Kurt Egyiawan

Kurt Egyiawan
Egyiawan at A Real Pain premiere in 2024
Born
Kurt Egyiawan

1983 or 1984 (age 40–41)[1]
Cameroon
Alma materGuildhall School of Music and Drama
OccupationActor
Years active2008–present

Kurt Egyiawan is an English theatre and television actor. He is most known for playing various roles in Shakespearean plays at the Globe, including the role of Othello. He is also known for his various television roles, most notably the role of Grand Maester Orwyle in HBO's House of the Dragon.

Early life and education

Egyiawan was born in Cameroon,[2] and moved to the United Kingdom early in his childhood. As a child, Egyiawan participated in the National Youth Music Theatre. [3] Egyiawan then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 2011, he won the Spotlight Prize with a performance of the Best Man Speech by Ben Lloyd-Hughes.[4] He was also nominated for the Ian Charleson Award for his role of Arsace in Bérénice.[5] Egyiawan has returned to the Guildhall as a visiting tutor in the school's acting program, where he teaches screen acting.[6]

Career

Egyiawan's first professional roles were in 2008, where he performed in a production of King Lear, where he played various supporting roles, as well as in a production of The Frontline by Ché Walker. Both plays were performed at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.[1][7][8]

In 2011, Egyiawan performed in the ensemble of the UK touring production of Earthquakes in London.[9] The next year, he appeared in his first cinema role, where he played Q's assistant in Skyfall.[1] He then took on the roles of the Dauphin and of Lord Scroop in a Shakespeare's Globe production of Henry V, where his performances received praise.[10][11] He also performed in the televised version of the play.[12]

In late 2012 until 2013, Egyiawan performed in an all-male double feature at Shakespeare's Globe, where he was cast as Richmond and the Duchess of York in Richard III, as well as in the roles of Valentine and an officer in Twelfth Night. He performed alongside Stephen Fry and Mark Rylance.[13] Egyiawan then took on various supporting roles in an English production of Aimé Césaire's political play A Season In the Congo.[14][15][16][17][18][excessive citations] From November 2013 to February 2014, the double feature of Richard III and Twelfth Night moved to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway, where Egyiawan received praise from American reviewers and press for his performances.[19][20][21]

In 2015, was cast in the role of Chidhina in The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco, a play about post-colonial Zimbabwe.[22] The play was produced in collaboration with the Gate Theatre for their "Freedom Burning" season, which sought to highlight plays about the quest for liberation.[23] Egyiawan's performance received praise.[24][25][26] In the same year, Egyiawan performed in the role of Angelo in the Shakespeare's Globe production of Measure for Measure, as well as in the televised version of the play.[27][28][29][30][31][excessive citations]

Also in 2015, Egyiawan acted in various film roles, such as the role of Murray in Pan, the role of Tim in Kill Your Friends, and the role of 2nd I-C in Beasts of No Nation.[32][33][34][35] For the latter, he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards in the 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in Motion Picture' category alongside the cast of the film.[36]

Egyiawan (right) at the New York Comic Con panel for The Exorcist in 2017 © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons.

From 2016 to 2017, Egyiawan was part of the main cast of the Fox network's American supernatural horror series The Exorcist, playing Father Devon Bennet. This was Egyiawan's first television role.[37][38]

In 2017, Egyiawan played the eponymous role in Shakespeare's tragedy Othello at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. His performance received praise, including from the Evening Standard.[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][excessive citations]

In 2018, Egyiawan joined the cast of Mood Music at the Old Vic Theatre, playing the role of Miles.[48][49][50][51][52][53][excessive citations] The following year, Egyiawan took on a supporting role of Lundi in a Manchester International Festival production of Tree. The play then opened at the Young Vic.[54][55][56][55][57][excessive citations]

In 2022, Egyiawan performed the role of Moses in the short film Lions, which won the Unifrance short film award.[58] He also took on the role of Dia in the film I Used to Be Famous.[59] The same year, Egyiawan was cast in the guest role of Roger Barrowby in the British spy thriller Slow Horses.[60] Egyiawan was also a recurring cast member in season 1 of HBO's House of the Dragon, playing Grand Maester Orwyle.[61] He was promoted to the main cast in the second season of the show in 2024, and his performance has been praised.[62]

Egyiawan (right) at the Premiere of A Real Pain in 2024.

Egyiawan was cast as Philip Dust in the 2023 mini-series Bodies.[60]

In 2024, he played the recurring role of Adrian in the British mythological dark comedy Kaos,[63] before it was cancelled after one season. He has received praise for his role.[62] Egyiawan was also cast in the widely acclaimed film A Real Pain as Eloge.[64] His performance received recognition from The Hollywood Reporter.[65]

Egyiawan was then cast in the American thriller The Agency as Osman.[66][67][68] The series premiered on 29 November 2024.

Filmography

† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Skyfall Q's Assistant
2015 Pan Murray
Beasts of No Nation 2nd I-C
Kill Your Friends Tim
2022 I Used to Be Famous Dia
Lions Moses Short film[58]
2024 A Real Pain Eloge

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Shakespeare's Globe Theatre: Henry V Louis the Dauphin Televised production of the play at the Globe
2015 Measure for Measure from Shakespeare's Globe Angelo Televised production of the play at the Globe
2016–2017 The Exorcist Father Bennett Main role
2022 Slow Horses Roger Barrowby Episode: "Work Drinks"
2022–present House of the Dragon Grand Maester Orwyle Season 1 recurring cast; season 2 main cast
2023 Bodies Philip Dust Episode: "All In Good Time"
2024 Kaos Adrian 4 episodes
2024–2025 The Agency Osman 8 episodes
2025 Andor † Grymish Series 2[citation needed]
Silent Witness † Oliver Brown Series 28[citation needed]

Voice roles

Year Title Role Notes
2013 The Water-Babies Grimes BBC 4 Radio play[69]
2016 Tom Clancy's The Division Video game produced by Massive Entertainment

Theatre

Stage roles[70][71][60]
Year Title Role(s) Notes
2008 The Frontline Salim Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
2011 Earthquakes in London Ensemble UK Touring production
2012 Henry V Dauphin Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
A Season in the Congo Maurice Mpolo / UN Secretary Dag Hammarskjold /
Kantangan loyalist 		Young Vic[14]
Richard III Richmond / Duchess of York Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
2013 Twelfth Night Valentine Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
2013–2014 Twelfth Night Valentine / Officer Belasco Theatre, New York
Richard III Richmond / Duchess of York Belasco Theatre, New York
2015 Measure for Measure Angelo Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
The Rise and Shine of Comrade Fiasco Chidhina London Gate Theatre
2017 Othello Othello Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
2018 Mood Music Miles Old Vic Theatre[72]
2019 Tree Lundi Manchester International Festival and the Young Vic[54]

References

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