The Rise of Chiwetel Ejiofor

Last week, 10th Nov 13:53

In almost fifteen years in the business Chiwetel Ejiofor has mixed and matched his roles moving between the theatre, TV and movies, making a name for himself in all three.

This week he returns to the big screen in the big budget blockbuster 2012, which sees him star alongside John Cusack.

He remains one of Britain's finest talents but began his acting career treading the boards as a theatre actor.

It wasn't long before he moved into TV and film, appearing in Steven Spielberg's Amistad in 1997 before moving into British film with G:MT.

At the end of the decade it was back to the theatre with roles in Blue/Orange, for which he received the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer and Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, where he was nominated for the Ian Charleson Award.

2002 proved to be a breakthrough year for the actor, in terms of movies, as he landed his first leading role in Dirty Pretty things.

Ejiofor stars as Okwe, a Nigerian who is trying to make a new life for himself in London, where he works days as a taxi driver and nights as a hotel desk receptionist.

When he discovers a human heart in a hotel-room bathroom, he cannot go to the police because he is an illegal alien with a mysterious past that he refuses to talk about.

Suddenly he is thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation that threatens to have tragic results for him and those around him.

Audrey Tautou costars as a Turkish woman who has sought asylum in England, where she is allowed to live but not work. But she must make money, so she works secretly while the government tries to catch her.

Directed by Stephen Frears the movie was nominated for Best Screenplay at the Oscars and won a British Independent Film Award for "Best Independent British Film" with Ejiofor winning for Best Actor.

Over the next couple of years he moved between movies and TV as he built up his body of work appearing as part of the ensemble cast in Love Actually and alongside Hilary Swank in Red Dust before retuning to the small screen for Twelfth Night, or What You Will.

More praise followed in 2004 for his role as The Operative in Serenity and Lola in Kinky Boots.

Charlie Price thinks he has finally escaped the dead-end industrial town of Northampton with his ambitious fiancée Nicola (Jemima Rooper), when his father suddenly passes away, leaving Charlie unexpectedly in charge of the sinking family business in sturdy shoes.

Trapped between a world of cheap knock-offs and to-die-for Jimmy Choos, Price & Sons seemingly doesn't need a manager so much as it needs a saviour. With mounting dread, Charlie soon realizes that to even stay afloat he's going to have to lay off many of his dad's loyal, life-long employees.

Then, one dark night in Soho, Charlie is literally smacked in the face with an idea that could bring the factory roaring back to life. When Charlie meets tough, tender Lola and her teetering high heels, everything changes.

Since it's release the movie has become somewhat of a cult hit and his performance in the movie earnt him both Golden Globe and British Independent Film Award nominations.

In recent years the actor has found himself in some incredibly successful movies as he worked alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in American Gangster and Clive Owen in Children of Men.

And 2012 sees him share the screen with Angelina Jolie in Salt before The Suffering in 2011.

2012 is released 13th November

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw