Born and raised in London, England, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his career as a model in Milan before moving to Los Angeles to make the transition to acting. Fluent in several languages, including English, Italian, Yoruba and Swahili, he is best known for his roles in the movies Congo and The Mummy Returns, and the HBO series Oz.
Has a masters in Law from the University of London, but took a different career path when bitten by the acting bug. Is perhaps best known for his role as the cunning, fierce super-criminal Adebisi on Oz. He went from playing Ernie Hudson's good friend, the guide Kahega to Hudson's Capt. Munro in "Congo," to playing his enemy, the sociopathic Adebisi to Hudson's hard-headed Warden Glynn in "Oz." He has Nigerians parents Born on the same day as the Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley. The son of immigrants from Nigeria, he has played almost entirely African characters despite having been born and raised in England. He usually employs a deep, Nigerian timber while acting, while off-screen he has a very British, somewhat Cockney accent. He is fluent in several languages including Italian, Yoruba, Swahili, and (of course) English. He can "get along" in a few other languages, including French. He is a Buddhist and admitted that he had to chant more than usual while playing the brutal character of "Majestic" in Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005).