Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in theAcademy Award-nominatedscience fiction filmDistrict 9,^[1] the 2010 adaptation ofThe A-Team, thescience fiction filmElysium, the science fiction horror filmEuropa Report and the dark fantasy adventure filmMaleficent. He also played the title character in the science fiction filmChappie, Jimmy in the science fiction action filmHardcore Henry, and starred in two seasons as Christian Walker of the TV seriesPowers.

Sharlto Copley
Copley at the 2024WonderCon
Born	(1973-11-27)November 27, 1973 (age 51) Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Tanit Phoenix ​ (m. 2016)​
Children	1
Website	sharltocopley.com

Copley is married to South African actress and supermodelTanit Phoenix.^[2]

Sharlto Copley was born inJohannesburg and educated atSt. Andrew's Preparatory School inGrahamstown andRedhill School inMorningside,Johannesburg.^[3] His father is Dr. Bruce Copley, a former university professor.^[3][4] His brother, Donovan,^[3] is the lead singer of the Cape Town band Hot Water.^[5][6][7]

Shortly after leaving high school, Copley metNeill Blomkamp, who is six years younger. Copley allowed Blomkamp to use computers at his production company to help the company pitch various projects and allow Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for3D animation and design.^[8]

In Blomkamp'sDistrict 9 (2009), Copley played the lead role of Wikus van der Merwe, anAfrikanerbureaucrat assigned to move a race of extraterrestrial creatures stranded on Earth. In the film, the aliens, popularly and derogatorily referred to as "prawns", must be moved from District 9, a military-guarded slum inJohannesburg, South Africa, to an internment camp outside the city. Copley improvised all of his dialogue.^[9] At the 2009IGN Summer Movie awards, Copley won Favorite Hero^[10] and Best Performance.^[11]

In 2010, Copley produced, wrote, and directed an insert for theSouth African Film and Television Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African starCharlize Theron. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize Theron in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album.^[12]

Copley then starred alongsideLiam Neeson,Bradley Cooper, andQuinton "Rampage" Jackson in thefeature film adaptation ofThe A-Team,^[13] which was produced byRidley Scott andTony Scott. Copley used aSouthern American dialect for his portrayal of A-Team memberH. M. Murdock, and employed other dialects, including Scottish, English, Australian and Swahili, as part of the character's rapid-fire style.Dwight Schultz, who played Murdock in the original TV series, praised Copley's performance and said Copley was the only actor he knew of who was "true to his character."^[14]

Copleyguest-co-hostedWWE Raw on 7 June 2010, along with hisA-Team co-stars Cooper and Jackson.

In 2013, Copley played fictional astronaut James Corrigan inEuropa Report, the story of a crew of international astronauts sent on a private mission to Jupiter's fourth moon. The same year, Copley portrayed the villain Agent Kruger inElysium,^[15] a science fiction film written and directed by Blomkamp, starringMatt Damon andJodie Foster.^[16]

Copley played villain Adrian Pryce in Spike Lee'sOldboy, a remake of the2003 South Korean film of the same name.^[17] He also starred oppositeAngelina Jolie in the 2014 Disney filmMaleficent and played King Stefan, Princess Aurora's father. He also provided the voice, reference work, and interaction with the cast as Chappie, the titular character of the 2015 filmChappie, also directed by Neill Blomkamp.^[18]

In 2015, Copley was announced to star as Christian Walker in the superhero TV seriesPowers.^[19] He later provided the voiceover for thee-tron GT concept promotional video byAudi Sport GmbH.^[20]

Also in 2015, Copley played the supporting character Jimmy in the filmHardcore Henry.

In March 2018, Copley starred in the crime comedy filmGringo as Mitch Rusk.^[21] Copley portrayed the titular character of a biographical film aboutTed Kaczynski titledTed K.^[22]

Copley has been in a relationship with actress and supermodelTanit Phoenix since January 2012.^[23] They wed on 15 February 2016, inCape Town, South Africa.^[2][24] The couple have a daughter together.

As of 2010, Copley resides in Cape Town andLos Angeles.^{[25][better source needed]}

• Official website
• Sharlto Copley atIMDb