Babou Ceesay
Babou Ceesay | |
|---|---|
 Ceesay at the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay 17 November 1978 London, England |
| Education | Imperial College London Oxford School of Drama |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse | Anna Ceesay |
| Children | 2 |
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay (born 17 November 1978) is a British actor. His film credits include Eye in the Sky (2015), Rogue One (2016), The Best of Enemies (2019) and Killer Heat (2024). On television, he is known for A.D. The Bible Continues (2015), Guerrilla (2017), Into the Badlands (2018-19) and Alien: Earth (2025-present). He has also been cast in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 2 (2027).
Early life and education
[edit]Ceesay was born in London, and grew up in West Africa. He holds dual citizenship and is of Gambian descent.[1] Ceesay trained on the One Year Course at the Oxford School of Drama and has been involved in many significant projects on stage, including The Overwhelming, opposite Andrew Garfield, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Before attending drama school, Ceesay studied Microbiology at Imperial College London, and also worked as an internal auditor at accounting firm, Deloitte.[2]
Career
[edit]Ceesay's first major role was in the horror/comedy film Severance. Two years later, he got a role on TV in an episode of Whistleblower. He made guest appearances in multiple British TV shows, including Silent Witness, Law & Order: UK, Casualty, Strike Back, Luther, Getting On and Lewis.
In 2013, he appeared in the Nigerian film Half of a Yellow Sun, alongside Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor and another rising star, John Boyega.[3] In 2014, he starred in '71.
In 2015, he was cast in NBC's TV drama A.D. The Bible Continues as John the Apostle.[4] He also appeared in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015)[5] and the British action comedy Free Fire (2016), set in Boston and starring Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley and Armie Hammer.
He made a return to television with a major role in the Channel 4 drama National Treasure as Jerome Sharp, the lawyer of Paul Finchley, played by Robbie Coltrane.[6] He then starred in a BBC One television movie, Damilola, Our Loved Boy, based on the murder of Damilola Taylor, a ten-year-old Nigerian boy living in London, and the trial that followed.[7] He played the role of the father Richard Taylor, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.[8]
In August 2016, he was cast in the British miniseries Guerrilla, alongside Idris Elba and Freida Pinto.[9]
In 2019, he was cast as Manny Mensah in the BBC One drama television series Dark Money, with John Schwab and Joseph May. He also performed in the American civil rights drama The Best of Enemies (2019), about school integration and an unlikely alliance in a town in North Carolina.
In 2020, Ceesay was cast as DI Jackson Mendy in the Alibi television series We Hunt Together, with Eve Myles, Hermione Corfield and Dipo Ola in the other main roles.[10] In 2021, Paul Abbott's crime drama Wolfe premiered on Sky; in it, Ceesay played the title role as a forensic scientist in Manchester.
In 2025, he took on a lead role of Kumi Morrow, a cyborg, in the sci-fi drama Alien: Earth, part of the Alien franchise.
In March 2026, it was announced that Ceesay had been cast as Ser Bennis in the second season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.[11]
Personal life
[edit]He lives in London with his wife, journalist Anna Ceesay, and their two children.[12]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Severance | Billy | Christopher Smith | |
| 2013 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Okeoma | Biyi Bandele | |
| 2014 | '71 | Corporal | Yann Demange | |
| 2015 | Eye in the Sky | Sgt. Mushtaq Saddiq | Gavin Hood | |
| 2016 | Free Fire | Martin | Ben Wheatley | |
| Rogue One | Lt. Sefla | Gareth Edwards | ||
| 2019 | The Best of Enemies | Bill Riddick | Robin Bissell | |
| 2020 | The Show | Second Cabby | Mitch Jenkins | |
| 2021 | Resurrection | John the Apostle | Ciarán Donnelly | |
| 2023 | Iris | The Doctor | Francis Tamburin | Short film |
| 2024 | Killer Heat | Georges Mensah | Philippe Lacôte | |
| The Backway | Alieu | Cherno Jagne | Short films | |
| 2025 | Thai Black Tea | Lamin | Ekkawat Pond Sankhavesa |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Whistleblower | Dr. Abdulrazzad | Miniseries; Episode #1.1 |
| Silent Witness | DS Gayle | Episode: "Death's Door: Part 2" | |
| 2009 | Law & Order: UK | Daniel Matoukou | Episode: "Care" |
| 2011 | Casualty | Jake Maddick | Episode: "Til Death Us Do Part" |
| Luther | Adewale Omotoso | Episode #2.3 | |
| Stolen | David | Television films | |
| Shirley | Henry Bassey | ||
| 2012 | Strike Back | Ozzy Osondu | "Vengeance"; 2 episodes |
| Getting On | Hansley | 5 episodes | |
| 2013 | Lewis | DC Alex Gray | Episode: "The Ramblin' Boy" |
| 2014 | Puppy Love | Dennis | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | John the Apostle | 12 episodes |
| 2016 | National Treasure | Jerome | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Richard Taylor | Television film | |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Marcus Hill | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2018-2019 | Into the Badlands | Pilgrim | 16 episodes |
| 2019 | Dark Money | Manny Mensah | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2020-2022 | We Hunt Together | DI Jackson Mendy | 12 episodes |
| 2021 | Wolfe | Wolfe Kinteh | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Shardlake | Abbot Fabian | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2025-present | Alien: Earth | Kumi Morrow | 8 episodes |
| 2026 | Black Doves | Mr. Conteh | Season 2 |
| 2027 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Ser Bennis | Season 2 |
Video games
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III | Jonah Orion / Eldar | Voice |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 12th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Male Performance in TV | Nominated | |
| 63rd British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actor | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Lewis's new sidekick breaks crime mould". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Marcus Hill Played by Babou Ceesay – Guerrilla | SHOWTIME". SHOWTIME.com. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "TIFF Movie Review – Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Behind The Bible AD: Casting a More Diverse Bible Story". NBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Babou Ceesay as John
- ^ "Eye in the Sky". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Ceesay
- ^ "Meet the cast of National Treasure". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
Jerome Sharpe (Babou Ceesay)
- ^ "Damilola Taylor: TV drama tells the story behind the headlines". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. "The Crown royally sweeps the 2017 Bafta TV awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear and more join Idris Elba in Guerrilla". Empire. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "'We Hunt Together': TV Review". 7 August 2020.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (4 March 2026). "'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Season 2 Casts Lucy Boynton, Babou Ceesay, Peter Mullan". Variety.
- ^ Wallis, Lucy (19 August 2019). "'I feared they'd take my child if I admitted how I felt'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
External links
[edit]- Babou Ceesay on Facebook
- Babou Ceesay at IMDb
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| National | |
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