Prince Amponsah is a Canadian actor.[1]

Background

Amponsah began his acting career with stage roles at the Shaw Festival in the early 2010s.[2] In November 2012, he was injured in an apartment fire, losing both of his arms near the elbow and spending several weeks in a coma,[3] and went through a year and a half of regular surgery and rehabilitation. He underwent 40 skin grafts and other reconstructive surgeries. For weeks after the fire, he lay in the burn unit of Sunnybrook Hospital in the coma, which was medically induced, unaware that he had suffered burns to 68 per cent of his body.[2]

Career

He returned to the stage in the latter half of the 2010s, beginning with a 2016 production of Brandon Crone's play Contempt.[1]

In 2017 he appeared in a production of Salvatore Antonio's Sheets, in a role which called for him to appear on stage in the nude.[4] In the same year he appeared in two third-season episodes of Killjoys as Havigan, the proprietor of a hackmod bar,[5] and starred in Sherren Lee's award-winning short film The Things You Think I'm Thinking.[6]

In 2018, he was profiled in Jamie Miller's short documentary film Prince's Tale,[7] and played a leading role in a production of Judith Thompson's play After the Blackout.[8] In this era he also had guest roles in the television series Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Handmaid's Tale and Private Eyes.

In 2021 he appeared as August, a member of the Traveling Symphony, in the television miniseries Station Eleven,[9] and performed in "Emmett", Syrus Marcus Ware's contribution to the 21 Black Futures project.[10]

In 2022 he had a recurring role as Marvin in the web series Avocado Toast,[11] for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023.[12] His role in the series was hailed as a positive step forward for representation of people with disabilities, as his disability was narratively acknowledged but not dwelled upon as the defining aspect of his character's story.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Brad Wheeler, "Actor Prince Amponsah on returning to the stage after a tragic accident". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Geoffrey Vendeville, "Actor who lost his arms — and nearly his life — in fire reaches new stage". Toronto Star, June 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ Graham Slaughter, "Online and in person, community helps Prince of a friend: 'We're in this to the end,' buddies say as they raise money for man who lost arms in devastating fire". Toronto Star, December 29, 2012.
  4. ↑ Karen Fricker, "Actors, audiences engage with nakedness in two Toronto productions". Toronto Star, March 22, 2017.
  5. ↑ Greg David, "PRODUCTION UNDERWAY ON SEASON 3 OF SPACE€™S MOST-WATCHED ORIGINAL SERIES, KILLJOYS". TV, eh?, February 6, 2017.
  6. ↑ Matthew Sorrento, "Dating and Vulnerability: Sherren Lee and Jesse LaVercombe on The Things You Think I’m Thinking". Film International, April 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ Pat Mullen, "Review: Short Docs ‘Turning Tables’ and ‘Prince’s Tale’". Point of View, May 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ Martin Morrow, "Playwright shifts from physical to emotional disabilities: After the Blackout connects people with inner scars, marking a theatrical transition for Thompson and her theatre company". The Globe and Mail, May 14, 2018.
  9. ↑ Bruce DeMara, "Actor Prince Amponsah talks Station Eleven and the ‘everyday challenge’ of living with trauma". Toronto Star, January 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ Peter Knegt, "10 Canadians who helped make Yellowjackets and Station Eleven the zeitgeist shows of this strange moment". CBC Arts, January 12, 2022.
  11. ↑ Eric Volmers, "Calgarians, expats earn Canadian Screen Award nominations". Calgary Herald, February 22, 2023.
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