News Americas, LOS ANGELES, CA: British actors of Caribbean descent are making a big impact in Hollywood with some currently on major American TV shows or on the silver screen. Here are ten famous Caribbean actors you should know:
1: Naomie Harris
Born in Britain in 1976 to a Jamaican mother and Trinidadian father, Harris became famous for her performances as Tia/Calypso in two of the hugely popular Pirates of the Caribbean films. But she really hit it out of the park when she landed the role of Eve Moneypenny in the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre, becoming the first black actress to play the role. About her Caribbean roots, the Cambridge University graduate said: “I grew up in Jamaican culture in Britain. I was surrounded by these incredibly strong women growing up – independent, opinionated, strong-willed women like my mother and my aunt.”
2: Lennie James
Lennie James has appeared in more than 20 films, including Les Misérables, Snatch and Columbiana (2011) as well as Robert Hawkins on the CBS series Jericho, Detective Joe Geddes on the AMC television series Low Winter Sun and Morgan Jones on the popular AMC. The Walking Dead series. James was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire to Trinidadian parents. He has stated that he is the main cook for his family of four with a love for Caribbean cuisine. James also works as a mentor for inner-city black kids and says he rejects the importance people place on fame and notoriety.
3: Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel
Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel is known for playing the computer hacker Ramsey in ‘Furious 7’ (2015). She was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, to a father of Saint Lucian and English descent and a mother of Dominican descent. She was also Missandei’s translator in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. FHM magazine ranked Emmanuelle as 99th in their 100 Sexiest Women of 2013. In 2015, she appeared in the April 2016 issue of InStyle and GQ magazines.
4: Marianne Ragipcien Jean-Baptiste
She is an English-born actress who plays the role of FBI agent played by Bethany Mayfair in the popular NBC series ‘The Blindspot’. Marianne Ragipcien Jean-Baptiste was born in London to a mother from Antigua and a father from Saint Lucia. She grew up in Peckham and was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and performed at the Royal National Theatre. Jean-Baptiste achieved international success in the Mike Leigh-directed social drama Secrets & Lies (1996), receiving two Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, becoming the first British actress to color that was nominated for an Oscar. , and the second black Briton to be nominated, following Jaye Davidson. She has been married to Evan Williams since 1997. She is also a writer and composer and wrote the score for Mike Leigh’s Career Girls. Jean-Baptiste has also written and performed with British jazz musicians, including Jason Rebello, for whom she wrote and recorded four songs on his album Keeping Time.
5: Naomi Elaine Campbell
Of course, many know this beauty born in England for her supermodel fame, but the 45-year-old is already an actress. Campbell, 45, was born to Jamaican parents in London and is now among the three most popular and sought-after models. She recently had a recurring role as a cougar for a guest role on the American TV show Empire, playing Camilla Marks, the love interest of the youngest son Hakeem. Camilla is 20 years younger than Hakeem on the show, and Campbell said she sometimes felt embarrassed filming the gruesome scenes. Campbell has a three-bedroom oceanfront property in Oracabessa, Jamaica.
6: Eamonn Walker
He is a famous Caribbean actor who plays Firehouse 51 Battalion Fire Chief Wallace Boden on NBC’s ‘Chicago Fire’, but few know that actor Eamonn Walker has Caribbean roots. Walker was born in London to a Grenadian father and a Trinidadian mother, in 1962. He also lived in Trinidad for six months when he was nine before returning to London to attend Hungerford School in Islington and later the University of North London. Of his Caribbean roots, he says: “My whole being and everything I do has my British and Grenadian sides running through me. Until I went to high school, I spoke with my Caribbean accent, just like my mom, but I soon got my first taste of discrimination when kids made fun of me and made my life pretty miserable, because we all know how cruel they can be. be the children (laughs). So I learned to speak like everyone else with a North London accent. Again, my need to connect with my people has always been with me and I recently returned from Grenada where I met my father’s family for the first time and it was beautiful. In every fiber of my being, knowing my people has always been important to me, and I’m glad I got to meet my extended family.”
7: Alfred Enoch
Alfred “Alfie” Enoch stars as Wes Gibbins on ABC’s legal drama series, How to Get Away with Murder. He was born in London but traces his roots to Barbados through his maternal grandparents. He made his big acting debut in 2001 as Dean Thomas in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. He has appeared in seven of the eight Harry Potter films and also voiced the character in the video game based on the first part of the film. For his portrayal of Gibbins, Enoch has received two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series with consecutive nominations. His father, William Russell, is a well-known actor who played Ian Chesterton in the original BBC show, ‘Dr. WHO.”
8: Delroy Lindo
Delroy Lindo is perhaps best known for his roles in a trio of Spike Lee films, notably as West Indian Archie in Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) and Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994), Catlett in Get Shorty, Arthur Rose in The Cider House Rules. , and Detective Castlebeck in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). Lindo starred as Alderman Ronin Gibbons in the television series The Chicago Code (2011) and as Winter in the series Believe, which premiered in 2014. He was born in England to Jamaican parents. Lindo was recently cast as Dominic Fortune in the ABC pilot Marvel’s Most Wanted opposite Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood.
9: Marsha Thomason
Marsha Thomason is best known for playing Nessa Holt on the first two seasons of NBC’s Las Vegas, Naomi Dorrit on ABC’s Lost, and FBI agent Diana Berrigan on USA Network’s White Collar. She was born in Moston, Greater Manchester, England to Phyllis (née McCrae), an employee of a Jamaican electronics company, and Peter Thomason, who worked in politics.
10: Adrian Lester, OBE
Adrian Lester is a multi-award winning actor and director known for seven seasons of the hit television show Hustle (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Primary Colors (1998) and his extensive work in classical theater playing Othello, Henry. V, Rosalind and Hamlet to name but a few. it was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Jamaican immigrants Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company. Lester was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year’s Honors for services to drama.
