Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a London-born actor, filmmaker and writer of Nigerian heritage. He is known for playing Simon Adebisi in Oz and Mr Eko in Lost, and for writing and directing Farming, an autobiographical feature drawing on his childhood.

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About Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Profile information current to 2026-08-19.

United Kingdom · Actor, Filmmaker, Writer

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Known for: Television acting; Film acting; Autobiographical feature filmmaking
Country: United Kingdom

Actor
Filmmaker
Writer

At a glance

His best-known television roles include Simon Adebisi in HBO's Oz and Mr Eko in Lost.
He made his feature directorial debut with Farming, which he also wrote from an autobiographical story.
Before establishing his acting career, he completed an LLM in criminal law and criminal justice at King's College London in 1992.
His recognition includes a Screen Actors Guild ensemble award for Lost and the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film for Farming.

Background and education

Akinnuoye-Agbaje was born in Islington, London, on August 22, 1967, to Nigerian parents. Public accounts of his childhood describe his informal placement with a white foster family in Tilbury while his parents were studying in London. He later completed an LLM at King's College London, focusing on criminal law and criminal justice and writing a thesis on the UK prison system.

Screen career

While studying, Akinnuoye-Agbaje worked in a designer-clothes shop and entered modelling before moving into acting. His acting career began with Congo in 1995, followed by prominent television performances as Simon Adebisi in Oz and Mr Eko in Lost. His wider screen work includes The Mummy Returns, The Bourne Identity, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Thor: The Dark World, Suicide Squad and Game of Thrones.

Farming and autobiographical filmmaking

Akinnuoye-Agbaje wrote and directed Farming as his first feature behind the camera, basing it on elements of his childhood. The film screened in the Discovery programme at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, where the British Council listed it as a world premiere, and it won the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film at the 2019 Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Awards and honours

Akinnuoye-Agbaje shared a Screen Actors Guild Award with the Lost drama ensemble in 2006. In 2017, the University of London awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Literature.

Timeline

1967-08-22 Born in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents.
1992 Completed an LLM Master of Laws at King's College London.
1995 Began his acting career with a role in Congo.
1997 Began playing Simon Adebisi in the HBO prison drama Oz.
2005 Began appearing as Mr Eko in Lost.
2006 Received a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the Lost drama ensemble.
2017-03-07 Received an Honorary Doctor of Literature from the University of London.
2018 Farming screened in the Toronto International Film Festival's Discovery programme, with the British Council listing it as the world premiere.
2019 Farming won the Michael Powell Award for Best British Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Additional verified details

Biographical facts

He was born on August 22, 1967, in Islington, London, to Nigerian parents.
Institutional, reference and news sources describe him as London-born and the son of Nigerian immigrants, supporting British-Nigerian as a heritage descriptor.
He completed an LLM Master of Laws at King's College London in 1992, studying criminal law and criminal justice and writing a thesis on the UK prison system.
While studying, he worked in a designer-clothes shop, entered modelling and later moved into acting.
His prominent television roles include Simon Adebisi in Oz and Mr Eko in Lost.
In accounts of Farming, he connected the film to his childhood experience of being informally placed with a white foster family in Tilbury while his Nigerian parents were studying in London.
The University of London awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Literature on March 7, 2017.