Cynthia Addai-Robinson (born January 12, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Naevia in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...

'', DC Comics character

Amanda Waller Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

TV series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ...

'', and Nadine Memphis on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...

series '' Shooter''. She currently plays the role of Tar-Míriel on the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one ...

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 c ...

'' series ''

The Rings of Power ''The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' is an American fantasy television series developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the novel '' The Lord of the Rings'' and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien, th ...

''.

Early life

Addai-Robinson was born in London; her mother is from

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

and her father is a U.S. citizen. She moved to the U.S. when she was 4 and was raised by her mother in a suburb of Washington, D.C. She graduated from

Montgomery Blair High School Montgomery Blair High School (MBHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school located in Four Corners, Maryland, United States, operated by Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland), Montgomery County Public Schools. The school ...

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, in practice it is an edge cit ...

and

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

. In addition, she trained at

Lee Strasberg Theater Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

and in dance forms

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and tap.

Career

After participating in several various

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

plays, Addai-Robinson got her first role on television in 2002 in an episode of '' The Education of Max Bickford''. In following years, she made small appearances on television shows like'' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heu ...

'' and ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. In 2006, she was originally cast to play Melanie Barnett in the American sitcom ''

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

'', but was replaced by Tia Mowry for unspecified reasons prior to the show's production. In 2009, she got her first recurring role on the ABC drama ''

FlashForward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...

'' as the character Debbie, a nurse. The same year she appeared in Tina Mabry's independent film '' Mississippi Damned'' as Milena. In 2011, Addai-Robinson made her big screen debut as the mother of

Zoe Saldana Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

's character (played by Amandla Stenberg) in '' Colombiana''. Her biggest role came from 2012 to 2013 when she was cast as

Naevia ''Spartacus'' is a set of Starz television series that focuses on the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who, from 73 to 71 BC, led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S. DeKnight and Ro ...

in the third season '' Spartacus: Vengeance'' and the fourth season '' Spartacus: War of the Damned'' after Lesley-Ann Brandt decided to leave the series. In early 2013, Addai-Robinson played Aja, a powerful witch who came to help Bonnie on ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 1 ...

'' for two episodes. She made a brief appearance as an on looker in the crowd in the film '' Star Trek Into Darkness''. She played Leslie in '' Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret'', a television movie about the murder of Travis Alexander. In September 2013, she was cast as the recurring character

in the hit

show ''

''. In March 2014, she was cast as

Emily D. West Emily D. West (c.1815–1891), also known as Emily Morgan, is a folk heroine whose legendary activities during the Texas Revolution have come to be identified with the song " The Yellow Rose of Texas". Biography West was a free woman of color, o ...

in the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

2015 miniseries '' Texas Rising''. Her performance was nominated for a

Women's Image Network Award Women's Image Network (WIN) is a charity that produces The Women's Image Awards, "Advancing a gender-balanced world and increasing the value of women and girls by celebrating outstanding film and television." The awards show is produced during ...

for Best Actress in a Drama Series. In January 2015, Addai-Robinson was cast in Gavin O'Connor's '' The Accountant'', alongside

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

and J. K. Simmons, playing a U.S. Treasury Department analyst. The film was released in October 2016. In March 2016, it was announced that she would be taking over Emily Rios's role from the television series '' Shooter'' as the female lead.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Addai-Robinson, Cynthia 1985 births Living people Actresses from London Actresses from Washington, D.C. African-American actresses American people of Ghanaian descent American television actresses Black British actresses English people of American descent English people of Ghanaian descent English television actresses Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni British emigrants to the United States