In 1988, when Ejiofor was 11 years old, during a family trip to Nigeria for a wedding, he and his father were driving toLagos after the celebrations when their car was involved in a head-on crash with alorry. His father was killed, and Ejiofor was badly injured, receiving scars that are still visible on his forehead.[13][14]
In 2007, Ejiofor starred oppositeDon Cheadle inTalk to Me,[18] a film based on the true story ofRalph "Petey" Greene (played by Cheadle), an African-American radio personality in the 1960s and 1970s. He performed on stage inThe Seagull at theRoyal Court Theatre from 18 January to 17 March 2007, and later that year reprised his role asOthello at theDonmar Warehouse, alongsideKelly Reilly asDesdemona andEwan McGregor asIago. The production received favourable reviews, with particularly strong praise for Ejiofor. "Chiwetel Ejiofor produces one of the most memorable performances of Othello in recent years."[19] He was awarded theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance.[16] He also narrated theBBCtelevision filmPartition: The Day India Burned (2007), which was based on thePartition of India. He starred as Mike Terry in the 2008 cult filmRedbelt that received favourable reviews.
2008–2018: International recognition and critical acclaim
Ejiofor was appointed Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.[20] In the same year, he made his directorial debut in the short filmSlapper, which he also wrote, based on an idea by editor/director Yusuf Pirhasan.[21] Ejiofor appeared alongsideJohn Cusack in the film2012 (2009). The film went on to gross over $700 million and is among thelist of highest-grossing films of all time placing 5th among the top films of 2009. He played CIA officer Darryl Peabody inSalt (2010), and theGolden Globe Award-nominated leading role of band creator Louis Lester on theBBC Two drama seriesDancing on the Edge (2013), which played onStarz in the United States.[16]
Chiwetel Ejiofor was always going to be Solomon Northup for me. I was looking for someone who had that genteelness, that kind of humanity. Knowing that humanity was going to be tested under certain duress and circumstances, I needed someone who could actually keep hold of that, even through periods of extraordinary trying and extraordinary situations where it would be tested to its absolute limit. He was the only person.[22]
At the Toronto International Film Festival, Ejiofor said he briefly hesitated about playing Northup. "You wait all your life for a great script to come through the door. You're hassling your agent and all that, and then it comes, and you read it, and your first reaction surprises you. Your first reaction being, 'Can I do this?'"[23] He accepted the role about 24 hours later.[24] As part of his preparation for the role, Ejiofor learned to play the violin, collected slave stories, maintained a slave's edge-up hairstyle, and engaged in some of the physical labour Northup was subjected to, including cotton picking.[25] Since he had not worked with McQueen before, Ejiofor also observed the working dynamic between the director and co-starMichael Fassbender, who worked with McQueen onHunger (2008) andShame (2011).[26] On playing Northup, Ejiofor felt a responsibility, not being American, to get the story of Solomon Northup's story as accurately as he could, adding, "I've been very grateful to show the film to his descendants and see them be so proud of it."[27]
Ejiofor in 2015
12 Years a Slave opened to wide acclaim, with many critics citing Ejiofor's performance and declaring him an almost-certain Academy Award nominee for Best Actor.[23][25][27][28] FromOwen Gleiberman atEntertainment Weekly: "It is Chiwetel Ejiofor's extraordinary performance that holds the movie together, and that allows us to watch it without blinking. He plays Solomon with a powerful inner strength, yet he never soft-pedals the silent nightmare that is Solomon's daily existence."[29] FromChristopher Orr atThe Atlantic: "Ejiofor has given notable performances in the past (Dirty Pretty Things,Serenity,Talk to Me), but this is by far his most essential role to date. Stoic, watchful, compromising himself just enough to stay alive, he is the point of stillness and decency around which spin the madnesses of the film."[30] In hisThe Hollywood Reporter review,Todd McCarthy wrote, "Ejiofor is terrific in a demanding character who's put through the wringer physically, mentally, and emotionally."[31] On 16 January 2014, Ejiofor was officially nominated for Best Actor for the 86th Academy Awards on 2 March.
As of September 2013, Ejiofor was slated to portrayPatrice Lumumba in a film adaptation ofAimé Césaire'sA Season in the Congo, a role in which he had performed on stage at theYoung Vic.Joe Wright, who directed the play, was also to direct the film.[32][33]
On 1 November 2017, Ejiofor was officially chosen for the role ofScar for the animated remake ofThe Lion King (2019) directed byJon Favreau.[38] Played byJeremy Irons in the1994 animated film, Ejiofor described Scar as more "psychologically possessed" and "brutalized" than in the original.[39] Ejiofor stated, "especially with Scar, whether it's a vocal quality that allows for a certain confidence or a certain aggression, to always know that at the end of it you're playing somebody who has the capacity to turn everything on its head in a split second with outrageous acts of violence – that can completely change the temperature of a scene."[39] He also said that "[Scar and Mufasa's] relationship is completely destroyed and brutalized by Scar's way of thinking. He's possessed with this disease of his own ego and his own want."[39][40] Favreau said of casting Ejiofor, "[He] is just a fantastic actor, who brings us a bit of the mid-Atlantic cadence and a new take on the character. He brings that feeling of a Shakespearean villain to bear because of his background as an actor. It's wonderful when you have somebody as experienced and seasoned as Chiwetel; he just breathes such wonderful life into this character."[41] Ejiofor narrated the 2019 documentary filmThe Elephant Queen.[42] In 2019, Ejiofor made his feature directorial debut withThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, adapted from the memoir of the same name byWilliam Kamkwamba, about a boy who built a wind-powered water pump inMalawi.[43] In 2022, Ejiofor returned to the role ofMordo for the sequel filmDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. AlongsideEmilia Clarke, Ejiofor played Alvy inThe Pod Generation in 2023. In 2025, Ejiofor stars as Scott Walliker, a teacher inBridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
In 2015, Ejiofor was honoured with a Global Promise Award by The GEANCO Foundation, a non-profit welfare organisation inWest Africa, for his charity work in Nigeria.[44] Ejiofor has the desire to reach out to the less privileged, especially young girls.[45]
On 12 September 2016, Ejiofor, as well asCate Blanchett,Jesse Eisenberg,Peter Capaldi,Douglas Booth,Neil Gaiman,Keira Knightley,Juliet Stevenson,Kit Harington, andStanley Tucci, featured in a video from theUnited Nations' refugee agencyUNHCR to help raise awareness of the global refugee crisis. The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem, written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of real refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education.[46][47]
Ejiofor is the recipient of several awards, including numerous nominations in theBest Actor category for his role asSolomon Northup in the 2013 biographical drama film12 Years a Slave. In 2008, he was appointed Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE) byQueen Elizabeth II for services to the arts.[5] He was elevated to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2015 Birthday Honours.[49] In February 2024, Ejiofor was awarded an honorary degree from theSchool of Advanced Study in recognition of the 25 plus years on stage and screen and dedication to the dramatic arts.[50]
^Hattenstone, Simon (10 July 2004)."The rainbow's end Arts".The Guardian. London.Life, he says, was always precarious for his parents in Nigeria – they belonged to the Christian Ibo tribe...
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