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.
access emotions express expressing feelings felt great moment oneself range school stage suddenly surprised thoughts
I was probably 14 or 15 when I was first on stage at school doing 'Measure for Measure.' I immediately felt it was a great way of expressing oneself at a moment when I didn't think I could express myself, really. I suddenly had access to this range of emotions and thoughts and feelings that were there in me. I was surprised by that.
broadway figure life love theater west
I love the theater community and theater life, and would love to figure out the distinctive differences between Broadway and the West End.
I started, obviously, doing theater, and I always thought that I would; in a way, I always thought that I'd be a theater actor. When I was starting out, I didn't really plan on making films, actually.
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.
editing head less
Normally, if you're lucky, the idea of a film you have in your head is more or less what you get back when you see it after the editing and the whole post-production process.
As an actor, you express certain things because they need to be expressed, and then you don't really feel a need to do it again. I want to feel something else, you know?
liked
I've always liked the idea of being a father. And I've 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.
bit fill plot
Sometimes television can just jump from one bit of plot to the next, and the words fill in the in-between.
characters dresses hours makeup mood soon three
The three hours of makeup put me in the mood every morning. That was easy. As soon as you get into the dresses and the hair, you feel the transformation starting. If only all my characters could be so clear.
cabaret character characters feeling heart reading strong wears
Reading the script, I had a strong feeling for the character. She has this brassy, cabaret quality, but she wears her heart on her sleeve, and I thought she was one of the most captivating characters I'd ever read.
amazing contact life people remarkable stories
Solomon Northup is one of the most remarkable people I've 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.
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.
evolving interested relationship
I have an evolving relationship with my father, and his memory, especially the older I get. I know that some of the things that interested him are things that interest me.