Olugbenga Enitan Temitope "Gbenga" Akinnagbe /ˈbɛŋɡə
əˈkiË nÉ™beɪ/ BENG-gÉ™ É™-KEEN-É™-bay is an American actor and
writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series
The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce.Akinnagbe was
born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, and was
raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is the second oldest of six
children, with one older sister and four younger brothers, and the
first in his family to be born in the United States. He attended
Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland. He
attended Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, and graduated
in 2000 with a degree in Political Science and English. Akinnagbe's
cousin is rapper Wale.Akinnagbe played Ben Ellis in the episode
"Contenders" on the TV series Numb3rs. In the summer of 2006,
Akinnagbe performed the role of "Zim" in the NYC Fringe Festival's
"Outstanding Play" award-winning production of Modern Missionary. In
2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO
series The Wire and starting in 2004 began a frequent recurring role.
In 2008 during the show's fifth and final season, he was promoted to a
series regular.In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages
with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He
appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which
was released by Sony in June 2009. Akinnagbe made a guest appearance
on a season 10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode entitled
"Hell" as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier living in New
York, facing deportation. Akinnagbe's former The Wire castmate Robert
Wisdom also appeared in that episode as Father Theo Burdett. In 2010
in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in the world premiere play
The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre. He was also in the movie
Lottery Ticket and appeared on The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton.
His former co-star from The Wire, Frankie Faison, portrayed his father
on The Good Wife in several episodes. He also starred as Kelly Slater,
a nurse in the third season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. He
also starred in leading roles in two independent films, as Jack in
Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and as James in Big Words, directed by
Neil Drumming. He appeared as a drug lord in the USA series Graceland
and starred as Tom in The Following. He also starred as CIA Agent Erik
Ritter in 24: Live Another Day. In October 2016 he began shooting the
feature film Starbright.
əˈkiË nÉ™beɪ/ BENG-gÉ™ É™-KEEN-É™-bay is an American actor and
writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series
The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce.Akinnagbe was
born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, and was
raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is the second oldest of six
children, with one older sister and four younger brothers, and the
first in his family to be born in the United States. He attended
Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland. He
attended Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, and graduated
in 2000 with a degree in Political Science and English. Akinnagbe's
cousin is rapper Wale.Akinnagbe played Ben Ellis in the episode
"Contenders" on the TV series Numb3rs. In the summer of 2006,
Akinnagbe performed the role of "Zim" in the NYC Fringe Festival's
"Outstanding Play" award-winning production of Modern Missionary. In
2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO
series The Wire and starting in 2004 began a frequent recurring role.
In 2008 during the show's fifth and final season, he was promoted to a
series regular.In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages
with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He
appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which
was released by Sony in June 2009. Akinnagbe made a guest appearance
on a season 10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode entitled
"Hell" as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier living in New
York, facing deportation. Akinnagbe's former The Wire castmate Robert
Wisdom also appeared in that episode as Father Theo Burdett. In 2010
in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in the world premiere play
The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre. He was also in the movie
Lottery Ticket and appeared on The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton.
His former co-star from The Wire, Frankie Faison, portrayed his father
on The Good Wife in several episodes. He also starred as Kelly Slater,
a nurse in the third season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. He
also starred in leading roles in two independent films, as Jack in
Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and as James in Big Words, directed by
Neil Drumming. He appeared as a drug lord in the USA series Graceland
and starred as Tom in The Following. He also starred as CIA Agent Erik
Ritter in 24: Live Another Day. In October 2016 he began shooting the
feature film Starbright.
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