Barkhad Abdi (, ; born April 10, 1985) is a Somali-American actor. He made his acting debut as the pirate

Abduwali Muse Abduwali Abdulkadir Muse (born 1990) is a Somali Piracy off the coast of Somalia, pirate. He is the sole survivor of four pirates who Maersk Alabama hijacking, hijacked the in April 2009 and then held Captain Richard Phillips (merchant mariner) ...

in the biographical drama film '' Captain Phillips'' (2013), which earned him a

British Academy Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, along with

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Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

, and

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

nominations. Following his breakthrough, Abdi appeared in the films '' Eye in the Sky'' (2015), '' Good Time'' (2017), '' The Pirates of Somalia'' (2017), and ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American Epic film, epic neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green (writer), Michael Green, based on a story by Fancher. A sequel to ''Blade ...

'' (2017). Outside of film, he was featured as a series regular on the second season of the

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horror anthology '' Castle Rock'' (2019) and a recurring role in the Showtime satirical comedy series '' The Curse'' (2023).

Early life

Barkhad Abdi was born to Somali Omar Mahmoud Majerten parents on April 10, 1985, in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, Banaadir, Somalia. The name ''Barkhad'' in the Somali language literally means

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

, with water representing life. Around the age of six or seven, when the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

broke out, he and his family moved to

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

to join his father, who had taken up teaching. In 1999, Abdi and his family relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, home to a large Somali community. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2003 and attended

Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...

. Before entering the film industry, Abdi sold mobile phones at his brother's shop at a mall in Minneapolis. He also worked as a limousine driver at a relative's chauffeur company and as a DJ.

Acting career

''Captain Phillips''

Abdi made his debut in the Paul Greengrass directed film '' Captain Phillips'' (2013), playing ship hijacker and pirate leader

. He was cast opposite

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

, following a worldwide search for the lead roles. Abdi and three other actors were chosen from more than 700 participants at a 2011 casting call in Minneapolis. According to the casting director, the four were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out". He was paid $65,000 for his appearance in the film and returned to working in his brother's shop afterwards. For his performance Abdi earned the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received nominations for the

, and

for Best Supporting Actor. Abdi's experience in ''Captain Phillips'' was his first in the film industry.

Later career

In 2015, Abdi appeared in an episode of the series '' Hawaii Five-0'', playing former warlord Roko Makoni. Later that year, he began work on the comedy film '' Trainwreck'', though he did not appear in the finished film. He appeared in the 2015 thriller '' Eye in the Sky'' as Kenyan undercover agent Jama Farah, and he had a role in '' The Brothers Grimsby''. In the 2017 film '' The Pirates of Somalia'', Abdi played the Somali government-sponsored local agent and translator for Canadian freelance journalist Jay Bahadur. His character coordinates interviews between local pirate leaders and Bahadur, who records the motivations of Somali piracy in the weeks leading up to the Maersk Alabama hijacking. In October 2017, Abdi featured in

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

's ''

,'' in a minor role of a scientist. Abdi made his directorial debut with the Somali film ''Ciyaalka Xaafada''. He has directed several music videos. In 2019, Abdi reunited with ''Captain Philips'' castmate Faysal Ahmed, in the second season of '' Castle Rock'', in which he starred in 10 episodes. In 2022, he acted in the films '' Tyson's Run'' and '' Agent Game'' starring

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

and appeared in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

series '' Little America''. In 2023 he acted in the A24 / Showtime satirical comedy-drama series '' The Curse'' starring Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and

Benny Safdie Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, film editor, and actor. He and his elder brother, Josh, have directed the films '' Heaven Knows What'' (2014), '' Good Time'' (2017), and '' Uncut Gems'' (2019). Transitioning ...

Philanthropy

In 2013, Abdi began to serve as an Ambassador for Adeso, a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

founded by the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell.

Personal life

Abdi resided in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California as of 2014 and in 2016 lived in Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bump on his forehead is from a car crash he was in prior to auditioning for ''Captain Phillips''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Barkhad Abdi on ''Conan'', Dec. 17, 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdi, Barkhad 1985 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award winners Living people Male actors from Minneapolis Male actors from Minnesota Minnesota State University Moorhead alumni People from Mogadishu Roosevelt High School (Minnesota) alumni Somali DJs Somalian emigrants to the United States Somalian male actors Somalian Sunni Muslims African-American Sunni Muslims