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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
school
Friends at school were always quite shocked that we holidayed in Nigeria, but it was all pretty middle-class, really.