Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, CBE, is a British actor. After enrolling at the National Youth Theatre in 1995, and gaining a scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, at age 19 and three months into his course, Ejiofor was cast by Steven Spielberg to play a supporting part in the film Amistad as James Covey...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth10 July 1977
thinking race important
Dividing everybody into genders and sexuality and races and religions, and I think its important to have films out there, to have discussions out there which really try to get to grips with where that kind of thing can lead.
people stories opinion
Solomon Northup is one of the most remarkable people Ive ever encountered in my life; one of the most amazing stories I have ever been in any kind of contact with. To not tell that story would have been disgraceful, in my opinion.
father careers ideas
Ive always liked the idea of being a father. And Ive always romanticised it, because I lost my father when I was young. In a way, all of the complications that come with my career are about that.
interviews aspect term
Reporters tend to launch on what seems to be the clearest, most stark aspects of someone's life in terms of an interview.
drama school college
Depending on what your interest in theater is, I always recommend working on plays. It's a great way to be introduced to the field, and also a great way to be seen by agents and representation. I'm also a great advocate for studying acting at a drama school or a college.
writing would-be directors
David Mamet was great to work with. He was everything that I thought he would be as a director. He's incredibly articulate, an easy collaborator. Extraordinarily knowledgeable about film and writing.
father moving people
A lot of people ask me about my father's passing when I was young, which I'm never comfortable with. I invariably move around that subject.
feelings way roles
I like to disappear into a role. I equate the success of it with a feeling of being chemically changed. That's the only way I can express it.
mean men rivers
The only way to be an actor is to find ways to work as an actor, even if that means doing a one-man show by a river.
eye excited i-can
Ive just tried to keep my eyes open, tried to read everything you can, and tried to see whether I see myself within it. If I do, then I can get excited about it.
pride awards joy
This is going to sound completely absurd, but I do sometimes feel like the enjoyment of an awards ceremony or the pride in the finished article hasn't ever surpassed the joy of doing the work, of making it. The doing it is really the bit I'm there for.
benevolent directors experience listen truth
The truth is, it's a totalitarian dictatorship when you're making films. You are the boss. You can listen to other people, and it can be a benevolent dictatorship, but it's a dictatorship nonetheless. A lot of directors go past their first experience, that's what they've come away with.
artistry somehow
I think when I was doing 'Amistad,' I was just too young to really understand what the process was, and beyond that, I hadn't really got involved. It was just somehow - and I thought that the artistry was all in the theater.
children way middle-child
I was the classic middle child in some ways, the one who could have been a priest in an alternate universe.