David Oyelowo

Acting

David Oyelowo

Born 1976-04-01 · Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK

David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo (/oʊˈjɛloʊwoʊ/ oh-YEL-oh-woh; Yoruba pronunciation; born 1 April 1976) is a British actor, director and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award, two NAACP Image Awards, and nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was appointed as an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama. Oyelowo rose to prominence for portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in the biographical drama Selma (2014) and Peter Snowden in the HBO film Nightingale (2014), which garnered him critical acclaim. He also achieved praise for his roles as Louis Gaines in The Butler (2013), Seretse Khama in A United Kingdom (2016) and Robert Katende in Queen of Katwe (2016). He has also played supporting roles in the films Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), The Help (2011), Lincoln (2012), Red Tails (2012), and Jack Reacher (2012). On television, Oyelowo has played MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the British drama series Spooks (2002–2004) and Javert in the BBC miniseries Les Misérables (2018). He also provided the voice for Agent Alexsandr Kallus in the Lucasfilm Animation series Star Wars Rebels  (2014–2018) and Holston Becker in the Apple+ drama series Silo. He stars in and co-produces the 2023 Paramount+ western series Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Oyelowo, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Interstellar poster
8.5

The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

Interstellar

2014

The Help poster
8.2

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.

The Help

2011

Rise of the Planet of the Apes poster
7.4

A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011

Jack Reacher poster
6.7

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

Jack Reacher

2012

The Cloverfield Paradox poster
5.6

Orbiting above a planet on the brink of war, scientists test a device to solve an energy crisis and end up face-to-face with a dark alternate reality.

The Cloverfield Paradox

2018

Chaos Walking poster
6.5

Two unlikely companions embark on a perilous adventure through the badlands of an unexplored planet as they try to escape a dangerous and disorienting reality, where all inner thoughts are seen and heard by everyone.

Chaos Walking

2021

A Most Violent Year poster
6.6

A thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and centered on the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.

A Most Violent Year

2014

Lincoln poster
6.8

The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Lincoln

2012

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway poster
7.0

Peter Rabbit runs away from his human family when he learns they are going to portray him in a bad light in their book. Soon, he crosses paths with an older rabbit who ropes him into a heist.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

2021

Role Play poster
6.0

Emma has a wonderful husband and two kids in the suburbs of New Jersey – she also has a secret life as an assassin for hire – a secret that her husband David discovers when the couple decide to spice up their marriage with a little role play.

Role Play

2023

The Midnight Sky poster
5.7

A lone scientist in the Arctic races to contact a crew of astronauts returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe.

The Midnight Sky

2020

The Last King of Scotland poster
7.4

Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.

The Last King of Scotland

2006

A Wrinkle in Time poster
5.0

After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.

A Wrinkle in Time

2018

See How They Run poster
6.3

In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager rookie Constable Stalker take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.

See How They Run

2022

Gringo poster
5.9

An American businessman with a stake in a pharmaceutical company that's about to go public finds his life is thrown into turmoil by an incident in Mexico.

Gringo

2018

Selma poster
7.4

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

Selma

2014

Derailed poster
6.4

When two married business executives having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, they are forced to turn the tables on him to save their families.

Derailed

2005

The Book of Clarence poster
5.8

Streetwise but down-on-his-luck, Clarence is struggling to find a better life for his family, while fighting to free himself of debt. Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, he risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.

The Book of Clarence

2024

Queen of Katwe poster
7.2

A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.

Queen of Katwe

2016

A Sound of Thunder poster
4.9

When a hunter sent back to the prehistoric era runs off the path he must not leave, he causes a chain reaction that alters history in disastrous ways.

A Sound of Thunder

2005

Red Tails poster
6.7

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

Red Tails

2012

The Butler poster
7.3

Cecil Gaines was a sharecropper's son who grew up in the 1920s as a domestic servant for the white family who casually destroyed his. Eventually striking out on his own, Cecil becomes a hotel valet of such efficiency and discreteness in the 1950s that he becomes a butler in the White House itself. There, Cecil would serve numerous US Presidents over the decades as a passive witness of history with the American Civil Rights Movement gaining momentum even as his family has troubles of its own. As his wife, Gloria, struggles with alcoholism and his defiant eldest son, Louis, strives for a just world, Cecil must decide whether he should take action in his own way.

The Butler

2013

Don't Let Go poster
6.9

A detective suffering from a personal loss receives a call from his recently deceased niece. Being able to communicate across time, the two work together to try and stop the crime before it occurs.

Don't Let Go

2019

Newborn poster
5.4

After serving seven years in solitary confinement, Chris Newborn seeks to rebuild his life and reconnect with his family only to find that freedom has become a terrifying psychological battleground.

Newborn

2026

Behind the camera

Don't Let Go poster
6.9

A detective suffering from a personal loss receives a call from his recently deceased niece. Being able to communicate across time, the two work together to try and stop the crime before it occurs.

Don't Let Go

2019

Newborn poster
5.4

After serving seven years in solitary confinement, Chris Newborn seeks to rebuild his life and reconnect with his family only to find that freedom has become a terrifying psychological battleground.

Newborn

2026

Come Away poster
5.8

Before Alice went to Wonderland, and before Peter became Pan, they were brother and sister. When their eldest brother dies in a tragic accident, they each seek to save their parents from their downward spirals of despair until finally they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.

Come Away

2020

A United Kingdom poster
6.6

The inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British and South African governments. Seretse and Ruth defied family, Apartheid and empire - their love triumphed over every obstacle flung in their path and in so doing they transformed their nation and inspired the world.

A United Kingdom

2016

The Water Man poster
6.1

Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy named Gunner and his friend Jo venture into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. When they go missing, Gunner's father Amos must immerse himself in his son's world to find them.

The Water Man

2020

The Water Man poster
6.1

Hoping to save his sick mother, a boy named Gunner and his friend Jo venture into the remote Wild Horse forest to search for a mythical figure who possesses the secret to immortality. When they go missing, Gunner's father Amos must immerse himself in his son's world to find them.

The Water Man

2020

The After poster
5.6

After losing a family member to a violent crime, a shattered rideshare driver picks up a passenger that forces him to confront his grief.

The After

2024

Captive poster
5.6

Based on a miraculous true story that drew the attention of the entire nation, is the dramatic, thrilling, and spiritual journey of Ashley Smith and Brian Nichols. After being taken hostage by Brian in her own apartment, Ashley turns to Rick Warren’s inspirational book, The Purpose Driven Life, for guidance. In reading from the book, Ashley not only finds purpose in her own life, but helps Brian find a more peaceful resolution to a harrowing situation.

Captive

2015

Becoming King poster
1.0

An emotional portrait of David Oyelowo’s journey to play legendary civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage and intimate home videos, Becoming King is a story of faith, friendship and a destiny fulfilled.

Becoming King

2024

Big Guy poster
3.0

Rodney hates salads, the gym and daylight, until that is, Kate comes along and changes everything.

Big Guy

2009

Big Guy poster
3.0

Rodney hates salads, the gym and daylight, until that is, Kate comes along and changes everything.

Big Guy

2009

No artwork available
NR

In a contemporary war-torn desert in the Middle East, a general is manipulated by his ensign into believing his wife is unfaithful.

Othello

No artwork available
NR

In a contemporary war-torn desert in the Middle East, a general is manipulated by his ensign into believing his wife is unfaithful.

Othello

Five Nights in Maine poster
5.1

A young African American man, reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter's death.

Five Nights in Maine

2016

No artwork available
NR

Set against the backdrop of contemporary London, described as a “thriller that intertwines art, love and restitution.”

Heist of Benin

No artwork available
NR

A teenager learns she has powers and travels to Nigeria to learn more about her origins, where she discovers a threat to her newfound magical community.

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun

Ferguson Rises poster
NR

Before George Floyd, before Breonna Taylor, before America knew about Black Lives Matter, there was Michael Brown, Jr. On August 9th, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed Brown. The community reacted in protest, anger, frustration, and fear. Six years later, a new story emerges - one filled with hope, love, and beauty.

Ferguson Rises

2021