# Babou Ceesay

Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay (born 1979) is a British actor. He is known for his role in Guerrilla. He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series Into the Badlands.

## Early life and education

Ceesay was born in London, England, and grew up in West Africa. He is a dual-national and is of Gambian descent. He trained at Oxford School of Drama. He has also been involved in many significant projects on stage, including The Overwhelming opposite Andrew Garfield and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He studied Microbiology at Imperial College London, and also worked as an internal auditor at accounting firm, Deloitte.

## Career

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. 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. He also appeared in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015) 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. 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 which followed. He played the role of the father Richard Taylor, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.
In August 2016, he was cast in the British miniseries, Guerrilla, alongside Idris Elba and Freida Pinto.
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. In 2021, Paul Abbott's crime drama Wolfe premiered on Sky, in which Ceesay plays the title role as a forensic scientist in Manchester.

## Personal life

He lives in London with his wife, journalist Anna Ceesay, and their two children.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Severance | Billy | Comedy/Horror |
| 2011 | Stolen | David | TV film |
| 2011 | Shirley | Henry Bassey | TV film |
| 2013 | Half of a Yellow Sun | Okeoma | Drama/Romance Director: Biyi Bandele |
| 2014 | '71 | Corporal | Action/Crime/Drama Director: Yann Demange |
| 2015 | Eye in the Sky | Sergeant Mushtaq Saddiq | Action/Drama/Thriller Alongside Aaron Paul |
| 2016 | Free Fire | Martin | Action/Comedy/Crime Alongside Brie Larson |
| 2016 | Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Richard Taylor | TV film |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Lieutenant Sefla | Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi |
| 2019 | The Best of Enemies | Bill Riddick | Biography/Drama/History |
| 2020 | The Show | Second Cabby | Drama/Fantasy/Mystery |
| 2021 | Resurrection | John | Biography/Drama/History |
| 2023 | Iris | The Doctor | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2008 | Whistleblower | Dr. Abdulrazzad | Miniseries |
| 2008 | Silent Witness | DS Gayle | Episode: "Death's Door" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: UK | Daniel Matoukou | Episode: "Care" |
| 2011 | Casualty | Jake Maddick | Episode: "Til Death Us Do Part" |
| 2011 | Luther | Adewale Omotoso | Episode: "#2.3" |
| 2012 | Strike Back: Vengeance | Ozzy Osondu | Recurring role, 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Getting On | Hansley | Series 3 regular |
| 2013 | Lewis | DC Alex Gray | Episode: "The Ramblin' Boy" |
| 2014 | Puppy Love | Dennis | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | John | Series regular, 12 episodes |
| 2016 | National Treasure | Jerome | Miniseries |
| 2017 | Guerrilla | Marcus Hill | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| 2018-19 | Into the Badlands | Pilgrim | Recurring role, 16 episodes |
| 2019 | Dark Money | Manny Mensah | Miniseries |
| 2020-22 | We Hunt Together | DI Jackson Mendy | Series regular, 12 episodes |
| 2021 | Wolfe | Wolfe Kinteh | Series regular, 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Shardlake | Abbot Fabian | Series regular, 4 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2017 | 12th Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Male Performance in TV | Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Nominated |
| 2017 | 63rd British Academy Television Awards | Best Actor | Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Nominated |
| 2018 | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards | Best Actor | Guerrilla | Nominated |