Kingsley Ben-Adir

Actor, Director

Birthdate: February 28, 1986 (40 Years Old)

Birthplace: Kentish Town, Middlesex, London, England, UK

Kingsley Ben-Adir is an award-winning British actor who began his career immediately after graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Dance in London, with roles in contemporary work and Shakespeare at The Old Vic from 2011 to 2014. Ben-Adir began to shift to work in the movies and television, starting with an uncredited role in the box-office hit, World War Z (2013), and then in the British crime movie, Trespass Against Us (2016), starring Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Rory Kinnear, and Sean Harris, and which premiered at the Toronto film festival. Ben-Adir was cast in a significant supporting role in director Guy Ritchie’s under-performing King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), starring Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Jude Law, and Eric Bana, but earning only $148.7 million against $175 million costs for Warner Bros./Village Roadshow. Kingsley Ben-Adir then earned a supporting role in the more successful thriller from Lionsgate, The Commuter (2018), starring Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, and Sam Neill, grossing $120 million worldwide. Ben-Adir’s breakthrough performance as an intense Malcolm X led an impressive ensemble in the Regina King-directed film adaptation of Kemp Powers’ play, One Night in Miami (2020), with Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr., premiering at the Venice Film Festival and garnering three Oscar nominations. Ben-Adir played Basketball Ken opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s pop-culture phenomenon, Barbie (2023), starring Margot Robbie, America Ferrera, Rhea Perlman, Issa Rae, and Kate McKinnon, which earned eight Oscar nominations and grossed over ten times its costs with an astounding $1.45 billion globally. Ben-Adir landed his first starring feature role-playing another iconic figure in Bob Marley: One Love (2024), co-written and directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, with Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Sevana, and Daniel Melville Jr., and released by Paramount Pictures.

Personal Life
Movies
Facts
FAQs

Personal life

Kingsley Ben-Adir was born in London, England, and was raised by a musician father and caregiver mother, who is of heritage from Trinidad and Tobago. Ben-Adir has one brother. Ben-Adir’s mother converted to Judaism and raised her sons in that faith, adopting the last name of Ben-Adir. Ben-Adir attended Rhyl Street Primary School for boys in London’s Highgate area and then attended William Ellis (secondary) School in London’s northwest area. In 2011, Ben-Adir graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Dance, specializing in acting. Ben-Adir’s height is 6’ 1½ ”.

Known For

Trespass Against Us

Sampson (2017)

Awards

Nominee, EE Rising Star Award, BAFTA Awards (2021); Winner, Male Revelation, Chopard Trophy—Cannes Film Festival (2021); Winner, Breakthrough Actor, Gotham Awards (2021); Winner, Breakthrough Actor, British GQ Man of the Year Awards (2021); Winner, Robert Altman Award, Independent Spirit Awards (2021); Winner, Virtuoso Award, Santa Barbara Film Festival (2021); Nominee, Best Cast, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2021);

Robert Altman Award

Robert Altman Award

Film Independent Spirit Awards

Actor

Actor

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Kingsley Ben-Adir Movies

Actor

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Previous (4)

2024 |
Bob Marley: One Love
Bob Marley: One Love
2024
Biography, Drama, Music
The story of how reggae icon Bob Marley overcame adversity, and the journey behind his revolutionary music.
asBob Marley
2023 |
Barbie
Barbie
2023
Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
More Info
asKen
2017 |
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
2017
Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy - whether he likes it or not.
asWet Stick
2017 |
Trespass Against Us
Trespass Against Us
2017
Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
A man looks to find a way to escape the criminal ways of his outlaw family.
asSampson