Jimmy Akingbola

2.1. Theatre work

Akingbola initiated his professional acting career on the stage, making his debut at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in a production of The Nativity, directed by Bill Alexander. Following this, he appeared in Baby Doll at the Royal National Theatre. He later performed in Naked Justice by playwright John Mortimer at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, where he acted opposite Leslie Phillips.

In December 2004, Akingbola played the character of Elvis in the poignant play Behzti at the Birmingham Rep. He subsequently collaborated with rapper and actor Riz Ahmed in the critically acclaimed play Prayer Room, where his performance as Bunce garnered four-star reviews. Akingbola also gave a memorable performance as Marco, the best friend of actor Fraser Ayres' character, in Roxanne Silbert's play People Next Door.

A significant milestone in Akingbola's stage career was his role as Christopher in Blue/Orange. This performance earned him his first major accolade, the TMA Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005. The play was initially produced at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre before embarking on a national tour, featuring Akingbola alongside Roger Lloyd-Pack and Shaun Evans under the direction of Kathy Burke.

He continued to undertake challenging roles, starring as John in The Cut at the Donmar Warehouse alongside Ian McKellen, directed by Michael Grandage. In July 2008, Akingbola played the anti-hero Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger at the Jermyn Street Theatre, notably becoming the first black actor to take on this iconic role. In the same year, he earned a TMA Award for his portrayal of the title role in Othello for the company Frantic Assembly.

2.2. Television work

Akingbola's television career began with the BBC sitcom The Crouches, where he played the witty character of Dennis Dutton from 2003 to 2005. He subsequently appeared in various series including Stupid!, The Bill, The Royal, The South Bank Show, Roger Roger, Doctors, New Tricks, Comedy Lab, and Longford.

His first permanent major television role was as PC Neil Parker in the BBC police drama HolbyBlue (2007-2008), acting alongside Kacey Ainsworth and Tim Pigott-Smith. In 2009, he played Dean Collier in an episode of New Tricks titled "Blood Is Thicker Than Water".

Akingbola showcased his comedic talent in the BBC2 hit series Rev. (2010-2014), where he played the popular character "Mick" alongside Tom Hollander and Olivia Colman. His performance as Mick garnered him a nomination for "Best TV Comedy Performance" at the Black International Film Festival and Music Video & Screen Awards. In 2011, he took on the role of Antoine Malick in Holby City and PC Johnson in Silk, both broadcast on BBC One.

In 2014, Akingbola appeared as Dr. Dalton, a blind geography teacher, in the second series of the BBC One sitcom Big School. The following year, he portrayed Baron Reiter (based on the Baron Blitzkrieg character) in the fourth season of Arrow.

In March 2020, Akingbola starred as Koji, an asylum seeker, in the first series of the ITV sitcom Kate & Koji. This role particularly highlighted the experiences of marginalized communities. Due to scheduling conflicts, he was replaced by Okorie Chukwu for the second series. The same year, he played Carter in Most Dangerous Game for Quibi and reprised his role as Valentine in the third series of In the Long Run alongside Idris Elba. He also appeared in Ted Lasso for Apple TV+. From 2021 to 2023, he played DC Steve Bradshaw in The Tower. Since 2022, Akingbola has been part of the main cast of Bel-Air as Geoffrey Thompson. In 2022, he also starred in the TV special Jimmy Akingbola: Handle with Care.

2.3. Film work

Akingbola has appeared in a variety of film roles, including the 2002 film Anansi as Kojo and the 2006 TV film Blackbeard: Terror at Sea where he played Black Caesar. He featured in several short films such as The Car (2005), Walls (2010), Habibti (2010), The Smoke (2012), Rage (2012), Out of Darkness (2013), and Mr. Invisible (2013). He also served as a producer for the short films Glimpse (2012), Life's a Bitch (2013), and Ambition to Live (2013).

His feature film credits include Blood Cells (2014) as Debo, Roald Dahl's Esio Trot (2015) as the Keen Pet Shop Keeper, and Spectral (2016) as Sgt. Steve McFadden. In 2017, he appeared in the short film Abe and the TV film The Machine. In 2018, he played Kwame Nkrumah in Hero and Bertie in Full-Dress. More recently, Akingbola was seen as Kachalla in Rise (2022) and Andrew in Rogue Agent (2022).

2.4. Voice acting and radio work

Beyond his on-screen and stage performances, Jimmy Akingbola has lent his voice to several popular computer games for major electronics game brands including EA, Disney, PlayStation, and Funcom. His video game voice credits include titles such as Dead Space 2, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gangs of London, Age of Conan, The Secret World, Dirt 2, James Bond: Golden Eye, Brink, and Dirty Bomb.

Akingbola is also a regular voice-over contributor for various BBC Radio shows, including programs on BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4, and BBC Radio 7.

3.1. Film

3.2. Television

3.3. Stage