he received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.[24]

Kene was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama and screenwriting.[25]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Glory MMA Fighter
2010 Freestyle Leon feature film
2010 Casualty Jacob Maynard TV series, 3 episodes
2010 EastEnders Connor Stanley TV series, 41 episodes
2011 Drink, Drugs and KFC Jason Simpson short film
2011 Hollyoaks Rocco TV series, 2 episodes
2013 Youngers Ashley TV series, 16 episodes
2014 Our Girl Corp. Kinders TV series, 5 episodes
2016 The Pass Ade feature film
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Auror 6 feature film
2016 Crazyhead Tyler TV series, 6 episodes
2018 Been So Long Raymond feature film
2018 Informer Sal Brahimi TV series, 6 episodes
2019 I Am Hannah James Standalone drama
2019 How to Build a Girl Kenny feature film
2019 Flack Sam TV series, 7 episodes
2020 I'm Your Woman Cal feature film
2021 Ear for Eye UK Man feature film
2023 Love Again John feature film
2023 Tuesday Death feature film

Awards and nominations

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Major associations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2018 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Musical Performance Misty Nominated [26]
2019 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Play Nominated [27]
Best Actor Nominated
2020 Best Actor in a Supporting Role Death of a Salesman Nominated [28]
2022 Best Actor in a Musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical Nominated [24]

Other awards

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2010 Off West End Theatre Award New Play Estate Walls Nominated [29]
Most Promising New Playwright Won [30]
2011 New Play Little Baby Jesus Nominated [31]
2013 God's Property Nominated [32]
2019 Black British Theatre Award Best Male Actor in a Play Misty Won [33]
Off West End Theatre Award New Play Nominated [34]
Performance Piece Won
WhatsOnStage Award Best New Play Nominated [35]
Best Actor in a Play Nominated
2020 Black British Theatre Award Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play Death of a Salesman Nominated [36]

References

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  1. ^ "Arinze Kene's Top Tips For Becoming A Writer". BBC Radio 1. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the Writer | Arinzé Kene | Misty". Bush Theatre. 2 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RISING PLAYWRIGHT AND ACTOR". Nigeriafilms.com. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ a b "From Misty to Miller… how Arinzé Kene is reshaping theatre". TheGuardian.com. 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Interview: Arinzé Kene." theguardian.com. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  6. ^ Ositelu, Tola (21 September 2010). "Arinze Kene Interview: It's The Choices You Make That Mark Your Destiny". Soul Culture. Soul Culture Media Ltd.
  7. ^ "First Night Feature:Been So Long". Society of London Theatre. 18 January 2009.
  8. ^ Williams, Karla (27 January 2010). "An Interview with Rising Playwright and Actor". The New Black Magazine.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (13 February 2011). "In Full: All About Soap Bubble nominations". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  10. ^ Tim Masters (12 January 2011). "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  11. ^ "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC News. BBC. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (12 April 2011). "'Enders Connor to appear in 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  13. ^ "God's Property".
  14. ^ "God's Property".
  15. ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre | reviews, news & interviews | the Arts Desk".
  16. ^ "God's Property – review". TheGuardian.com. 7 March 2013.
  17. ^ "God's Property, Soho Theatre - review". 23 March 2013.
  18. ^ Christopher Hooten (9 May 2016). "Crazy Face: Misfits creator lands new E4 and Netflix drama about 'angst and exorcism'". Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. ^ "One Night in Miami... - Donmar Warehouse". Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  20. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (16 July 2018). "Beanie Feldstein Comedy 'How To Build A Girl' Adds Cast, Lionsgate With Shoot Under Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. ^ "Misty". trafalgarentertainment.com. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  22. ^ Limited, London Theatre Direct (17 May 2021). "First Look: Images of Arinzé Kene from Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical have been released!". London Theatre Direct. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  23. ^ "Brand-new musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Story announced today starring Arinze Kene". London: BestofTheatre.co.uk. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  24. ^ a b Yossman, K. J. (8 March 2022). "Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley and Emma Corrin Nominated for Olivier Awards 2022". Variety. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  25. ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B19.
  26. ^ "Read the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  27. ^ Longman, Will (5 March 2019). "Olivier Awards 2019: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  28. ^ Thomas, Sophie (3 March 2020). "Olivier Awards 2020: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  29. ^ "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  30. ^ "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  31. ^ "2011: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Little Baby Jesus – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  32. ^ "2013: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – God's Property – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  33. ^ "2019 Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  34. ^ "2019 Awards – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  35. ^ "Shortlisted nominees announced for 2019 WhatsOnStage Awards". West End Wilma. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Black British Theatre Awards winners announced including Miriam-Teak Lee and Layton Williams | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
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