Here is a list of Kenyan actors and actresses who have made it to the Hollywood.
Owiso Odera
![Owiso Odera]()
Owiso Odera
Actor, Acholiland
“ Owiso Odera was born in Khartoum, Sudan to Kenyan parents.
He got his M.F.A. in acting from the University of California, San Diego and has been seen recently on Vampire Diaries as “Papa Tunde” & on the big screen Acholiland (2009), Relative Obscurity (2007) and Orenthal: The Musical (2013)) the small screen (Blue Bloods, Three Rivers, Dirt) and in theater (Mercutio, Othello, Citizen Barlow, The Overwhelming, and Samuel J & K, to name a few). ” – joabodera1
Edi Gathegi
![]()
Actor, X-Men: First Class
“ Edi Gathegi was born on March 10, 1979 in Nairobi, Kenya as Edi Mue Gathegi. He is an actor and producer, known for X-Men: First Class (2011), Gone Baby Gone (2007) and Crank (2006). ”
Lupita Nyong’o
![Lupita Nyong'o]()
Lupita Nyong’o
Actress, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Lupita Amondi Nyong’o was born March 1, 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents, Dorothy and Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o. Her father, a senator, was then a visiting lecturer in political science. She was raised in Kenya. At age 16, her parents sent her back to Mexico for seven months to learn Spanish…
“ Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico, to Kenyan parents. She was raised in Kenya and educated in the USA. She is a graduate of the Yale University School of Drama’s Acting program.
Lupita’s film debut was playing “Patsey” in acclaimed director, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave (2013). She was also the lead in MTV’s award-winning drama series, Shuga (2009).
Lupita’s stage credits include playing “Perdita” in “The Winter’s Tale”, (Yale Repertory Theater), “Sonya” in “Uncle Vanya”, “Katherine” in “The Taming of the Shrew”, as well as being in the original production of Michael Mitnick’s “Elijah”.
Veena Sood
![Veena Sood]()
Veena Sood
Actress, 50/50
Veena Sood is an award-winning actress – of Indian descent, and is internationally recognized for her versatility in both comedy and drama. She has a theatre degree in Drama and went on to co-found “The Loose Moose Theatre Company” with Improv master Keith Johnstone. Over the years Veena has appeared in countless plays…
“ Veena Sood is an award-winning actress – of Indian descent, and is internationally recognized for her versatility in both comedy and drama. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, she has a theatre degree in Drama and went on to co-found “The Loose Moose Theatre Company” with Improv master Keith Johnstone. Over the years Veena has appeared in countless plays, films, television series, and continues to perform her improvisation shows. Veena grew up in the Canadian Rockies where she developed a passion for horseback riding, skiing & outdoor living. She was even a competitive rodeo participant when she was younger. She continues to live in the mountains in Vancouver, Canada – and continues her passion for nature by traveling to remote world locations on nature expeditions. ”
Manoj Sood
![Manoj Sood]()
Manoj Sood
Actor, Little Mosque on the Prairie
Manoj Sood, of Indian descent, was born in Mombassa, Kenya and grew up in Western Canada. Manoj entered the entertainment world in 1992 and has been working steadily ever since. Manoj, much to his surprise, landed a supporting role in an American MOW after his very first audition. Up until then, his only acting experience had been from his acting classes…
“ Manoj Sood, of Indian descent, was born in Mombassa, Kenya and grew up in Western Canada. Manoj entered the entertainment world in 1992 and has been working steadily ever since. Manoj, much to his surprise, landed a supporting role in an American MOW after his very first audition. Up until then, his only acting experience had been from his acting classes. A very nervous Manoj walked onto set on his first day of shooting and when the sound-boom operator said “speed”, Manoj thought he was saying “speak” so Manoj jumped right into saying his lines. The director then gave a very nervous Manoj his first on-set note: “Manoj they are saying “speed” not “speak” and you have to wait for the word “action” before you say your lines”.
Since that day, Manoj has appeared in more than 50 Television and Feature Film productions. He has appeared on popular Television shows like Da Vinci’s Inquest (1998), Stephen King’s Dead Zone (2002), Romeo! (2003) and Dead Like Me (2003), as well as numerous others. Manoj has also acted in popular films such as Meltdown (2004) and Rat Race (2001), Watchmen (2009), and more recently a number of independent films including Fathers & Sons (2010) and Repeaters (2010). Manoj played the leading roll of the comically grumpy and lovable character, “Baber” on all six seasons of the internationally acclaimed TV series, Little Mosque on the Prairie (2007), that now airs in the US on Pivot TV. Recently Manoj has worked on the Disney Feature Tomorrowland (2015), the new ABC TV drama Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013), Continuum (TV series), and most recently, a leading roll in the feature film, The Pinocchio Project (2014). ”
Susie Figgis
![Susie Figgis]()
Susie Figgis
Casting Director, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Susie Figgis was born in Kenya and lived the early part of her childhood there. She has lived the majority of her life in England. She has become successful for finding child actors. She began her career for working for an assistant. She is thought of as one of the most experienced and highly respected casting directors in the UK…
“ Susie Figgis was born in Kenya and lived the early part of her childhood there. She has lived the majority of her life in England. She has become successful for finding child actors. She began her career for working for an assistant.
She is thought of as one of the most experienced and highly respected casting directors in the UK. Her filmography as a casting director is highly impressive. Her first film was “The Dollar Bill”. She has worked many successful movies, such as: “Sleepy hollow” (1999), “The full Monty” (1997), “Interview with a vampire” (1994), Cry Freedom (1987), “The Mission” (1986) “Gandhi” (1982) and “Killing fields” (1984). She also worked with many great directors, such as her cousin Mike Figgis, Ken Loach, Steven Soderbergh, Tim Burton and Richard Attenborough. She also worked as a casting director for “Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone”, but she left because she was unhappy with her relationship with US director Chris Colombus. ”
Zena Marshall
![Zena Marshall]()
Zena Marshall
Actress, Dr. No
Striking, dark-haired beauty Zena Moyra Marshall was born of French (from her mother’s side) and English/Irish (her father’s) ancestry in Narobi, Kenya. After the early death of her father, her mother remarried and moved the family to Leicestershire. Zena received her education from St Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Ascot…
“ Striking, dark-haired beauty Zena Moyra Marshall was born of French (from her mother’s side) and English/Irish (her father’s) ancestry in Narobi, Kenya. After the early death of her father, her mother remarried and moved the family to Leicestershire. Zena received her education from St Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Ascot. Her interest in the acting profession matured after a wartime theatrical tour with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), while still in her teens. After completing her training at RADA, her exotic looks led to a contract with the Rank Organisation where she was groomed by the so-called ‘charm school’ as a sultry temptress and second lead in costume films, romantic melodramas and thrillers.
Zena made her screen debut in the stagey, moribund epic Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). She had a bit-part as a handmaiden. Interestingly, this was also a screen bow for future James Bond star Roger Moore, uncredited as a Roman soldier. Zena’s subsequent career was anything but meteoric. For several years, she was given only minor supporting roles in productions by Rank affiliates, such as GFD/Two Cities and Gainsborough, including Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948), Snowbound (1948) and So Long at the Fair (1950). A brief sojourn in Hollywood resulted in a lacklustre Allied Artists musical, Let’s Be Happy (1957), as an amorous redhead, rivalling star Vera-Ellen for the affections of crooner Tony Martin. During the 1950’s, she managed to rekindle her theatrical career and, by the end of the decade, went on tour through Germany and the Netherlands with “The Late Edwina Black”. Zena was one of the first actresses to be featured in a British television commercial (for shampoo) on early ITV. Television did, in the end, become her favoured medium. She had some of her better on-screen moments in three episodes of Danger Man (1960), opposite Patrick McGoohan, between 1961 and 1964.
Zena Marshall’s main claim to fame rests on her portrayal of the Eurasian double agent, Miss Taro, in the first ever Bond film, Dr. No (1962). Her character was, incidentally, the first woman seduced by Bond, prior to his encounter with Ursula Andress in the part of Honey Rider. Another noted beauty, the reigning Miss Jamaica, Marguerite LeWars was originally slated to screen test for Miss Taro. However, Lewars declined for reasons of ‘personal modesty’ and is merely glimpsed in the film in a bit as an unnamed photographer. Zena herself, was at first unhappy with the script, but Terence Young, who had previously worked with her on the poorly-received costume biopic,The Bad Lord Byron (1949), lightened some of the dialogue with humour. In the end, the bedroom scene with Sean Connery took three days to shoot, because Zena struggled with the idea of having to spit in her co-star’s face, after Bond has her character turned over to the superintendent of police. Miss Taro remains one of the most iconic of Bond villainesses.
Zena’s last roles of note were as an Italian countess in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965), and as a secretary fighting alien enemies (alongside incongruously cast accountant Charles Hawtrey in the insipid sci-fi outing The Terrornauts (1967). After that, she retired from the screen and settled into domestic life with her third husband, the writer/producer Ivan Foxwell.
The post Kenyan Actors appeared first on Softkenya.com.
