# Sharlto Copley

Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film District 9, the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team, the science fiction film Elysium, the science fiction horror film Europa Report and the dark fantasy adventure film Maleficent. He also played the title character in the science fiction film Chappie, Jimmy in the science fiction action film Hardcore Henry, and starred in two seasons as Christian Walker of the TV series Powers.
Copley is married to South African actress and supermodel Tanit Phoenix.

## Early life

Sharlto Copley was born in Johannesburg and educated at St. Andrew's Preparatory School in Grahamstown and Redhill School in Morningside, Johannesburg. His father is Dr. Bruce Copley, a former university professor. His brother, Donovan, is the lead singer of the Cape Town band Hot Water.

## Career

Shortly after leaving high school, Copley met Neill Blomkamp, who is six years younger. Copley allowed Blomkamp to use computers at his production company to help the company pitch various projects and allow Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design.
In Blomkamp's District 9 (2009), Copley played the lead role of Wikus van der Merwe, an Afrikaner bureaucrat assigned to move a race of extraterrestrial creatures stranded on Earth. In the film, the aliens, popularly and derogatorily referred to as "prawns", must be moved from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to an internment camp outside the city. Copley improvised all of his dialogue. At the 2009 IGN Summer Movie awards, Copley won Favorite Hero and Best Performance.
In 2010, Copley produced, wrote, and directed an insert for the South African Film and Television Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African star Charlize Theron. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize Theron in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album.
Copley then starred alongside Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the feature film adaptation of The A-Team, which was produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. Copley used a Southern American dialect for his portrayal of A-Team member H. M. Murdock, and employed other dialects, including Scottish, English, Australian and Swahili, as part of the character's rapid-fire style. Dwight Schultz, who played Murdock in the original TV series, praised Copley's performance and said Copley was the only actor he knew of who was "true to his character."
Copley guest-co-hosted WWE Raw on 7 June 2010, along with his A-Team co-stars Cooper and Jackson.
In 2013, Copley played fictional astronaut James Corrigan in Europa Report, the story of a crew of international astronauts sent on a private mission to Jupiter's fourth moon. The same year, Copley portrayed the villain Agent Kruger in Elysium, a science fiction film written and directed by Blomkamp, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.
Copley played villain Adrian Pryce in Spike Lee's Oldboy, a remake of the 2003 South Korean film of the same name. He also starred opposite Angelina Jolie in the 2014 Disney film Maleficent and played King Stefan, Princess Aurora's father. He also provided the voice, reference work, and interaction with the cast as Chappie, the titular character of the 2015 film Chappie, also directed by Neill Blomkamp.
In 2015, Copley was announced to star as Christian Walker in the superhero TV series Powers. He later provided the voiceover for the e-tron GT concept promotional video by Audi Sport GmbH.
Also in 2015, Copley played the supporting character Jimmy in the film Hardcore Henry.
In March 2018, Copley starred in the crime comedy film Gringo as Mitch Rusk. Copley portrayed the titular character of a biographical film about Ted Kaczynski titled Ted K.

## Personal life

Copley has been in a relationship with actress and supermodel Tanit Phoenix since January 2012. They wed on 15 February 2016, in Cape Town, South Africa. The couple have a daughter together.
As of 2010, Copley resides in Cape Town and Los Angeles.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 2006 | Yellow | Soldier | Neill Blomkamp | Short film |
| 2006 | Alive in Joburg | Sniper | Neill Blomkamp | Short film; also producer |
| 2009 | District 9 | Wikus van der Merwe | Neill Blomkamp | |
| 2010 | Wikus and Charlize | Wikus van der Merwe | Himself | Short film; also producer, writer and editor |
| 2010 | The A-Team | Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock | Joe Carnahan | |
| 2013 | Europa Report | James Corrigan | Sebastián Cordero | |
| 2013 | Elysium | Agent M. Kruger | Neill Blomkamp | |
| 2013 | Oldboy | Adrian Pryce | Spike Lee | |
| 2013 | Open Grave | John Doe / Jonah Cooke | Gonzalo López-Gallego | |
| 2014 | Maleficent | King Stefan | Robert Stromberg | |
| 2014 | The Snow Queen 2: The Snow King | Orm | Aleksey Tsitsilin | Voice; English dub |
| 2015 | Chappie | Chappie / policeman (cameo) | Neill Blomkamp | Dual role |
| 2016 | Hardcore Henry | Jimmy | Ilya Naishuller | Also executive producer |
| 2016 | The Hollars | Ron Hollar | John Krasinski | |
| 2016 | Free Fire | Vernon | Ben Wheatley | |
| 2017 | God: Serengeti | God | Neill Blomkamp | Short film |
| 2018 | Gringo | Mitch Rusk | Nash Edgerton | |
| 2018 | God: City | God | Neill Blomkamp | Short film |
| 2020 | The Last Days of American Crime | William Sawyer | Olivier Megaton | |
| 2021 | Ted K | Ted Kaczynski | Tony Stone | Also producer |
| 2021 | Seal Team | Switch | Greig Cameron & Kane Croudace | Voice |
| 2022 | Beast | Martin Battles | Baltasar Kormákur | |
| 2023 | Boy Kills World | Glen van der Koy | Moritz Mohr | |
| 2024 | Monkey Man | Tiger | Dev Patel | |
| TBA | Desert Warrior | | Rupert Wyatt | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015–16 | Powers | Christian Walker | Main role; 20 episodes |
| 2022 | Russian Doll | Chez | Recurring role (season 2); 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Michael Fouchay | (season 12); 2 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2016 | Payday 2 | Jimmy | Voice and face, reprising role from Hardcore Henry | |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Rooster Teeth Shorts | Jimmy | Episode: "Hardcore Henry Meets Rooster Teeth" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Film | Award | Category | Result |
| 2009 | District 9 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Most Promising Performer | Nominated |
| 2009 | District 9 | IGN Movie Awards | Favorite Summer Hero | Won |
| 2009 | District 9 | Golden Schmoes Awards | Best Actor of the Year | Nominated |
| 2009 | District 9 | Golden Schmoes Awards | Breakthrough Performance of the Year | 2nd place |
| 2010 | District 9 | Empire Award | Best Newcomer | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | International Cinephile Society Award | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | MTV Movie Award | Best Scared-As-S**t Performance | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Breakthrough Performance - Male | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | Online Film Critics Society Award | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | Scream Award | Best Science Fiction Actor | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | Scream Award | Breakout Performance - Male | Nominated |
| 2010 | District 9 | Teen Choice Award | Choice Movie Actor - Sci-Fi | Nominated |