Personal details
- Birth Date: 1977-07-10
- Height: 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
- Birth Location: Forest Gate, London, England, UK
- Parents: Obiajulu Ejiofor (Okaford)
- Professions: Actor, Director, Writer
Chewitel Ejiofor—yeah, it’s “Chew-eh-tell Edge-ee-oh-for,” not some alphabet soup. The guy’s been around the movie world forever, but somehow, every time his name pops up, half the room mumbles it like they’re chewing gravel. Anyway, he’s the dude who can totally steal a scene without even trying. Most folks probably know him from “12 Years a Slave,” where he absolutely wrecked everyone emotionally. But don’t sleep on his sci-fi cred—he popped up in “The Martian” and took on some wild stuff in “Doctor Strange.” The man’s got range for days, honestly. Oh, and that voice? Deep, smooth, could probably convince you to buy insurance you don’t need. Not just an actor—he’s directed, written, narrated. Basically, if there’s a talented Brit in a film, odds are it’s Ejiofor or at least someone trying to keep up with him.
Man, getting cast in Amistad totally flipped my world upside down. It was like, one minute you’re just plugging along, hustling for gigs, and the next—boom—you land something way bigger than you ever thought you could. Seriously, I had this weird mix of excitement and straight-up panic, like I was in way over my head. You think you’ve figured out how the industry works, right? Like, if you do A and B, maybe you’ll get to C, but nope. All those plans, those little dreams? They barely scratched the surface of what actually happened. It’s wild. I just realized you can’t really map out this career, not for real. You can hope, wish, hustle all you want, but sometimes the universe just throws you a curveball, and suddenly your own expectations seem kinda tiny compared to reality. That whole thing with Amistad really shook up the way I looked at everything.
July 10, 1977
5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Forest Gate, London, England, UK
Obiajulu Ejiofor (Okaford) and Surekha
48 years old