# Gbenga Akinnagbe

Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe (/ˈbɛŋɡə əˈkiːnəbeɪ/ BENG-gə ə-KEEN-ə-bay, Yoruba pronunciation; born December 12, 1978) is a Nigerian American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce.

## Early life

Akinnagbe was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, and was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is the second oldest of six children, with one older sister and four younger brothers, and the first in his family to be born in the United States. He attended Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland. He attended Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, and graduated in 2000 with a degree in Political Science and English. Akinnagbe's cousin is rapper Wale.

## Career

Akinnagbe played Ben Ellis in the episode "Contenders" on the TV series Numb3rs. In the summer of 2006, Akinnagbe performed the role of "Zim" in the NYC Fringe Festival's "Outstanding Play" award-winning production of Modern Missionary. In 2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the role of Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and starting in 2004 began a frequent recurring role. In 2008 during the show's fifth and final season, he was promoted to a series regular.
In 2007, Akinnagbe appeared in the film The Savages with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco. He appeared in the remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, which was released by Sony in June 2009. Akinnagbe made a guest appearance on a season 10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode entitled "Hell" as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier living in New York, facing deportation. Akinnagbe's former The Wire castmate Robert Wisdom also appeared in that episode as Father Theo Burdett. In 2010 in Seattle, Washington Akinnagbe starred in the world premiere play The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre.
He was in the movie Lottery Ticket and appeared on The Good Wife as Pastor Isiah Easton. His former co-star from The Wire, Frankie Faison, portrayed his father on The Good Wife in several episodes. He also appeared as Kelly Slater, a nurse in the third season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.
He starred in leading roles in two independent films, as Jack in Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and as James in Big Words, directed by Neil Drumming. He appeared as a drug lord in the USA series Graceland and starred as Tom in The Following. He also starred as CIA Agent Erik Ritter in 24: Live Another Day. In October 2016 he began shooting the feature film Starbright.
In March 2020, Akinnagbe was cast in The Old Man.

## Other ventures

Akinnagbe is the owner of Enitan, a Brooklyn-based furniture business that he designs vintage furniture with upholster fabrics.

## Personal life

Gbenga has had two articles published in The New York Times, one detailing a trip to Nepal to climb the Himalayas, and the other outlining the medical procedures he underwent to correct his severely flat feet.
Akinnagbe filed a criminal complaint alleging that journalist Lola Adesioye grabbed his buttocks on two occasions in 2020. Adesioye was arrested on May 26, 2021, jailed for 28 hours, and charged with forcible touching, sexual abuse, and harassment. Her attorney described Akinnagbe's allegations as "a blatant, brazen lie". In October 2021, the case was dismissed.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | They're Made Out of Meat | Merlin | Short |
| 2007 | The Savages | Jimmy | |
| 2007 | Man-Up | Q | Short |
| 2009 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Wallace | |
| 2010 | Edge of Darkness | Darcy Jones | |
| 2010 | Lottery Ticket | Lorenzo | |
| 2011 | Red & Blue Marbles | Cabal | |
| 2012 | Overnight | TMJ | |
| 2012 | Paranormal Abduction | Alex Chandler | |
| 2013 | Big Words | James | |
| 2013 | Home | Jack Hall | |
| 2013 | Sweet, Sweet Country | Ernesto | Short |
| 2014 | Render to Caesar | Dipo | |
| 2014 | Fort Bliss | Sgt. Butcher | |
| 2014 | Mall | Michel | |
| 2014 | Phantom Halo | Roman | |
| 2015 | Knucklehead | Langston | |
| 2016 | Detour | Michael | |
| 2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Agent Travis | |
| 2017 | Crown Heights | Sampson | |
| 2017 | Detroit | Aubrey Pollard Sr. | |
| 2017 | Mindhack | Sun Moon | |
| 2017 | Heart, Baby | George | |
| 2018 | Egg | Wayne | |
| 2018 | All the Devil's Men | Samuelson | |
| 2019 | Goldie | Richard | |
| 2019 | Rogers and Tilden | Marcus | Short |
| 2019 | DC Noir | Detective Mitch Brooks | |
| 2019 | The Sun Is Also a Star | Samuel Kingsley | |
| 2020 | 16 Bars | Deacon | |
| 2020 | Pitch Black Panacea | Carl (voice) | Short |
| 2021 | Passing | Dave Freedland | |
| 2023 | Asphalt City | Verdis | |
| 2023 | Fast Charlie | Beggar Mercado | |
| 2024 | Rob Peace | Carl Robertson | |
| 2024 | The Thicket | Eustace Howard | |
| TBA | Untitled Kathryn Bigelow film | | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004–08 | The Wire | Chris Partlow | Recurring cast (seasons 3-4), main cast (season 5) |
| 2005 | Barbershop | Yinka | Main cast |
| 2006 | Conviction | Gary Wade/Calvin | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Numb3rs | Ben Ellis | Episode: "Contenders" |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Victor Nash '05/'08 | Episode: "Street Money" |
| 2009 | Fringe | Akim | Episode: "The No-Brainer" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Elijah Okello | Episode: "Hell" |
| 2009 | Dark Blue | Dante Rollings | Episode: "August" |
| 2009 | Maggie Hill | Elliot Springer | TV movie |
| 2010–15 | The Good Wife | Pastor Isaiah Easton | Recurring cast (seasons 1-2, 5) |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Pierre | Episode: "All That Glitters" |
| 2011 | Chase | John Macon | Episode: "The Man at the Altar" |
| 2011 | Brooklyn Shakara | Emeka Nwandu | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2011 | A Gifted Man | Dr. Leo 'Bax' Baxter | 2 episodes |
| 2011–12 | Nurse Jackie | Kelly Slater | Recurring cast (seasons 3-4) |
| 2012 | The Unknown | Vincent | Episode: "Life Sentence" |
| 2012 | Damages | Walid Cooper | Recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2012 | Elementary | Jeremy Lopez | Episode: "The Leviathan" |
| 2012–14 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Father Biobaku | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Graceland | Jeremiah Bello | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| 2013 | The Funtime Gang | Inmate | TV movie |
| 2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Erik Ritter | Main cast |
| 2015 | The Following | Tom Reyes | Recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2015–16 | Limitless | Quentin Walker | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Madam Secretary | Chris Santumari | Episode: "Desperate Remedies" |
| 2017 | Mercy Street | Saga | Episode: "House of Bondage" |
| 2017–18 | The Deuce | Larry Brown | Main cast |
| 2020 | Evil | Lando Mutabazi | Episode: "Justice x 2" |
| 2021 | FBI: Most Wanted | James Johnson | Episode: "Criminal Justice" |
| 2021 | Modern Love | Jordan | Episode: "The Night Girl Finds a Day Boy" |
| 2021–23 | Wu-Tang: An American Saga | Mook | Recurring cast (season 2-3) |
| 2022 | The Blacklist | Boukman Baptiste | Episode: "Boukman Baptiste (No. 164)" |
| 2022–24 | The Old Man | Julian Carson | Main cast |
| 2023 | Power Book II: Ghost | Ron Samuel Jenkins | Recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2024 | Genius | Earl Little | Episode: "Graduation" |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2001 | The Oedipus Plays | Soldier |
| 2002 | Romeo and Juliet | Ensemble |
| 2002 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Le Bret |
| 2003 | Henry V | A French Messenger |
| 2005 | The Controversy of Valladolid | A Black Servant |
| 2006 | Modern Missionary | Zim |
| 2007 | A View From 151st Street | Dwight |
| 2008 | Lower Ninth | Lowboy |
| 2010 | A Thin Place | Isaac |
| 2013 | The Rainmaker | Bill Starbuck |
| 2015 | Fulfillment | Michael |
| 2018 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Tom Robinson |