# Tongayi Chirisa

Tongayi Arnold Chirisa is a Zimbabwean actor and singer known for playing Man Friday on NBC's Crusoe television series, Father Nicholas on The Jim Gaffigan Show, Hekule on Leon Schuster's Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past, and Cheetor in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

## Education

Chirisa attended Lomagundi College. He also studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Live Performance at AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy.

## Acting career

He played the part of "Detective Trevor Davies" in the popular Zimbabwean television series Studio 263. He also appeared in numerous feature films, the most well known being Tanyaradzwa in 2004, for which he won the Best Actor for Film and Television Award. He has also featured in music videos and is a singer. He also starred in a serial radio drama Mopani Junction that was taken off air at the height of political turmoil in Zimbabwe. He has been nominated and won many NAMA Awards over the last five years. He recently played the lead in the comedy feature film Mr Bones 2: Back from the Past. He made a dramatic appearance in the mini-series Rough directed by British director, Andy Wilson, appeared in an international feature film Skin, directed by Anthony Fabian and co-starring Sam Neill, and played a lead in a local drama series Redemption for SABC 1. He played Man Friday on the NBC international television series Crusoe, based on the classic story Robinson Crusoe. He also appeared in Sleepy Hollow based on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. He played Father Nicholas on The Jim Gaffigan Show (2017). He played the Maximal Cheetor in the film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. (2023)

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Tanyaradzwa | | |
| 2008 | Ace of Hearts | Tebsane Masa | Short |
| 2008 | Zimbabwe | Charles | |
| 2008 | Skin | Township Priest | |
| 2008 | Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past | Hekule | |
| 2009 | Gargoyle | Themba | Short |
| 2011 | Geezas | Sammy the Mouth | |
| 2013 | Stand By | Dee | Short |
| 2014 | Whipping Boy | Olly 'Napalm' Harris | Short |
| 2016 | Happiness Is a Four-letter Word | Thomas | |
| 2017 | The Zim | William Zimunya | Short |
| 2020 | Palm Springs | Jerry Schlieffen | |
| 2020 | Antebellum | Eli Stokes/Professor | |
| 2022 | Next Exit | Father Jack | |
| 2023 | Transformers: Rise of the Beasts | Cheetor (voice) | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002-2004 | Studio 263 | Detective Trevor Davis | Soap Opera |
| 2008–2009 | Crusoe | Friday | Main role |
| 2009 | Diamonds | Oba Sewele | TV film |
| 2010 | Mrs Mandela | Arguing husband | TV film |
| 2010 | Barack Obama's Cousin | Barack Obama's Cousin | TV miniseries |
| 2011 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Interrogator | Episode: "Betrayal" |
| 2012 | American Horror Story: Asylum | Miles | Episode: "Dark Cousin" |
| 2012 | H+: The Digital Series | African Soldier | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Sleepy Hollow | Arthur Bernard | Episode: "The Sin Eater" |
| 2013 | Gaffigan | Father Nicholas Ngungumbane | TV film |
| 2015 | Whitney | Gary Houston | TV film |
| 2015–16 | The Jim Gaffigan Show | Father Nicholas | Main role |
| 2016 | Mars Project | Neil Cormack | TV film |
| 2017–2019 | iZombie | Justin Bell | Recurring role (season 3), guest (seasons 4–5) |
| 2018 | Hawaii Five-0 | Don | Episode: "Kopi Wale No I Ka I'a A 'Eu No Ka Ilo" |
| 2018 | The Guest Book | Kwame | Episode: "2.5" |
| 2020 | The Good Doctor | Kerryś Husband | Guest (season 3 episode 11) |
| 2021 | Another Life | Richard Ncube | Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2022 | Women of the Movement | Medgar Evers | 4 episodes |
| 2023–present | Mayfair Witches | Ciprien Grieve | Main role |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2025 | Assassin's Creed Shadows | Yasuke (voice) | |