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
impossible life relationship shift sudden work
I still have to say that I did 'Dirty Pretty Things' 11 years ago. That was a very sudden shift in my life and my relationship to my work, and it didn't feel it was impossible to make a film like that.
directors good great keen moving ring scripts wait work
I feel that I don't have to wait around for good scripts anymore, that I can get things moving more quickly. I can ring up directors I like and say I'm keen to work with them, which is pretty great.
great life rule since takes work
Since I started acting, I always or often find work takes precedence with me. And that is not necessarily a great rule for life.
bit extremely hair looked makeup means opposed question tough whether worked
That's a tough question to answer. I thought the look worked extremely well. I don't know whether that means I looked pretty, but I thought I looked like Lola would look, as opposed to what I would look like with a little bit of hair and makeup on. You know?
ability engage favourite interested invest knowing life lives people personal preference whether wonder work
As a child, I was just never that interested in the lives of my favourite actors, like Cary Grant. I do wonder whether knowing too much about someone's personal life interrupts an audience's ability to suspend disbelief, to really invest in the characters. My preference would always be that people engage with the work.
felt good job meant quickly realised until work
I was able to go on stage and work until it felt right or felt good. It meant that I very quickly realised that it was the job for me.
artificial environment good work
We always want to live in an environment where there's no artificial block to good work.
angeles auditions call came further heading los steven work
I had done a couple of auditions for 'Amistad' and didn't feel it was going to go any further - and then the call came about heading to Los Angeles to work with Steven Spielberg. It was surreal: exciting, challenging, overwhelming.
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.
experience younger
I think, as a younger actor, you are more open to the experience. And to an extent, you want to go into things blind and energised as if you were 15. Keep that terror.
tv ways
There are many different ways the public can respond to actors - they can see you on TV and feel they know you and own you, and there can be something quite cornering about that.
imagination world film
Ridley creates a very immersive world, so when you walk up to a Ridley Scott film set you're in Ridley Scott's imagination, and it's a really comfortable, cool place to be.
home mind ends
All roads lead home in the end. You've got to keep that in mind always - in your work and in your life.
wall actors directors
I would love to be a fly on the wall watching other directors and actors to see what their process is like.