When talking recognition, Kenya is famed for the numerous athletes that have flown the country's flag high. However, little is known of actors who made it big on the international stage and were born in the country.
Kenyans.co.ke compiled a list of seven Kenyans making it big on the silver screen internationally to highlight their incredible achievements as ambassadors of the country.
Edi Gathegi
Edi Mue Gathegi is a Kenyan actor, producer, and director based in the US. He was born on March 10, 1979, in Nairobi Kenya.
In an interview with Citizen TV's Jeff Koinange, Gathegi indicated that he moved with his family to the US at the age of three and grew up in Albany, California.
His career began in theatre arts in 2005 before he got his major feat on screen as a Haitian Cabbie in the 2006 movie Crank that featured British actor Jason Statham.
Gathegi has featured in over 20 movies including; Crank(2006), The Twilight(2008-2012), X-Men(2009), Startup(2016-), The Blacklist(2017), Into the Badlands(2017-).
Manoj Sood
Manoj Sood is a Canadian-based actor, producer, and director. He was born on May 5, 1962, in Mombasa to Hindu parents, Dr. B. K. Sood and Narindar Sood.
He immigrated to Canada in 1964 with his parents, growing up in Calgary, Canada and studying film at St Michaels University School in Victoria, British Columbia.
Sood entered the entertainment world in 1994, landing a supporting role in an American movie the week after his first audition. His only acting experience until the role had been from his acting classes.
Since then, Sood has featured in movies and TV series like; Romeo Must Die, Supernatural, Insomnia, Tomorrowland, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and many more.
Veena Sood
Veena Sood is a Canadian based actor and producer. She was born in Nairobi to Dr. B. K. Sood and Narindar Sood.
She immigrated to Canada in 1964 with her parents, and brother Manoj Sood.
According to her website veenasood.com, she has a 3-decade background in improvisational theatre. She has performed in numerous film, television and theatrical productions in Canada and abroad.
She currently features in; The Twilight Zone (2020), Charmed, Loudermilk, The Murders (CTV Canada). Other appearances include Welcome to Marwen, Riverdale, Lucifer, and The X-Files.
In 2019, Veena was a recipient of The North Shore Fund Award and The Sam Payne Award for her accomplishments as an actress, and contributions to the creative community.
Veena emcees gala events and television specials, produces radio podcasts and web series, along with voicing cartoons.
Veena is a Leo Award winner for her television work, and a three-time Jessie Richardson Award nominee and winner for her work on stage.
Barkhad Abdirahman
Barkhad Abdirahman is a young aspiring actor based in the US. He was born on June 15, 1994, in Nairobi Kenya.
Barkhad lived most of his life in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, on the south side of Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.
He first debuted as Bilal in a 2013 Sony Production, Captain Phillips.
In 2017, Barkhad produced a film titled Watu Wote(All of us) which won an Oscar nomination. Barkhad has also featured in films like TV series Base, A Stray, Neighbourhoods, and First Person Plural.
Kiran Shah
Kiran Shah is a 63-year-old Kenyan-Indian actor, stuntman, creature performer and motion capture performer. He was born in Nairobi on September 28, 1956.
According to his website www.littlekiran.com, Kiran lived with his family in Kenya until the age of twelve when his family moved to India and later to Crawley, West Sussex, England.
Kiran found his love for film while in India and the relocation to the UK helped him nurture his passion.
He has managed a distinguished career in the film industry featuring in blockbuster movies and two Guinness Book of Records Feats.
Since 2003, Kiran became a Guinness World Record holder as the shortest professional stuntman currently working in the film industry in 2010 by being the shortest wing walker.
This involved Kiran being strapped to the wing of a 1940′s Boeing Spearman biplane and traveling at the speed of 120mph at 300m (1000ft) in the air.
Kiran has featured in the following movies; Spiderman, Titanic, James Bond, Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, Chronicles of Narnia and many more.
Deep Roy
Deep Roy is a Kenyan-Indian actor, stuntman and puppeteer. He was born Mohinder Purba on January 26, 1949, in Nairobi, British Kenya.
At 132 centimeters (4 ft 4 in) tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Keenser in Star Trek and subsequent films Kelvin Timeline, and in television series such as The X-Files, Doctor Who, and Eastbound and Down.
He made his professional screen acting debut in a 1976 episode of The New Avengers, titled Target as a character named Klokoe. He made his film debut later that same year, in The Pink Panther Strikes Again, as the Italian Assassin.
Roy has played apes in two movies: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes and again in the Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes (2001) in two roles, one as a young gorilla boy and as Thade's niece.
Ptolemy Slocum
Ptolemy Slocum is an American actor best known for his role as Sylvester in Westworld.
Slocum was born in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. He was named after the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy and has been active as an actor since 2003.
He first starred in several short films, before his first film appearance in 2005, portraying Ron in Hitch. As a result, he began to take on guest roles in numerous well-known US series, such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Fringe, Burn Notice, How I Met Your Mother, Criminal Minds, and others.
Slocum has taken on more recurring roles, such as in Looking and Preacher. Since 2016, he plays the role of Sylvester in the science fiction series Westworld.
