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Dwight Ewell

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Dwight Ewell
Born
Dwight Edward Ewell

(1968-01-17) January 17, 1968 (age 56)
Williamston, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationState University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active1991-present

Dwight Edward Ewell, also known as Mustafa Obafemi[a] (born 1968) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as Chasing Amy, Amateur, Party Girl and The Guru.[1][2]

Career

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Ewell was born in Williamston, North Carolina to teenage parents. His father fought in Vietnam and served six years in the United States military while Dwight's mother took care of Dwight and his younger sister. Unhappy in her marriage, at 21 years old, Dwight's mom took the children up North where she felt that she could begin pursuing her career as a singer. The three moved several times before ending up in the rough Stella Wright Housing Projects on Prince Street, in Newark, New Jersey. Dwight and his sister attended the Louise A. Spencer Elementary School in Newark in the mid-1970s. In later years, Dwight was enrolled in The Gifted and Talented Program in the same school. It was there that his interest in the arts was nurtured. At the age of 9, he began writing plays that the teachers would allow him to direct and the students to perform. At the age of 13, Ewell auditioned for and was accepted into Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. In 1986, he graduated, and in the fall of that year he attended the State University of New York's Theater Arts and Film Divisions Acting Program for four years.[3]

Ewell has worked extensively in independent and art house films. Ewell is best known for his performance in Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy starring Ben Affleck, where he plays the role of "Hooper X", an African American writer of black militant comic books, who is secretly homosexual but employs the public persona of a violent militant who denounces the Star Wars trilogy as racist.[4][5][6]

Ewell has collaborated with director Hal Hartley on short- and feature-length films; including Amateur[7] and Flirt.[8][9][10]

He has also worked with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer twice, in the films Party Girl and The Guru.

Ewell has worked with film producer Christine Vachon twice, on the films Stonewall and Kiss Me, Guido.

Ewell has not appeared in a film since 2011. Following his last film role, he was performing as a stage actor in the Los Angeles area prior to suffering an unspecified injury in 2013.[11] He subsequently worked at commercial movie theaters in Los Angeles, before expressing an intention to resume his film career in 2023. Almost nothing is known about Ewell's private life besides what was released by his publicists in the 1990s. He has no interviews on record, and despite frequently playing gay characters in film, his real-life sexual identity is unknown.

Filmography

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Genre Year Title Role Episodes Notes
Short film 1992 Cowboy Jesus Disciple #2 8 minutes; New York University student film
Short film 1992 Heavy Blow 23 minutes; Columbia University student film
Short film 1993 Flirt Dwight 23 minutes; directed by Hal Hartley
Film 1994 Amateur Boy Squatter
Short film 1994 NYC 3/94 9 minutes; directed by Hal Hartley
Film 1994 Someone Else's America Video-man
Film 1995 Flirt Dwight
Film 1995 Party Girl He-He-Hello Trio
Film 1995 Stonewall Helen Wheels
Short film 1997 Anton, Mailman Bartendar
TV series 1997 Brooklyn South Bystander "Love Hurts"
Film 1997 Chasing Amy Hooper X
Film 1997 Kiss Me, Guido Usher
Film 1997 Niagara, Niagara Toy Store Manager
Commercial 1998 Budweiser (principal performer) directed by Spike Lee
Film 1999 The Debtors
Film 1999 Dogma Kane, Gang Leader
Film 1999 Hey, Joel Baby Shiv
Film 1999 Man of the Century Richard Lancaster
Film 1999 On the Run Rasta
Film 1999 The Pavilion Robert Owa
Film 1999 The Waiting Game Joe
Film 2000 Endsville Shawn Walker
Film 2000 The Intern Gustave
Film 2000 Punks Hill
Film 2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Hooper LaMont
Film 2002 The Guru Peaches
Film 2002 Wheelmen Terry
Short film 2003 A mi amor mi dulce Dom Doos Po Phool (DomDoos Poefool) 23 minutes
Film 2004 Pagans Max Stone
Short film 2007 2 Fast 2 Furry Corvette Guy
Film 2007 Fighting Words Leopold
TV series 2009 90210 Mr. Irving / Health Teacher "Zero Tolerance"
"To New Beginnings!"
TV series 2009 Adult Film: A Hollywood Tale Hal Calloway
TV series 2009 Twentysixmiles Dill Truman Fontaine "Pilot" recurring
Film 2009 Yes To Victory Norman
Film 2010 Eagles in the Chicken Coop Hal Calloway
TV series 2010 Medium The Florist "Allison Rolen Got Married"
Film 2010 Street Poet Leopold
Film 2011 Here's the Kicker Norman
  1. ^ In 2023, Ewell opened several social media accounts under the name "Mustafa Obafemi" and expressed a desire to distance himself from his former name, but it is not clear if his SAG or legal name has actually been changed.

References

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  1. ^ "Dwight Ewell Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. (content from AllRovi)
  2. ^ "Odd Couples". The Advocate. Here. Sep 28, 1999. p. 54.
  3. ^ "Acting: About the Program". SUNY Purchase. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  4. ^ Janet Maslin (April 4, 1997). "Movie Review - Chasing Amy (1997)". New York Times.
  5. ^ Mark J. Huisman (Apr 1, 1997). "When Opposites Attack". The Advocate.
  6. ^ Roger Ebert (April 18, 1997). ""Chasing Amy" (movie review)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ^ Caryn James (September 29, 1994). "Movie Review: Amateur (1994) - FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; The Nun, the Amnesiac, the Prostitute and the Thugs". New York Times.
  8. ^ Stephen Holden (October 6, 1995). "Movie Review - Flirt (1995) FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW;Looking for Love in 3 Different Places". New York Times.
  9. ^ Kevin Thomas (August 23, 1996). "A Rich Look at Romance in Triplicate". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ Roger Ebert (November 8, 1996). "Movie Review - Flirt". Chicago Sun-Times.
  11. ^ Stimac, Elias. "As You Like It". Backstage. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
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