Did you know Ayo Edebiri’s father is Nigerian? If you didn’t know, now you do. And if you did know, well, a reminder is hardly a terrible thing. We have compiled a few more names who have become famous by acting in major film or series in Hollywood, winning awards, or doing a combination of both.
Below are 10 actors of African descent working in Hollywood
1. Ayo Edebiri
Origin: Nigeria
Big Projects: The Bear, Napkins and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Ayo Edebiri, is an American actress, born to a Nigerian father and, with her mother from Barbados. She made her film debut in the 2020 comedy-drama Shithouse, where she played an uncredited role. She starred in the 2022 Hulu series, The Bear, which earned her a Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Independent Spirit Award, Gotham Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards nominations.
In 2024, Edebiri made her directorial debut with the season three-episode Napkins, earning a nomination for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series. Additionally, she won the 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Edebiri’s victory, combined with actress Quinta Brunson’s win, became the first time two Black actresses won awards in the female comedy acting categories in the same year.
She has also provided voice casting to several animated projects, such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Edebiri is set to co-write and star in the upcoming children’s television film Barney & Friends for A24, and Mattel Films.
2. Daniel Kaluuya
Origin: Uganda
Big Projects: Get Out, Black Panther, Judas and the Black Messiah
Born in London to Ugandan parents, Daniel Kaluuya’s breakout role was in the series Skins (2007-2009). His breakout role was in Jordan Peele’s horror film Get Out; it earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
He went on to appear in Black Panther (2018), Widows (2018), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), winning the BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor with the latter. He also lent his voice to the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). In 2023, he also co-directed the drama The Kitchen.
Kaluuya’s next big project is the Barney movie, which he will produce alongside A24 and Mattel Films.
3. Charlize Theron
Origin: South Africa
Big Projects: Monster, North Country, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Bombshell
Charlize Theron is an American actress born in Benoni, South Africa. Her performance in the 2003 film Monster earned her the Silver Bear and the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first South African to win an acting Oscar. She received another Academy Award nomination in the drama North Country (2005).
Theron has starred in The Italian Job, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and the 2019 film, Bombshell, for which she received her third Academy Award nomination. Her production company Denver and Delilah Productions has produced numerous films, including The Burning Plain, Dark Places, and Long Shot.
Theron is set to feature in the film, The Old Guard 2, which will be released on Netflix on July 2, 2025.
4. Idris Elba
Origin: Sierra Leone & Ghana
Big Projects: The Wire, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Thor
Idris Elba, is a British actor and producer, born to Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian parents. Elba has appeared in several films, including The Wire, American Gangster, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Beasts of No Nation, and The Harder They Fall. His portrayal of Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film, as well as four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, with the film, Luther. Elba has also joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, playing Heimdall in six Marvel films and Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad.
Elba is set to produce and star in the upcoming TV series film adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
5. Thandiwe Newton
Origin: Zimbabwe
Big Projects: Westworld, Crash, Mission: Impossible 2, and The Pursuit of Happyness
Thandiwe Newton is a British actress born in London to a Zimbabwean mother, and an English father. Her performance in the film, Crash, earned her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as well as a nomination with the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Newton also appeared in the HBO science fiction drama series Westworld, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (out of three nominations), two Critics’ Choice Awards, and nominations for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Her filmography includes Beloved, Mission: Impossible 2, The Pursuit of Happyness, Run Fatboy Run, RocknRolla, 2012, and For Colored Girls.
Newton has joined the casts of the comedic reimagining of the 1997 action horror movie, Anaconda, which is set to release on December 25, 2025.
6. Edi Gathegi
Origin: Kenya
Big Projects: The Blacklist, Caged, Twilight, and X-Men: First Class, Superman (2025)
Edi Gathegi was born in Kenya and raised in the United States. He has appeared in several films, including Death Sentence, The Fifth Patient, Gone Baby Gone, and The Harder They Fall. Justified and The Blacklist are some of his TV projects.
In 2011, Gathegi won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Lead Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts. He won the 2018 OBIE Award for Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, and his performance in Princess of the Row also earned him the Breakout Acting Award at the 2019 Method Fest Independent Film Festival.
Gathegi has been cast as Mister Terrific in the upcoming DC Universe film, Superman which is set to release this year.
7. Cynthia Erivo
Origin: Nigeria
Big Projects: The Color Purple, Harriet, and Wicked, Jesus Christ Superstar
Cynthia Erivo, is a British actress and singer, born to Nigerian parents in London. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for The Color Purple in 2016. The role also won her a Daytime Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. Erivo also earned two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Harriet (2019) and Wicked (2024). Her Academy Award nominations makes her the second black actress, after Viola Davis, to have been nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars more than once.
Erivo is also set to take on the role of Jesus in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which reimagines the final days of Jesus Christ.
8. Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Origin: South Africa
Big Projects: Belle, Black Mirror: San Junipero, and Loki
Born in Oxford, England, to a South African father and an English mother, Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s early career in television included roles in Doctor Who, Undercovers, and Touch.
Her breakthrough performance came in 2013 in the film Belle, for which she won the British Independent Film Award (BIFA) for Best Actress. She also co-starred in the Emmy Award-winning Black Mirror episode San Junipero, and has appeared in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show and the Disney+ series Loki (2021–present).
She has also featured in films such as Beyond the Lights, Miss Sloane, Beauty and the Beast, A Wrinkle in Time, Motherless Brooklyn, Misbehaviour, and Summerland. Gugu Mbatha-Raw has also just starred in the season 2 of the series, Surface, which premiered on February 21 on Apple TV+.
9. Danai Gurira
Origin: Zimbabwe
Big Projects: The Walking Dead, Ghost Town, Black Panther, and Avengers: Infinity War
Danai Gurira was born in the United States to Zimbabwean parents. In 2007, she starred in the film The Visitor, winning the Method Fest Independent Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2013, she featured in the film Mother of George, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
She has also starred in The Walking Dead, Ghost Town, 3 Backyards, My Soul to Take, and Life on Mars. Gurira has also appeared in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Gurira is set to star in the upcoming adventure-comedy film Matchbox, directed by Sam Hargrave. The film also stars John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Arturo Castro, Teyonah Parris, Randeep Hooda, and Corey Stoll.
10. Lupita Nyong’o
Origin: Kenya
Big Projects: 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, and Star Wars
Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico to Kenyan parents. Her acting debut came in 2008 with the short film East River, followed by a starring role in the Kenyan television series Shuga.
Her breakthrough role came in the 2013 biopic 12 Years a Slave, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play with the film, Eclipsed.
She has appeared in various films, including the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015-2019), The Jungle Book (2016), Black Panther (2018), Us (2019), and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).
Lupita Nyong’o is set to star in Christopher Nolan’s 2026 film adaptation of The Odyssey as the goddess Athena. The movie is expected to be released on July 17, 2026.
