1. Overview
Mamoudou Athie (born 1988) is an American actor. He is widely recognized for his prominent roles in feature films such as Uncorked and Black Box, and for his leading performance in the Netflix horror series Archive 81 (2022). Athie has also appeared in significant supporting roles in films including The Burial (2023) and Kinds of Kindness (2024), as well as in television series like Sorry for Your Loss (2018-2019) and the FXX anthology series Cake (2019). His career also encompasses various stage productions and voice acting roles.
2. Early life and education
Mamoudou Athie's early life was marked by his family's relocation from Mauritania to the United States, followed by his formal training in acting.
2.1. Birth and upbringing
Mamoudou Athie was born in Mauritania in 1988. His father, a diplomat, received political asylum in the United States when Athie was six months old, leading the family to immigrate. He was raised in New Carrollton, Maryland, which is located just outside of Washington, D.C..
2.2. Education
Athie pursued formal training in acting, beginning his studies at the William Esper Studio in its Two-Year Professional Actor Training Program. He furthered his education by earning a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the prestigious Yale School of Drama in 2014.
3. Career
Athie began his professional acting career in theater, making his off-Broadway debut in 2015 in The Mystery of Love and Sex.
He has taken on supporting roles in numerous films, starting with Experimenter (2015) and Jean of the Joneses (2016). In 2017, he appeared in Patti Cake$, One Percent More Humid, The Circle, and Unicorn Store. His filmography continued with The Front Runner (2018), Underwater (2020), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), The Burial (2023), and Kinds of Kindness (2024).
On television, Athie has starred in several series. His early roles included a staffer in an episode of Madam Secretary (2015) and Charles in the unsold television pilot Me & Mean Margaret (2016). He gained recurring roles as Grandmaster Flash in The Get Down (2016-2017) and Carl in The Detour (2017). He was part of the main cast in Sorry for Your Loss (2018-2019) and appeared as Jerome in the FXX anthology series Cake (2019), which also included the miniseries Oh Jerome, No. In 2022, he took on the leading role of Dan Turner in the Netflix horror series Archive 81. In 2023, he provided a voice for Being #1 in the "Key Change" episode of Strange Planet.
In 2020, Athie secured his first starring roles in feature films, leading in both Uncorked and Black Box. He has also contributed his voice to animated films, including the Pixar production Elemental (2023) as Wade Ripple, and the English dub of The Boy and the Heron (2023) as Parakeet. His voice work extends to short films, such as An Almost Christmas Story (2024), where he voiced Pelly. Athie also lent his voice to the video game Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2022) as Ramsey Cole for its Biosyn Dominion expansion.
Upcoming projects include the film By Design, where he will play Olivier, which is currently in post-production and slated for a 2025 release. He is also involved in The Drama, which is in post-production.
4. Filmography
Mamoudou Athie has an extensive filmography across film, television, theater, and video games.
4.1. Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Experimenter | Crying Man | |
| 2016 | Jean of the Joneses | Ray Malcom | |
| 2017 | Patti Cake$ | Basterd | |
| One Percent More Humid | Jack | ||
| The Circle | Jared | ||
| Unicorn Store | Virgil | ||
| 2018 | The Front Runner | AJ Parker | |
| 2019 | Watch Room | Nathan | Short film |
| 2020 | Underwater | Rodrigo Nagenda | |
| Uncorked | Elijah | ||
| Black Box | Nolan Wright | ||
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Ramsay Cole | |
| 2023 | Elemental | Wade Ripple | Voice role |
| The Burial | Hal Dockins | ||
| The Boy and the Heron | Parakeet | Voice role (English dub) | |
| 2024 | Kinds of Kindness | Will / Neil / Morgue nurse | |
| An Almost Christmas Story | Pelly | Voice role; short film | |
| 2025 | By Design | Olivier | Post-production |
| The Drama | Post-production |
4.2. Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Madam Secretary | Staffer | Episode: "The Ninth Circle" |
| 2016 | Me & Mean Margaret | Charles | Unsold pilot |
| 2016-2017 | The Get Down | Grandmaster Flash | Recurring role; 8 episodes |
| 2017 | The Detour | Carl | Recurring role (season 2); 11 episodes |
| 2018-2019 | Sorry for Your Loss | Matt Greer | Main cast; 20 episodes |
| 2019 | Cake | Jerome | Recurring role (season 1); 5 episodes |
| Oh Jerome, No | Main cast, miniseries; 8 episodes | ||
| 2022 | Archive 81 | Dan Turner | Main cast; 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Strange Planet | Being #1 (voice) | Episode: "Key Change" |
4.3. Theater
Mamoudou Athie's selected professional theater credits include:
| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tripolitania | Xavier | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| Becoming Sylvia | Ensemble | ||
| 2013 | Hamlet | Voltimand | Yale Repertory Theatre |
| 2014 | Generations | Boyfriend | Soho Repertory Theatre |
| 2015 | The Mystery of Love and Sex | Jonny | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater |
| 2024 | Good Bones | Travis | Public Theater |
4.4. Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Jurassic World Evolution 2 | Ramsey Cole | Biosyn Dominion expansion |
5. Awards and nominations
Mamoudou Athie has received recognition for his acting performances, including a notable nomination for his work in television. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for his role in the anthology series Cake.