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Samuel Adewunmi

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Samuel Adewunmi
Adewunmi at the British Independent Film Awards 2021
Born1994 (age 29–30)
Camden, London, England
Other namesSam Adewunmi
Alma materIdentity School of Acting
OccupationActor
Years active2014–present

Samuel Adewunmi (born 1994) is a British actor. He won Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards as well as receiving a Best Actor nomination for his role in the film The Last Tree (2019). He was nominated for a BAFTA for his role in the BBC drama You Don't Know Me (2021).

He was named a 2019 Screen International Star of Tomorrow.[1]

Early life

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Adewunmi was born in Camden, London to a single Nigerian Yoruba mother, a chef.[2] He and his brother grew up on the Maiden Lane Estate just north of King's Cross and St Pancras stations, the same estate where Tin Luck was filmed.[3][4][5] He first discovered drama through a school play in year three, and was eight when he put on a community play at the Camden People's Theatre. He trained at Identity School of Acting.[6]

Career

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In 2016, Adewunmi played Benedict in the third series of the CBBC Online web series Dixi. He made his feature film debut as Isaac in the 2017 crime film The Hatton Garden Job and guest starred in the Doctor Who series 10 episode "The Eaters of Light"

Adewunmi led the film The Last Tree and signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) shortly after its premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.[7] For his performance, he won Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for Best Actor. He also received two National Film Awards UK nominations. In 2020, he starred as Carcer Dun in the BBC America adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Watch and the short film Tin Luck.

In 2021, Adewunmi starred in the ITV thriller Angela Black[8] and led the BBC One adaptation of You Don't Know Me as Hero.[9] For the latter, he was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. Adewunmi made his professional stage debut starring in the world premiere of Trouble in Butetown at the Donmar Warehouse in February 2023.[10] He made his West End debut in A Mirror at the Trafalgar Theatre in January 2024.[11]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 The Hatton Garden Job Isaac
2019 The Last Tree Femi
Born a King Marzouq
2020 Tin Luck Trey Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2014 The Missing Manager 2 episodes
2016 Dixi Benedict Web series; series 3 (40 episodes)
2017 Prime Suspect 1973 Billy Myers 2 episodes
Doctor Who Vitus Episode: "The Eaters of Light"
2018 Stan Lee's Lucky Man Kit Episode: "The Zero Option"
2020 The Watch Carcer Dun Main role
2021 Angela Black Ed Harrison / Theo Walters Main role
You Don't Know Me Hero Miniseries; main role
2023 Secret Invasion Beto Miniseries; main role
2024 Queenie Frank Ssebendeke II

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref
2019 British Independent Film Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film The Last Tree Nominated [12]
Most Promising Newcomer Won
2020 National Film Awards UK Best Actor Nominated [13]
Best Newcomer Nominated
2022 British Academy Television Awards Best Actor You Don't Know Me Nominated [14]

References

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  1. ^ Dalton, Ben (8 July 2019). "Stars of Tomorrow 20191: Sam Adewunmi (actor)". Screen International. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. ^ Harrison, Ellie (10 December 2021). "Samuel Adewunmi: '95 per cent of our cast is Black – I wouldn't expect to see that on the BBC'". The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ^ Embley, Jochan (4 November 2020). "Tin Luck: The community-led short film that captures a slice of real London life". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  4. ^ Birnam, J. Don (29 January 2019). "The Director and Star of 'The Last Tree' Speak on the Endless Search for Identity Growing Up Nigerian and British". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  5. ^ Holway, Hannah (23 September 2019). "The Last Tree is a powerful evocation of nuanced Black British identity". Hero. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  6. ^ de Semlyen, Phil (24 September 2021). "Meet the director and star behind a new kind of London coming-of-age film". Time Out London. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  7. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (15 February 2019). "UTA Signs Sam Adewunmi, Star Of Sundance Film 'The Last Tree'". Deadline. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  8. ^ Feay, Suzi (8 October 2021). "Samuel Adewunmi excels in gripping domestic drama Angela Black". Financial Times. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Tamika (20 May 2021). "Samuel Adewunmi leads BBC Drama's adaptation of 'You Don't Know Me'". The British Blacklist. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  10. ^ Masso, Giverny (2 December 2022). "Samuel Adewunmi and Sarah Parish to star in Diana Nneka Atuona play". The Stage. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Jonny Lee Miller, Tanya Reynolds and Samuel Adewunmi to star in West End transfer of A Mirror". Bestoftheatre.co.uk. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. ^ Ritman, Alex (1 December 2019). "British Independent Film Awards: 'For Sama' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Renee Zellweger, Ricky Gervais, Dev Patel, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Olivia Coleman are among stars nominated at 2020 National Film Awards UK". National Film Awards. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2022: full list of nominations". The Guardian. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
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