Benjamin Onyango
Benjamin Onyango | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Alfred Onyango Ochieng May 18, 1960 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Nationality | Kenyan American |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, musician |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Benjamin Alfred Onyango Ochieng, is a Kenyan-American actor, particularly active in Hollywood film industry. He is best known for the roles in the films Tears of the Sun, God's Not Dead and Beautifully Broken.[1]
Personal life
[edit]He was born in Ofafa Jericho Estate in Eastlands, Nairobi, Kenya, as the second child in a family of seven brothers.[2] His father was Christopher Ochieng and mother was Eudiah Achieng Ochieng. Benjamin started his primary education in Ofafa Jericho Primary School then Ofafa Jericho Secondary School. When Benjamin turned 18, he was hired by his dad at British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd (BAT) and later he was moved to a clerk position in the Wages Department where he worked for 4 years. Then he was transferred to computer department and worked for two years.[3]
He later joined United States International University (USIU) to study Management Information Systems (MIT). For further studies, Benjamin moved to the USIU, San Diego in the USA.[4] From there, he was transferred to California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock, California. Then in 1992, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science.[3]
Career
[edit]After graduation, he relocated to Hollywood, California, where he further studied music and acting. He worked with Funk Rock band 'P.F.O.' for few years later decided to be a professional actor. With this thought, he started to appear in many feature films and popular American television serials such as General Hospital, The Shield and The X-files in 1999.[3] Meanwhile, he starred in The God’s Not Dead Trilogy franchise as well as Tears of the Sun, Heavenly Deposit, Beautifully Broken, Father Africa, The Boy, Road to Redemption, Default, Kwame, Chains, Thunder Chance, The Disciple, American Crude and The Terminal.[4]
He also became a voice actor and rendered his voice to the films and television serials including; Last Face, Furious 7, Constantine, Night At the Museum I & III, Machine Gun Preacher, Inception, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Primeval, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Path to 911, Mighty Joe Young and E-ring.[4][3]
Apart from acting, he is also a writer with popular writing credits include: The Wives (TV series); Dysfunctionally Organized (Web Series); Mind Tricks and Curse of Devil’s Mountain (Shorts), Cheza and Original Man (Films).[4][3]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Film | Role | Genre | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The X-Files | Second African Man | TV series | |
| 2003 | Tears of the Sun | Colonel Emanuel Okeze | Film | |
| 2004 | The Terminal | African Man with Wife and Child | Film | |
| 2005 | The Shield | Store Clerk | TV series | |
| 2006 | General Hospital | Father | TV series | |
| 2007 | The Anatolian | Security Officer | Film | |
| 2008 | The Disciple | Doctor | Film | |
| 2008 | American Crude | Toomy | Film | |
| 2008 | Kwame | Kwame Opoku | Short film | |
| 2009 | Chains | Buhle | Short film | |
| 2009 | Resident Evil 5 | Majini | Video game | |
| 2010 | Thunder Chance | General | Short film | |
| 2010 | Mind Tricks | Joe Manning | Short film | |
| 2011 | Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D | Majini | Film | |
| 2011 | Curse of Devil's Mountain | Mr. Dean | Short film | |
| 2011 | Bosco's Guitar | Radio Announcer & Male Attackers (voice) | Short film | |
| 2012 | Chapter One | Mao Aka Bendrix | Short film | |
| 2013 | MISSInformed | Father | Short film | |
| 2013 | Trusts and Estates | Waiter | Documentary short | |
| 2014 | God's Not Dead | Reverend Jude | Film | |
| 2014 | Default | Edward | Film | |
| 2014 | Hollywood Street | Salem | Film | |
| 2015 | The Boy | The Healer | Short film | |
| 2015 | The Other Tribes | Onyango | Film | |
| 2015 | The Black Pot | Guest | TV series | |
| 2016 | Madame Esmeralda and the Audition | Benvolio | Film | |
| 2016 | God's Not Dead 2 | Reverend Jude | Film | |
| 2016 | Dysfunctionally Organized | Street Preacher | TV series | |
| 2016 | Road to Redemption | Tribal Councilman 2 | Film | |
| 2017 | Oscar | Samuel Braxton | Film | |
| 2017 | Father Africa | Dr. Haki | Film | |
| 2018 | God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness | Reverend Jude | Film | |
| 2018 | Beautifully Broken | William Mwizerwa | Film | |
| 2018 | A Minor Variation | Figs | Short film | |
| 2019 | Godforsaken | Ezekiel | Film | |
| 2019 | Freshman Year | Chukwumah | Film | |
| 2019 | Heavenly Deposit | Nigel | Film | |
| 2019 | The Wives | Otieno | TV series | |
| 2021 | God's Not Dead: We the People | Reverend Jude | Film | |
| 2023 | Where The River Divides | Baba Dennis | Film | |
| TBD | My Friend | James Ellis | Film |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "BENJAMIN A. ONYANGO: ACTOR". MUBI. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ "Kenyan Hollywood actor Benjamin Onyango in town". Nation Media Group. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Benjamin "Benji" Onyango: One on One with God's Not Dead Star". Medium. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Benjamin Onyango". Boxed The Film. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ Harper, Jennifer (2021-08-12). "Inspirational film explores challenges of homeschooling, the battle for 'our children's intellect'". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
