Hakeem Kae-Kazim

Hakeem Kae-Kazim /hɑːˈkm ˌk ˈkæzɪm/ is a British-Nigerian actor best known for his work in the Starz television series Black Sails and his portrayal of Georges Rutaganda in the 2004 drama film Hotel Rwanda.[1]

Hakeem Kae-Kazim
Kae-Kazim at a 24 screening event in Los Angeles (2009)
Born
Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present

Early life

Kae-Kazim was born in Lagos, Nigeria, where he spent his early years before his family re-located to London, England.[2] His interest in acting began with school plays and The National Youth Theatre,[3] which is when he discovered that he had "a love for theatre, for acting".[2] He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 1987[4] and was offered a space with The Royal Shakespeare Company,[3] where he continued his classical training.

Film and television career

After working alongside Brian Cox and Ian McKellen for The Royal National Theatre, Kae-Kazim made a successful transition into British television, appearing in The Bill, Trial & Retribution and multiple episodes of popular BBC series Grange Hill.[2] He then moved to South Africa, where he became well known for film and television roles.[2] However, it was his role as Georges Rutaganda in the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated film Hotel Rwanda, which brought him to international attention.[5]

Following the success of Hotel Rwanda, Kae-Kazim re-located to Los Angeles, which brought a range of new opportunities his way. He went on to appear in Slipstream alongside Sean Astin and The Front Line before starring in the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as Captain Jocard. He followed it with a role in the blockbuster, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.[5]

Kae-Kazim appeared in various hit television shows including Lost, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Criminal Minds.[2] He also starred as Colonel Iké Dubaku in season 7 of the Fox television series 24 and the television movie tie-in 24: Redemption. Kae-Kazim continued to build up a following with roles in Gotham and Dominion, although his longest running role has been in the Michael Bay produced Starz series, Black Sails. Speaking about his character, Mr Scott, Kae-Kazim claimed to have based him on pirate of the time, Black Caesar.[3] He played Samson in part one of the 2016 miniseries remake Roots.[6] In November 2017, Kae-Kazim was cast in the recurring role of Cesil Colby on The CW reboot series Dynasty.[7]

Kae-Kazim is currently starring in the BBC fantasy series Troy: Fall of a City as Zeus, king of the Olympians.

Voiceover work

Called the 'Man with a Beautiful Voice', Kae-Kazim has also done extensive voiceover work ranging from television and radio to video games.[8] His voice has been featured in a number of well known video games including Final Fantasy XIV, Halo 3 ODST, Halo: Reach, Guild Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Golden Compass and The Saboteur.[9] Kae-Kazim has spoken of voice over work as being "a lot of fun", and something he enjoys doing.[8]

Humanitarian causes

Kae-Kazim is an appointed global ambassador for Africa 2.0,[10] a civil society organisation providing a platform for emerging and established African leaders to drive forward the transformation of Africa.

Speaking about his role as ambassador, Kae-Kazim said: “I am truly honoured to be associated with Africa 2.0 – a pioneering platform for a new generation of African leaders to inspire and create a solid infrastructure- to shape a brighter future for our continent”.[11]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1999 After the Rain Bingo
1999 The Secret Laughter of Women Dr. Ade
2002 Global Effect Satto
2003 God Is African Femi
2004 Critical Assignment Jomo
2004 Coming to South Africa Mike
2004 Hotel Rwanda Georges Rutaganda
2005 Coming to South Africa 2 Mike
2005 Slipstream Runson
2005 Out on a Limb D.I. Edwards
2005 Othello: A South African Tale Iago
2006 The Librarian Jomo
2006 The Front Line Erasmus
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Captain Jocard
2007 Big Fellas Ray Whitehead
2007 Othello Iago
2007 The Jinn Ahmad
2008 Tony 5 Preacher
2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Nigerian Businessman
2009 The One Last Time (short) Batman
2009 Hurricane in the Rose Garden Eddie
2009 The Fourth Kind Awolowa Odusami
2009 Darfur Captain Jack Tobamke
2010 Inale Odeh
2010 Faith and Dreams (short) Rebel Leader
2011 CIS: Las Gidi Commander Mohammad
2011 Black Gold Dede
2011 Man on Ground Ade
2011 Inside Story Valentine
2012 Black November Dede
2012 Last Flight to Abuja Adesola
2012 The American Failure (short) Detective Matheis
2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Captain DUTSE
2015 The Boy (short) The Father
2015 Dias Santana (completed) Obi Mukwa
2015 Daylight's End (post-production) Chris Whitlock
2015 Chasing the Rain (post-production) Mutua
2015 Yefon (pre-production) Fon Nto
2020 Riding With Sugar Mambo
2020 Black Beauty Terry
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Admiral Wilcox

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1987 The District Nurse Ademola
1988 The Bill Kuzalo
1989 Saracen Bazantsi
1991 Screen One Jerome
1992 Double Vision Barman TV movie
1993 Runaway Bay Henry Ornette
1994 Love Hurts Desmond Matankube
1994 Grange Hill Mr. Manyeke
1995 Hidden Empire: A Son of Africa Equiano TV movie
1996 Ellington Tommy Knight
1996 Testament: The Bible in Animation Ham
1997 Trial & Retribution D.C. Cranham / DC Cranham
1997 The Adventures of Sinbad Ali Rashid
2000 Die Wüstenrose Raad TV movie
2000 Animated Epics: Moby Dick Queequeg
2003 Canterbury Tales Yasouf
2004 Human Cargo Youssef
2004 Mazinyo Dot Q Charles
2004 King Solomon's Mines Twala
2005 The Triangle Saunders
2006 The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines Jomo
2006 Lost Emeka
2007 Cane Tommy
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Chuckwei Bothame
2011 CIS: Las Gidi Commander Mohammad
2008 Ben 10: Alien Force Sir Connor (voice)
2008 24: Redemption Colonel Ike Dubaku
2009 24 Colonel Ike Dubaku
2010 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes T'Chaka (voice)
2010 Human Target Andre Markus
2011 Criminal Minds Julio Ruiz
2011 NCIS: Los Angeles Abdul Habassa
2011 Generator Rex Ghrun Set (voice)
2012 Covert Affairs Somali Pirate
2012 Strike Back Sulaimani
2014 Gotham Richard Gladwell
2014 State of Affairs
2014–2015 Black Sails Mr. Scott
2015 Dominion The Prophet
2016 Vixen Eshu
(voice)
2016 Roots Samson Part 1
2017 Dragons: Race to the Edge Krogan
2017– Dynasty Cesil Colby
2018 Troy: Fall of a City Zeus
2019 Love, Death & Robots Simon (voice) Episode: "Sonnie's Edge"

Voiceover

Year Title Notes
2006 Guild Wars: Nightfall Video Game
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Video Game
2007 The Golden Compass Video Game
2009 National Geographic Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife TV Special (Narrator)
2009 The Bourne Conspiracy Video Game
2009 Halo 3: ODST Video Game
2009 The Saboteur Video Game
2010 Halo: Reach Video Game
2010 Final Fantasy XIV Video Game (English dub)
2011 Saints Row: The Third Video Game
2012 Unit 13 Video Game

References

  1. "BN Saturday Celebrity Interview: The International Nigerian Actor and 'Man with a Beautiful Voice' Hakeem Kae-Kazim speaks Exclusively to BellaNaija!". Bella Naija. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. "Interview with Hakeem Kae-Kazim – ADUNAGOW Magazine". adunagow.net. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  3. "THE BIG INTERVIEW: FTN interviews Lost, Hotel Rwanda and Black Sails star Hakeem Kae-Kazim". followingthenerd.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  4. "Hakeem Kae". www.gbmnews.com.
  5. http://nigeriafilms.com. "The great black hope------Hakeem Kae-Kazim". nigeriafilms.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  6. Pauley, Nigel. "1970s slave drama Roots is returning – and it's set to be even more brutal". mirror. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  7. Clarke, Stewart (24 November 2017). "Hakeem Kae-Kazim to Play Cesil Colby in Dynasty". Variety. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  8. KamerVibe. "INTERVIEW : The Hollywood Nigerian Actor and 'Man with a Beautiful Voice' Hakeem Kae-Kazim | KamerVibe.com | LatestVibe Magazine". www.kamervibe.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  9. "Hakeem Kae Kazim | Africability". africability.com. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  10. "Hakeem Kae-Kazeem's Africa 2.0 ambassadorship". This Is Africa Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. www.dmflex.com, Powered by DMflex WebGen ---. "Kae Kazim Appointed New Global Ambassador for Africa 2.0, Articles | THISDAY LIVE". www.thisdaylive.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
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