Malachi Kirby

Malachi Kirby is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 Roots remake and the Black Mirror episode "Men Against Fire".[1] He won a BAFTA for his performance in Small Axe: Mangrove (2020).

Early life

Kirby grew up an only child on the Patmore Estate in Battersea. His father died when he was 6.[2] His parents were born in London where his grandparents had arrived from Jamaica. The cast of Roots were invited to take DNA tests, and Kirby's results came up as mostly West African with some South Asian and a small amount of European. He stated he hopes to do more specific research.[3]

Kirby attended Southfields Academy.[4] Originally into literature, he discovered acting in year nine through a course at the Battersea Arts Centre. He studied at Richmond upon Thames College[5] and was admitted to Identity School of Acting in 2007.[2]

Career

Kirby began his career in theatre, and describes himself as a theatre actor "at heart".[6] He was shortlisted for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards after appearing in a production of Mogadishu.[7] He also appeared in a number of television shows and films, including a stint on EastEnders and the lead in the television film My Murder.[8] He was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2013.[9]

In 2016, Kirby starred as Kunta Kinte in the American miniseries Roots, a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name.[10][11] His performance was well received by critics.[12][13] That October, Kirby starred in an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror entitled "Men Against Fire", directed by Jakob Verbruggen.[14][15]

He won the Rising Star and Male TV Performance awards at the 2016 and 2017 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards respectively. For Roots, he also received nominations at the 2017 Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards.[16]

Kirby went on to star as Michael Garwick in the 2019 Sky One dystopian drama Curfew and Oliver Harris in the Italian series Devils.[17][18] He penned his first play Level Up, which first premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2019.[19]

Kirby landed the role of Darcus Howe in the "Mangrove" installment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology, which premiered in 2020. It was the first time he got to play an explicitly Caribbean character.[6] For his performance, he won the 2021 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In September 2021, it was announced Kirby would star opposite Delroy Lindo as both of Mr. Nancy's sons Charlie and Spider in the Amazon Prime adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.[20]

Personal life

Kirby was not raised religious and became so as an adult; he belongs to a Christian fellowship in East London.[21]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Molly & Plum Troublemaker Short film
2009 Exhale Chris Short film
2012 My Brother the Devil J-Boy
2012 Checkpoint Socrates Short film
2012 Offender Harry
2013 Jonah Juma Short film
2013 Gone Too Far! Yemi
2014 The Last Showing Clive
2014 Kajaki Snoop
2015 Dough Shaun
2016 Fallen Roland Sparks
2019 A Place for You and Me Short film
2021 Boiling Point Tony
2023 Wicked Little Letters Bill

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Casualty Group Leader Episode: "Interventions"
2008 Silent Witness Tic-Toc 2 episodes
2009 The Bill Michael Clark Episode: "Back to School"
2011 Doctors Tony Coe Episode: "Decent People"
2012 My Murder Danny McLean Television film
2013 Way to Go Nkanta 2 episodes
2013 Lawless Tyler Repton Television film
2014 EastEnders Wayne Ladlow 8 episodes
2014 BBC Comedy Feeds DJ Dee Danger Episode: "Vodka Diaries"
2015 Doctor Who Gastron Episode: "Hell Bent"
2015 Jekyll and Hyde Spring Heeled Jack Burton Miniseries; 2 episodes
2016 Roots Kunta Kinte Miniseries
2016 Black Mirror Stripe Episode: "Men Against Fire"[15]
2017 The Machine Aaron Television film
2019 Curfew Michael Garwick Main role
2020 Devils Oliver Harris Main role
2020 Small Axe Darcus Howe Miniseries; episode: "Mangrove"
2022 My Name is Leon Tufty Burrows Television film; upcoming
TBA † Anansi Boys Charlie / Spider Main role; upcoming
TBA † A Thousand Blows Hezekiah Moscow Main role; upcoming

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
TBA † Squadron 42 Joachim Steiger Upcoming

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Outstanding Newcomer Mogadishu Nominated [22]
2016 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards Rising Star Jekyll & Hyde, Dough Won [23]
2017 Male Performance in TV Roots Won [24]
2017 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series Nominated [25]
2017 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated [26]
2021 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actor Small Axe Won [27]

References

  1. ^ Lee, Ben (27 August 2015). "EastEnders actor Malachi Kirby will play the lead role in a Roots reboot". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b Okundaye, Jason (15 April 2021). "Malachi Kirby". Port Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  3. ^ Jones, Ellen E. (9 February 2017). "Malachi Kirby: 'Playing Kunta Kinte in Roots reboot allowed me to find my own roots'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Southwest London TV". Southfields Academy.
  5. ^ "Former RuTC Student Wins BAFTA Award". Richmond upon Thames College. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b Raddish, Christina (6 December 2020). "Malachi Kirby on Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' & Nailing the Voice of His "Mangrove" Character". Collider. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Malachi Kirby". The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  8. ^ Davis, Clive (5 November 2020). "Malachi Kirby: 'The 1970 Mangrove Nine trial? I'd never even heard of it'". The Times. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  9. ^ Sherwin, Adam (30 December 2015). "Roots: Malachi Kirby joins black British actors taking centre stage in new adaptation of US slavery drama". The Independent. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  10. ^ Sherwin, Adam (30 December 2015). "Roots: Malachi Kirby joins black British actors taking centre stage in new adaptation of US slavery drama". The Independent. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  11. ^ Chilton, Martin (31 December 2015). "Kunta Kinte played by Londoner Malachy Kirby". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  12. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (1 June 2016). "Roots, episode 1, review: 'Brit actor Malachi Kirby is exceptional in this powerful remake'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  13. ^ Robinson, Joanna (31 May 2016). "This Astonishing, Star-Making Turn Alone Makes Roots Must-See TV". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  14. ^ Jaafar, Ali (11 March 2016). "Malachi Kirby To Star In Jakob Verbruggen-Directed Episode Of Netflix's 'Black Mirror'". Deadline. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  15. ^ a b Petski, Denise (27 July 2016). "'Black Mirror', 'One Day At A Time' & More Get Premiere Dates On Netflix – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  16. ^ Williams, Max (20 February 2021). "Malachi Kirby: "I grew up shy... Acting was the last thing on my mind"". Square Mile. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  17. ^ Mitchell, Robert (14 August 2018). "Patrick Dempsey to Star in 'Devils' for Sky Italia, Lux Vide". Variety. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Sky Corporate | Articles". Sky. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Level Up". Time Out London. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  20. ^ Yossman, K.J. (14 September 2021). "Amazon U.K. Greenlights Louis Theroux Documentary & 'Wilderness' Adaptation, Unveils Malachi Kirby as Lead in 'Anansi Boys'". Variety. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  21. ^ Rose, Steve (24 May 2016). "Malachi Kirby on remaking Roots: 'I could feel the pain, hear the screams'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  22. ^ Trueman, Matt (7 November 2011). "Evening Standard theatre awards shortlist unleashes a monster fight". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  23. ^ "11th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards 2016 Winners List". The British Blacklist. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  24. ^ Omar, Sue (11 May 2017). "The Screen Nation Film & Television Awards 2017". Melan Mag. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  25. ^ "17TH ANNUAL BLACK REEL AWARDS NOMINATIONS". Black Reel Awards. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  26. ^ Hipes, Patrick (13 December 2016). "Ruth Negga, Angela Bassett and Taraji P. Henson nominated". Deadline. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Television - 2020". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 26 February 2021.