Barkhad Abdi

Barkhad Abdi
Abdi at the 2014 New York Film Festival
Born	(1985-04-10) April 10, 1985 (age 39) Mogadishu, Somalia
Education	Minnesota State University, Moorhead
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2013–present
Awards	Full list

Barkhad Abdi (Somali: Barkhad Cabdi, [barxad ʕabdi];^[1] born April 10, 1985) is a Somali–American actor. He made his acting debut as the pirate Abduwali Muse in the biographical drama film Captain Phillips (2013), which earned him a British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, along with Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Following his breakthrough, Abdi appeared in the films Eye in the Sky (2015), Good Time (2017), The Pirates of Somalia (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Outside of film, he was featured as a series regular on the second season of the Hulu horror anthology Castle Rock (2019) and a recurring role in the Showtime satirical comedy series The Curse (2023).

Early life

Barkhad Abdi was born to Somali Bantu and Majerten parents on April 10, 1985, in Mogadishu, Banaadir, Somalia. The name Barkhad in the Somali language literally means cistern, with water representing life.^[2] Around the age of six or seven, when the Somali Civil War broke out, he and his family moved to Yemen to join his father, who had taken up teaching.^[3][4] In 1999, Abdi and his family relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, home to a large Somali community.^[4]

He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2003 and attended Minnesota State University Moorhead.^[4] Before entering the film industry, Abdi sold mobile phones at his brother's shop at a mall in Minneapolis. He also worked as a limousine driver at a relative's chauffeur company and as a DJ.^[5][6]

Acting career

Captain Phillips

Abdi during the Eye in the Sky premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, 2015

Abdi made his debut in the Paul Greengrass directed film Captain Phillips (2013), playing ship hijacker and pirate leader Abduwali Muse.^[7][8] He was cast opposite Tom Hanks, following a worldwide search for the lead roles. Abdi and three other actors were chosen from more than 700 participants at a 2011 casting call in Minneapolis. According to the casting director, the four were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out".^[9] He was paid $65,000 for his appearance in the film and returned to working in his brother's shop afterwards.^[10] For his performance Abdi earned the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor.^[11] Abdi's experience in Captain Phillips was his first in the film industry.^[12]

Later career

In 2015, Abdi appeared in an episode of the series Hawaii Five-0, playing former warlord Roko Makoni.^[13] Later that year, he began work on the comedy film Trainwreck, though he did not appear in the finished film.^[14] He appeared in the 2015 thriller Eye in the Sky as Kenyan undercover agent Jama Farah, and he had a role in The Brothers Grimsby.^[15] In the 2017 film The Pirates of Somalia, Abdi played the Somali government-sponsored local agent and translator for Canadian freelance journalist Jay Bahadur. His character coordinates interviews between local pirate leaders and Bahadur, who records the motivations of Somali piracy in the weeks leading up to the Maersk Alabama hijacking. In October 2017, Abdi featured in Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049, in a minor role of a scientist.^[16] Abdi made his directorial debut with the Somali film Ciyaalka Xaafada. He has directed several music videos.^[4] In 2019, Abdi reunited with Captain Philips castmate Faysal Ahmed, in the second season of Castle Rock, in which he starred in 10 episodes.^[17]

In 2022, he acted in the films Tyson's Run and Agent Game starring Mel Gibson and appeared in the Apple TV+ series Little America.^[18] In 2023 he acted in the A24 / Showtime satirical comedy-drama series The Curse starring Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and Benny Safdie.

Philanthropy

In 2013, Abdi began to serve as an Ambassador for Adeso, a non-governmental organisation founded by the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell.^[19]

Personal life

Abdi resided in Los Angeles, California as of 2014^[20] and in 2016 lived in Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[21] The bump on his forehead is from a car crash he was in prior to auditioning for Captain Phillips.^[22]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Captain Phillips	Abduwali Muse
2015	Eye in the Sky	Jama Farah
	Wolf Who Cried Boy	Reggie	Short film
2016	Grimsby	Tabansi Nyagura
2017	Extortion	Miguel Kaba
	Good Time	Dash
	Blade Runner 2049	Doc Badger
	The Pirates of Somalia	Abdi
2018	The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir	Wiraj
2019	A Girl from Mogadishu	Hassan
2020	Beneath a Sea of Lights[23]	Caweys
2022	Tyson's Run	Aklilu
	Agent Game	Omar

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2015	Hawaii Five-0	Roko Makoni	Episode: "E 'Imi pono"
2016	Family Guy	Abduwali Muse (voice)	Episode: "Road to India"
2019	Castle Rock	Abdi Omar	10 episode[17]
2021–2022	Blade Runner: Black Lotus	Doc Badger (voice)	6 episodes
2022	Little America	Mohamed	Episode: "Camel on a Stick"
2023	The Curse	Abshir	6 episodes
2023	Carol & The End of The World	Bashiir Hassan (voice)	Episode: “The Life & Times of Bashiir Hassan”

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Barkhad Abdi

References

1. "Filim Soomaali jilay oo la magacaabay". BBC News Somali (in Somali). January 16, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
2. Reinisch, Leo. Die Somali-sprache: Texte. Vol. 1. A. Hölder, 1903.
3. "Entertainment Pop". ABCNews.com. January 21, 2014.
4. "Production Notes". The Walt Disney Company Nordic. Retrieved October 19, 2013.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. "Oscar nod for Minneapolis' Barkhad Abdi in 'Captain Phillips'". KARE. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
6. Bertram, Colin (January 12, 2014). "2014 Golden Globes: Old Guard vs. New". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
7. Ryan, Mike. "I Can't Believe I'm Doing A Scene With The Forrest Gump Guy!". HuffPost.
8. "Somali-American Actor Stars in 'Captain Phillips' Movie". Voice of America. October 11, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
9. Seavert, Lindsey (October 8, 2013). "4 Mpls. men co-star in Tom Hanks film 'Captain Phillips'". KARE. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
10. "Captain Philips actor Abdi 'struggles' despite Oscar nomination". Independent.co.uk. March 5, 2014.
11. "Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture". Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014.
12. Rottenberg, Josh. "Oscars 2014: Barkhad Abdi reacts to his Best Supporting Actor nomination". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
13. "HAWAII FIVE-0 Recap "E 'Imi pono"". Seat42F. February 19, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
14. "Judd Apatow's 'Trainwreck' Casts Up: Tilda Swinton, Barkhad Abdi and John Cena Sign On". Slashfilm.com. March 18, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
15. Reilly, Travis (October 28, 2014). "'Breaking Bad' Star Aaron Paul Is a Conflicted Drone Pilot in 'Eye in the Sky'". TheWrap. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
16. "'Blade Runner 2049': Barkhad Abdi Shares New Character Details". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
17. Castle Rock (Drama, Fantasy, Horror), Bill Skarsgård, André Holland, Lizzy Caplan, Bad Robot, Old Curiosity Shop, Warner Bros., July 25, 2018, retrieved July 28, 2024
18. N'Duka, Amanda (April 23, 2021). "Jason Isaacs, Barkhad Abdi & Adan Canto Board Indie Spy Thriller 'Agent Game'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
19. "Adeso Ambassador Barkhad Abdi appeals for Somali cyclone aid". Mareeg. December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
20. Lammers, Tim (March 5, 2014). "Report: Fresh off Oscar nomination, Barkhad Abdi 'dead broke'". Bringmethenews. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
21. Kerr, Euan (October 14, 2016). "A boy-and-his-dog story, with a cultural twist". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
22. Marsh, Steve (February 26, 2014). "Barkhad Abdi: A Pirate's Life". Mpls St. Paul Magazine. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
23. Ganglani, Poonam (July 27, 2018). "Neel Kumar's Beneath a Sea of Lights looks at an unseen side of Dubai". The Hindu. Retrieved October 14, 2022.

External links

• Barkhad Abdi at IMDb
• Barkhad Abdi on Conan, Dec. 17, 2013