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David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo

35 movies on Netflix

Biography

David Oyelowo is a British actor, director, and producer who was born in Oxford and grew up in London and Lagos. After training at LAMDA, he began his stage career with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1999. In 2001, he played King Henry VI, becoming the first Black actor to portray an English king in a major Shakespeare production and winning the Ian Charleson Award. He became known on television as MI5 officer Danny Hunter in Spooks from 2002 to 2004. Oyelowo rose to prominence as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma (2014), earning an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe nomination. His performance in Nightingale (2014) won a Critics' Choice Television Award, and he received praise for The Butler (2013), A United Kingdom (2016), and Queen of Katwe (2016). He also appeared in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Red Tails (2012), and Jack Reacher (2012), and was appointed an OBE in 2016.

50years old

Turns 51 on April 1in 165 days

  • Born Oxford
  • Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
  • Also credited as David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo

Movie Career

Films
35
Career span
18 years2005 to 2023

Genres

First and latest

Photos

  • David Oyelowo, photo 1 of 3
  • David Oyelowo, photo 2 of 3
  • David Oyelowo, photo 3 of 3

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  1. First role

    In 1999, the Royal Shakespeare Company gave Oyelowo a season that launched his stage career. His parts included the title character in Oroonoko, a role in Ben Jonson's Volpone, and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra with Guy Henry, Frances de la Tour and Alan Bates.

  2. Big break

    In 2012, Oyelowo appeared in Middle of Nowhere. Writer-director Ava DuVernay was a fan of his work and thought about offering him the part, but before she could, he got the script by chance from a friend of a friend of hers on a plane.

  3. A role that slipped away

    Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong'o were set to appear together in a film version of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Americanah, but the project stalled due to scheduling conflicts.

  4. Early training

    While studying theater at City and Islington College, Oyelowo was urged by his teacher to become an actor, then spent a year on an acting foundation course at LAMDA before finishing his three-year training in 1998.

  5. Behind the camera

    Oyelowo started Yoruba Saxon Productions, his own independent production company, in 2014. It has co-produced movies that featured him, such as Nightingale, Captive, Five Nights in Maine and A United Kingdom.

  6. Beyond film

    Oyelowo was selected in 2015 to play James Bond in an audiobook of Trigger Mortis, a novel written by Anthony Horowitz.

David Oyelowo movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. Jack Reacher2012 Action, Thrilleras Emerson

    IMDb rating 7.0396K votes

  2. Selma2014 Biography, Drama, Historyas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

    IMDb rating 7.5100K votes

  3. The Butler2013as Louis Gaines

    IMDb rating 7.2124K votes

  4. The Midnight Sky2020as Adewole

    IMDb rating 5.796K votes

  5. The Cloverfield Paradox2018as Kiel

    IMDb rating 5.5123K votes

  6. The Last King of Scotland2006as Dr. Junju

    IMDb rating 7.6207K votes

  7. A Most Violent Year2014as D.A. Lawrence

    IMDb rating 6.982K votes

  8. Gringo2018as Harold Soyinka

    IMDb rating 6.134K votes

Most often with

Ava DuVernay directed three of these films, Lee Daniels two. Jessica Oyelowo appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Jessica Oyelowo, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Jessica OyelowoAlfred Molina, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Alfred MolinaOprah Winfrey, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Oprah WinfreyMichael Caine, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Michael CaineForest Whitaker, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Forest WhitakerJohn Cusack, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with John CusackAva DuVernayDirector, 3 filmsSee the 3 films by Ava DuVernayLee DanielsDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Lee Daniels

Films together

Box office

What David Oyelowo's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$2.3 billion

24 of the 35 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 35 films: 24 worldwide figure; 2 us gross only; 4 never in cinemas; 5 figure not found.

  • 24Worldwide figure
  • 2US gross only
  • 4Never in cinemas
  • 5Figure not found

Top grosser

Interstellar2014as School Principal$747 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 90% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Interstellar2014as School Principal
    $747M33.0% of the total
  2. 2
    Rise of the Planet of the Apes2011as Steven Jacobs
    $482M21.3% of the total
  3. 3
    Jack Reacher2012as Emerson
    $218M9.7% of the total
  4. 4
    The Butler2013as Louis Gaines
    $177M7.8% of the total
  5. 5
    Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway2021as Nigel Basil-Jones
    $153M6.8% of the total
  6. 6
    A Wrinkle in Time2018as The It (voice)
    $133M5.9% of the total
  7. 7
    Selma2014as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    $67M3.0% of the total
  8. 8
    Derailed2005as Patrol Officer
    $57M2.5% of the total
Red Tails (2012), $50.4 millionThe Last King of Scotland (2006), $48.6 millionChaos Walking (2021), $26.5 millionSee How They Run (2022), $21.9 millionA United Kingdom (2016), $13.8 millionA Most Violent Year (2014), $12.0 millionA Sound of Thunder (2005), $11.7 millionGringo (2018), $11.0 millionQueen of Katwe (2016), $10.4 millionThe Book of Clarence (2023), $6.2 millionDon't Let Go (2019), $5.3 millionCaptive (2015), $2.8 millionMiddle of Nowhere (2012), $2.4 millionCome Away (2020), $1.7 millionThe Paperboy (2012), $1.4 millionThe Midnight Sky (2020), $70,018

$226 millionfrom the other 16 films with a worldwide figure, 10% of the total

Awards

Two awards and honors.

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David Oyelowo's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Other honors
Ian Charleson AwardsWon
Officer of the Order of the British EmpireWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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