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Shaniqua Okwok

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Shaniqua Okwok
Shaniqua Okwok by Alan Howard Photography (2021)
Born
Surrey, England
Alma materRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActress
Years active2018–present

Shaniqua Okwok is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Maia in Paramount+ series The Flatshare (2022) and Dominique in the Sky Max series Wolfe (2021).[1]

Okwok has also made appearances as Solly Babatunde in It's a Sin (2021), Patty in Small Axe, Lotta Nagel in Van der Valk, and Leah in War of the Worlds.[2]

Early life

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Okwok was born in Surrey to a Ugandan mother and a Jamaican father. She attended The BRIT School and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama where she graduated in 2018. After receiving the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award from the Official London Theatre in 2017, she went on to make her television debut on BBC One in 2018 as Helen Nedarson in Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators.[3]

Okwok originally wanted to be a stock broker and planned to study economics at LSE. However, she claims she "fell into acting and it kept falling into place".[4]

Personal life

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Okwok got involved in social justice work early on in her acting career. Following her graduation from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and during the summer of 2020, Okwok led a student campaign of hundreds to call out the "words and actions of open and overt racism" that occurred during her tenure at the institute, including an incident of being called a "slave" during a class. Okwok remains an active advocate for the protection of minority actors to this day. [5] [6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Anthony Dominique Walker TV movie
2020 Acrimonious Kehinde Short film
2020 Rejoice Resist Self Short film
2021 I Love You I Hate You[7] Annie Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Helen Nedarson Episode: "Ill Met by Moonlight"
2020 Van der Valk Lotta Nagel Episode: "Death in Amsterdam
2020 Sick of It Waitress Episode: "Use by Date"
2020 Marcella Alanah Season: 3
2020 Small Axe Patty Episode: "Lovers Rock"
2021 It's a Sin Solly Babatunde Season: 1
2021 War of the Worlds Leah Season: 2
2021 Wolfe (TV series) [8] Dominique Season: 1
2022 The Flatshare Maia Season: 1

Podcasts

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Year Title Role Notes
2021 Fully Amplified Narrator Episode: Still Gay As Hell

References

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  1. ^ "'The Flatshare' review: First UK Paramount+ original is a canny romcom". Yahoo!News. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. ^ "The Beat at the Heart of 'Lovers Rock'". New York Times. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Shaniqua Okwok". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Wolfe star Shaniqua Okwok: For young black women, there aren't many complex leading roles like this". Evening Standard. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Drama school's former principal apologises for past racist remarks". BBC. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Drama Schools Uncovered: Prestigious UK Institutions Are Breeding Grounds For Sexual Harassment & Racism". Deadline. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Little Simz releases new short film 'I Love You, I Hate You'". NME. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  8. ^ "'Wolfe' — cast, plot, release date and everything you need to know about the Sky Max forensics drama". watchtowatch. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
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