10 Things you Should Know About GBENGA AKINNAGBE

Nigerian- American writer and actor, Gbenga Akinnagbe was born on 12 December 1978 in Washington, D.C. Gbenga is the second of six children and is best known for playing the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO series, The Wire. Gbenga bagged a degree from Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, he majored in Political Science and English. Since joining Hollywood, he has gone on to snag a couple of awards to include the Audience Award, Industry Choice Award and Jury’s Choice Award for the film, Knucklehead alongside Milos Silber and Todd Wiseman Jr.

Gbenga in an interview mentioned Daniel Lewis as one of his influences in the movie world.

Oh, absolutely… I love Daniel day Lewis, he’s a sick actor, it’s ridiculous how good he is as an artist. I really dig Angela Bassett, she’s really good. I wish I could see more of her work. There’s a lot of good actors out there, and there’s a lot more bad actors out there, so I don’t know… there’s people I see their stuff and I’m like “All right, this person’s the real deal”. Sean Penn, he really brings it every time he’s on screen. Phillip Hoffman. Ken Watanabe, I like that cat, he’s a Japanese cat and he was in “The Last Samurai”. He’s a real cat I like his stuff.

Here are 10 things you should know about this Nigerian-American actor.

1. He was born on 12 December 1978 in Washington, D.C. His parents are Nigerian and Gbenga is the second of six children.

2. The actor attended Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland.

3. He went on to bag a degree from Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship. He majored in Political Science and English.

4. Gbenga was a star wrestler in college.

5. He plays a drug lord in the hit series, Graceland and starred as Tom in the drama series “The Following”.

6. He is also a writer after having two of his articles published in The New York Times. One of the articles detailed his trip to Nepal when he climbed the Himalayas while the other article outlined the medical procedures he had to undergo so he could correct his severely flat feet.

7. Gbenga is a cousin to American rapper, Wale Folarin popularly known as Wale.

8. In 2011 and 2012, Gbenga partook in the NYC Marathon in support of All for Africa’s Palm out Poverty initiative.

9. He also speaks Spanish fluently

10.He bagged the Audience Award, Industry Choice Award and Jury’s Choice Award for the film, Knucklehead alongside Milos Silber and Todd Wiseman Jr.

If you know more about Gbenga, let us know in the comment section.