Arinzé Kene

Arinze Mokwe Kene MBE (/əˈrɪnzeɪ ˈkɛni/)[1][2] is a British actor and playwright.[3]

Arinzé Kene
Born1987 (age 33–34)
Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationActor, Playwright

Early life

In 1987, Kene was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Kene's father was a taxi driver.[4]

Career

Kene has appeared in stage productions such as playing Simba in The Lion King, Daddy Cool,[5] and in June 2009 played strutting lothario Raymond LeGrendre in the musical Been So Long, based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, which opened at the Young Vic.[6] Kene also plays the lead in 2010 UK Film Council feature Freestyle.[3]

In 2010, he joined the cast of the BBC's EastEnders as Connor Stanley,[7] for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards.[8]

In January 2011, his play Suffocation opened at the Oval House Theatre in London.[9]

He won the 2010 award for Most Promising Playwright at The Offies (Off West End award). His latest play, Little Baby Jesus at the Oval House, has been nominated for Best New Play in The Offies 2011. He is a member of the series 3 writing team for EastEnders: E20.[10] In April 2011, his casting as Rocco in Hollyoaks was announced.[11]

In 2016 he portrayed Tyler in the television series Crazyhead.[12]

From 6 October to 3 December 2016 Kene acted and sang in the role of Sam Cooke in the Donmar Warehouse production of the European premiere of One Night in Miami, a play by Kemp Powers[13]

He appeared opposite Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen in How to Build a Girl, directed by Coky Giedroyc.[14]

In 2018, Arinze starred in Misty, which in September transferred to Trafalgar Studios, following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre earlier in the year. The play was written by Kene, directed by Omar Elerian and produced by Trafalgar Entertainment Group.[15]

On 17 February 2020, it was announced that Arinzé Kene would play the role of Bob Marley in the new musical Get Up, Stand Up! opening at the Lyric Theatre in February 2021 in London's West End.[16]

Kene was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama and screenwriting.[17]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2010FreestyleLeonfeature film
2010CasualtyJacob MaynardTV series, 3 episodes
2010EastEndersConnor StanleyTV series, 41 episodes
2011Drink, Drugs and KFCJason Simpsonshort film
2011HollyoaksRoccoTV series, 2 episodes
2013YoungersAshleyTV series, 16 episodes
2014Our GirlCorp. KindersTV series, 5 episodes
2016The PassAdefeature film
2016Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemAuror 6feature film
2016CrazyheadTylerTV series, 6 episodes
2018Been So LongRaymondfeature film
2018InformerSal BrahimiTV series, 6 episodes
2019How to Build a GirlKennyfeature film
2020I'm Your WomanCalfeature film
TBAText for Youfeature film
TBAEar for Eyefeature film

Awards and nominations

Theatre
Year Award Category Work Result
2010 Off West End Theatre Award[18][19] New Play Estate Walls Nominated
Most Promising New Playwright Won
2011 Off West End Theatre Award[20] New Play Little Baby Jesus Nominated
2013 Off West End Theatre Award[21] New Play God's Property Nominated
2018 Evening Standard Theatre Award[22] Best Musical Performance Misty Nominated
2019 Laurence Olivier Award[23] Best New Play Nominated
Best Actor Nominated
Off West End Theatre Award[24] New Play Nominated
Performance Piece Won
2020 Laurence Olivier Award[25] Best Actor in a Supporting Role Death of a Salesman Nominated

References
  1. "Arinze Kene's Top Tips For Becoming A Writer". BBC Radio 1. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. "Meet the Writer | Arinzé Kene | Misty". Bush Theatre. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. "AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RISING PLAYWRIGHT AND ACTOR". Nigeriafilms.com. 12 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. "Interview: Arinzé Kene." theguardian.com. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  5. Ositelu, Tola (21 September 2010). "Arinze Kene Interview: It's The Choices You Make That Mark Your Destiny". Soul Culture. Soul Culture Media Ltd.
  6. "First Night Feature:Been So Long". Society of London Theatre. 18 January 2009.
  7. Williams, Karla (27 January 2010). "An Interview with Rising Playwright and Actor". The New Black Magazine.
  8. Kilkelly, Daniel (13 February 2011). "In Full: All About Soap Bubble nominations". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  9. Tim Masters (12 January 2011). "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  10. "EastEnders actor Arinze Kene seeks stage success". BBC News. BBC. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 13 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  11. Kilkelly, Daniel (12 April 2011). "'Enders Connor to appear in 'Hollyoaks'". Digital Spy. London: Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  12. Christopher Hooten (9 May 2016). "Crazy Face: Misfits creator lands new E4 and Netflix drama about 'angst and exorcism'". Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. Wiseman, Andreas (16 July 2018). "Beanie Feldstein Comedy 'How To Build A Girl' Adds Cast, Lionsgate With Shoot Under Way". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  15. "Misty". trafalgarentertainment.com. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  16. "Brand-new musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Story announced today starring Arinze Kene". London: BestofTheatre.co.uk. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  17. "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B19.
  18. "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. "2010: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Estate Walls – The Offies". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  20. "2011: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – Little Baby Jesus – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  21. "2013: Full Run: Plays: New Play – Arinze Kene – God's Property – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  22. "Read the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 shortlist in full". www.standard.co.uk. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  23. Longman, Will (5 March 2019). "Olivier Awards 2019: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  24. "2019 Awards – The Offies". Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  25. Thomas, Sophie (3 March 2020). "Olivier Awards 2020: Full list of nominations". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
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