Sope Dirisu (Yoruba: Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, [ʃɔ̄k͡pɛ́ dìɾísù]; born 9 January 1991) is a British-Nigerian actor.[1][2][3] He made his film debut in 2016 with Sand Castle, Criminal, and The Huntsman: Winter's War.[4] Since 2020, he has starred as Elliot Carter / Finch in the Sky Atlantic series Gangs of London, while in 2022, he starred as the titular character in the period drama film Mr. Malcolm's List.
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù | |
|---|---|
 Dirisu in 2015 | |
| Born | 9 January 1991 Edgware, London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Known for | Gangs of London Mr. Malcolm's List |
Early life
editDirisu was born in 1991 in Edgware, London,[4][5] to Nigerian parents; his father had studied history and his mother law before becoming preachers.[6][4] He was educated at Bedford Modern School, where he excelled at drama, and joined the National Youth Theatre in 2006.[4][7][8] He later studied Economics at the University of Birmingham. While studying there he played quarterback for the University of Birmingham Lions American Football team.[4][9]
Career
editIn 2012, Dirisu successfully auditioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages Programme.[4] His first stage role was as Pericles in Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre.[4] After the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dirisu returned to the National Youth Theatre where he trained in the REP company programme for eight months.[1][2] He has subsequently acted in a number of television series including The Mill, Utopia, Humans, The Casual Vacancy, Siblings and Undercover.[2][1][10][11]
Dirisu appeared in three 2016 films, Criminal, The Huntsman: Winter's War, and Sand Castle.[4] In 2016, he also appeared in "Nosedive", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.
Dirisu received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his 2017 performance as Coriolanus in Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[12]
He was nominated as Best Actor for the 2020 British Independent Film Awards for his role as Bol in the film His House.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Lazarus Rising | Pvt. Maurice (voice) | Short film |
| 2013 | Circles | The Boy (C) | Short film |
| 2016 | Criminal | Fire Officer | |
| The Huntsman: Winter's War | Tull | ||
| The Trip | James | Short film | |
| The Dead Sea | Emmanuel | Short film | |
| Motherland | Moussa Sidibé | Short film | |
| 2017 | Sand Castle | Sgt. Cole | |
| The Fight | Said | Short film | |
| A Battle in Waterloo | Coleman | Short film | |
| 2020 | His House | Bol | |
| 2021 | Mothering Sunday | Donald | |
| Silent Night | James | ||
| Tides | Tucker | Also released as The Colony | |
| 2022 | Mr. Malcolm's List | Mr. Malcolm | |
| 2023 | Chasing the Night | Leon | Short film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Utopia | Roy | Episode #2.4 |
| The Mill | Peter | 6 episodes | |
| 2015 | The Casual Vacancy | Young Doctor | 3 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Humans | Fred | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | Black Mirror | Man in Prison | Episode: "Nosedive" |
| Undercover | Michael Antwi | 4 episodes | |
| Siblings | Zeff | Episode: "Golden Aunt" | |
| 2017 | The Halcyon | Sonny Sullivan | 8 episodes |
| 2018 | Next of Kin | DS Stanley Hart / DS Elliot Hart | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | State of the Union | Giles | Episode: "Plaster Cast" |
| 2020–2022 | His Dark Materials | Sergi (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020–present | Gangs of London | Elliot Carter / Elliot Finch | 18 episodes |
| 2021 | Foresight | Kwesi | Episode: "Digging" |
| 2023 | Tabby McTat | Tabby (voice) | Television film[14] |
| Slow Horses | Sean Donovan | 6 episodes | |
| TBA | Black Rabbit | Wes | Upcoming miniseries |
Stage
edit6 October – 3 December 2016, as Cassius Clay in One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers, at Donmar Warehouse in London, alongside David Ajala as Jim Brown, Arinzé Kene as Sam Cooke, Francois Battiste as Malcolm X.
Other theatre includes The Whipping Man, Tory Boyz, Romeo and Juliet, Prince of Denmark, Red Riding Hood, Our Days of Rage, Fallujah, Pericles (RSC).
Dirisu received a Commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his 2017 performance as Coriolanus in Coriolanus at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[12]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | British Independent Film Award | Best Performance by an Actor | His House | Nominated | [15] |
| British Academy Film Award | Rising Star Award | Nominated | [16] | ||
References
edit- ^ a b c "The Mill". Channel 4.
- ^ a b c Thomas Hescott (16 February 2016). "My first audition: Sope Dirisu". The Stage.
- ^ "Sope Dirisu". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "The Thespian". Interview Magazine. 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Interview: Sope Dirisu and Corin Hardy (Gangs of London)". Sidewalk Magazine. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù: "Nobody would be talking about me for Bond if 'Gangs of London' was terrible"". NME. 13 October 2022.
- ^ "Show business success for OBMs". Bedford Modern. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ "OBMs Crowdfund for new film". Bedford Modern.
- ^ "Spotlight".
- ^ "BBC One - The Casual Vacancy, Episode 1 - Credits". BBC.
- ^ "My Favourite Things with actor Sope Dirisu". Western Morning News.
- ^ a b "And the winners are... Find out who triumphed at the Ian Charleson Awards". The Sunday Times. 27 May 2018.
- ^ Wade, Joseph (18 February 2021). "2020 British Independent Film Awards – Winners List". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ "BBC announces Tabby McTat, a star-studded animation based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ "Winners and Nominations". BIFA. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (9 March 2021). "BAFTA Nominations: 'Nomadland,' 'Rocks' Lead Charge in Most Diverse List in Awards' History". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
External links
edit- Sope Dirisu at IMDb