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Sope Dirisu

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Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù
Dirisu in 2015
Born (1991-01-09) 9 January 1991 (age 33)
Edgware, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present
Known forGangs of London
Mr. Malcolm's List

Sope Dirisu (Yoruba: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, [ʃɔ̄k͡pɛ́ dìɾísù]; born 9 January 1991) is a Nigerian-British actor.[1][2][3] He made his film debut in 2016 with Sand Castle, Criminal, and The Huntsman: Winter's War.[4] Since 2020, he has starred as Elliot Carter / Finch in the Sky Atlantic series Gangs of London, while in 2022, he starred as the titular character in the period drama film Mr. Malcolm's List.

Early life

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Dirisu was born in 1991 in Edgware, London,[4][5] to Nigerian parents; his father had studied history and his mother law before becoming preachers.[6][4] He was educated at Bedford Modern School, where he excelled at drama, and joined the National Youth Theatre in 2006.[4][7][8] He later studied Economics at the University of Birmingham. While studying there he played quarterback for the University of Birmingham Lions American Football team.[4][9]

Career

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In 2012, Dirisu successfully auditioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages Programme.[4] His first stage role was as Pericles in Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.[4] After the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dirisu returned to the National Youth Theatre where he trained in the REP company programme for eight months.[1][2] He has subsequently acted in a number of television series including The Mill, Utopia, Humans, The Casual Vacancy, Siblings and Undercover.[2][1][10][11]

Dirisu appeared in three 2016 films, Criminal, The Huntsman: Winter's War, and Sand Castle.[4] In 2016, he also appeared in "Nosedive", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.

Dirisu received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his 2017 performance as Coriolanus in Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[12]

He was nominated as Best Actor for the 2020 British Independent Film Awards for his role as Bol in the film His House.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Lazarus Rising Pvt. Maurice (voice) Short film
2013 Circles The Boy (C) Short film
2016 Criminal Fire Officer
The Huntsman: Winter's War Tull
The Trip James Short film
The Dead Sea Emmanuel Short film
Motherland Moussa Sidibé Short film
2017 Sand Castle Sgt. Cole
The Fight Said Short film
A Battle in Waterloo Coleman Short film
2020 His House Bol
2021 Mothering Sunday Donald
Silent Night James
Tides Tucker Also released as The Colony
2022 Mr. Malcolm's List Mr. Malcolm
2023 Chasing the Night Leon Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 Utopia Roy Episode #2.4
The Mill Peter 6 episodes
2015 The Casual Vacancy Young Doctor 3 episodes
2015–2018 Humans Fred 8 episodes
2016 Black Mirror Man in Prison Episode: "Nosedive"
Undercover Michael Antwi 4 episodes
Siblings Zeff Episode: "Golden Aunt"
2017 The Halcyon Sonny Sullivan 8 episodes
2018 Next of Kin DS Stanley Hart / DS Elliot Hart 5 episodes
2019 State of the Union Giles Episode: "Plaster Cast"
2020–2022 His Dark Materials Sergi (voice) 2 episodes
2020–present Gangs of London Elliot Carter / Elliot Finch 18 episodes
2021 Foresight Kwesi Episode: "Digging"
2023 Tabby McTat Tabby (voice) Television film[14]
Slow Horses Sean Donovan 6 episodes
TBA Black Rabbit Wes Upcoming miniseries

Stage

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6 October – 3 December 2016, as Cassius Clay in One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers, at Donmar Warehouse in London, alongside David Ajala as Jim Brown, Arinzé Kene as Sam Cooke, Francois Battiste as Malcolm X.

Other theatre includes The Whipping Man, Tory Boyz, Romeo and Juliet, Prince of Denmark, Red Riding Hood, Our Days of Rage, Fallujah, Pericles (RSC).

Dirisu received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his 2017 performance as Coriolanus in Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[12]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2021 British Independent Film Award Best Performance by an Actor His House Nominated [15]
British Academy Film Award Rising Star Award Nominated [16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The Mill". Channel 4.
  2. ^ a b c Thomas Hescott (16 February 2016). "My first audition: Sope Dirisu". The Stage.
  3. ^ "Sope Dirisu". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "The Thespian". Interview Magazine. 30 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Interview: Sope Dirisu and Corin Hardy (Gangs of London)". Sidewalk Magazine. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù: "Nobody would be talking about me for Bond if 'Gangs of London' was terrible"". NME. 13 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Show business success for OBMs". Bedford Modern. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  8. ^ "OBMs Crowdfund for new film". Bedford Modern.
  9. ^ "Spotlight".
  10. ^ "BBC One - The Casual Vacancy, Episode 1 - Credits". BBC.
  11. ^ "My Favourite Things with actor Sope Dirisu". Western Morning News.
  12. ^ a b "And the winners are... Find out who triumphed at the Ian Charleson Awards". The Sunday Times. 27 May 2018.
  13. ^ Wade, Joseph (18 February 2021). "2020 British Independent Film Awards – Winners List". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  14. ^ "BBC announces Tabby McTat, a star-studded animation based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Winners and Nominations". BIFA. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  16. ^ Ritman, Alex (9 March 2021). "BAFTA Nominations: 'Nomadland,' 'Rocks' Lead Charge in Most Diverse List in Awards' History". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
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