Babou Ceesay
Born
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay

1979 (age 44–45)
London, England, UK.
EducationImperial College London
OccupationActor
Years active2006–present
SpouseAnna Ceesay
Children2

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4] He also appeared in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015)[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] He played the role of the father Richard Taylor, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor.[8]

In August 2016, he was cast in the British miniseries, Guerrilla, alongside Idris Elba and Freida Pinto.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Severance Billy
2011 Stolen David TV film
Shirley Henry Bassey TV film
2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Okeoma
2014 '71 Corporal
2015 Eye in the Sky Sergeant Mushtaq Saddiq
2016 Free Fire Martin
Damilola, Our Loved Boy Richard Taylor TV film
Rogue One Lieutenant Sefla
2019 'The Best of Enemies Bill Riddick
2020 The Show Second Cabby
2021 Resurrection John
Iris The Doctor Short film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Whistleblower Dr. Abdulrazzad Miniseries
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"
Luther Adewale Omotoso Episode: "#2.3"
2012 Strike Back: Vengeance Ozzy Osondu Recurring role, 2 episodes
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

Awards and nominations

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

References

  1. ↑ Thorpe, Vanessa. "Lewis's new sidekick breaks crime mould". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Marcus Hill Played by Babou Ceesay – Guerrilla | SHOWTIME". SHOWTIME.com. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "TIFF Movie Review – Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Behind The Bible AD: Casting a More Diverse Bible Story". NBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Babou Ceesay as John
  5. ↑ "Eye in the Sky". HuffPost. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Ceesay
  6. ↑ "Meet the cast of National Treasure". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Jerome Sharpe (Babou Ceesay)
  7. ↑ "Damilola Taylor: TV drama tells the story behind the headlines". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. "The Crown royally sweeps the 2017 Bafta TV awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "Babou Ceesay, Rory Kinnear and more join Idris Elba in Guerrilla". Empire. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "'We Hunt Together': TV Review". 7 August 2020.
  11. ↑ Wallis, Lucy (19 August 2019). "'I feared they'd take my child if I admitted how I felt'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.

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