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Sahr Ngaujah

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Sahr Ngaujah
Ngaujah in June 2012
Born
Michael Sahr Ngaujah

(1976-09-07) September 7, 1976 (age 48)
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director

Michael Sahr Ngaujah (born September 7, 1976) is an American theater actor and director. Not long after his parents arrival from Sierra Leone via UK, Sahr was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Within five years his family relocated to Atlanta. He spent most of his early career working in experimental theater in Amsterdam. He made his breakthrough for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Fela Kuti in the 2009 Broadway musical Fela! He was nominated for his second Tony Award for his performance Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! (2019). On screen, he is best known for his roles in ABC's Last Resort (2012) and Netflix's Luke Cage (2018).

Early life

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Ngaujah was born to an African-American mother and Sierra Leonean Kono father. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he began his career in theatre there with the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, through 7Stages Theatre in Little 5 Points.[2]

Career

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1990s–2007: Early career and Amsterdam

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As an actor Sahr began his career at age 15. He has worked with Gerrit Timmers (Onafhankelijk Toneel, Rotterdam), Falk Richter (Berlin Schaubühne, Berlin), Del Hamilton (7 Stages, Atlanta), Walter Chakela (Windybrow, Johannesburg), Tim Habeger (PushPush Theater & Film, Atlanta), Made n da Shade/MC (Amsterdam).

Sahr has also maintained a presence in the world of film since the late 1990s, with appearances in Passing Glory (TNT), A Lesson Before Dying (HBO), How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Castle Way), among other films, and more recently in The Signal (Magnolia/Pop Films, 2008), Stomp the Yard (Sony/Rainforest Films – Jan. 2007), and Blood Done (Sign My Name, 2009 release).

Sahr began as a director under the guidance of Freddie Hendricks, working as an assistant director on FH Y.E.A. productions, playing for audiences ranging from the Atlanta Black Arts Festival to the Tweetakt Festival 2000 Antwerp.

During late winter 1999, Ngaujah began the writing process that led to the short story collection Refracting (Dasarts 2004), which inspired the piece Conversations with Ice Amsterdam-BitterZoet (Dasarts 2006). Over Het Ij Festival, Amsterdam, 2007 (Made n Da Shade/Cosmic Theater).

Since relocating to Amsterdam in 2001, Sahr has worked as a theater director and developer with Rotterdam’s Lef and ACT Festival, and as a collaborator with Made n da Shade. He completed his studies at Dasarts in Amsterdam 2006, under the direction of Alida Neslo and Monique Toebosch. Under the primary influence of his work with Freddie Hendricks, as it relates to his creating of original works, integrating music into every layer of the developmental process, together with what he gained through close work with Made n da Shade and their extensive exploration into the weaving of interactive design technology throughout the base fibers of their theatre, Sahr used the laboratory of Dasarts and his encounters with Shu Lea Chang and Germaine Acogny to search for his own unique language and process, in an effort to lay a foundation that will hopefully allow him to all ways break new ground in his personal approach as a Maker.

His work Conversations with Ice deals with the question of value (who decides, who buys), within the context of the global diamond trade, Sierra Leone’s child soldiers, and its links to the Bling sub-culture in hip-hop. Sahr has appeared at speaking engagements at art conferences in Northern Europe (2007–08) about the construction and development of Conversations With Ice, with invitations pending to present this work in Sweden and Tokyo. Ngaujah continues to work with a host of inspiring artist between Europe, Africa, and the U.S. He is actively attempting to help forge stronger links between the artist community between Atlanta and the Netherlands through the development of an art festival called A to the A, celebrating and exploring Global Underground Art and Culture.

2008–present: Broadway and screen acting

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In November 2008, Ngaujah received the Audelco Award (or "Viv award") for his work on the Off-Broadway musical Fela!, under the direction of Bill T. Jones, which explores the life and inspiration of the Nigerian composer Fela Anikulapo Kuti.[3] He also received a Tony Award nomination and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his role in this musical.[4][5] In December 2008 Fela! The Musical was classified as the #1 theatre show of 2008 in New York, by New York magazine.[6]

In July 2017, Ngaujah lent his voice to the video game Overwatch's hero Doomfist.[7][8]

In Summer 2018 he appeared in the stage musical Moulin Rouge! as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Moulin Rouge! was scheduled to begin preview performances on June 27, 2018, at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston.[9]

Personal life

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For much of the 2000s, he was based in Amsterdam, Netherlands (and briefly London).[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1997 First Time Felon Smiling Inmate Television film
How I Spent My Summer Vacation D'Angelo
1999 Passing Glory Lil' Ricky Television film
A Lesson Before Dying Brother Television film
2002 Big Ain't Bad Clay
2005 Shi cha qi xiao shi Orintheus
2007 Stomp the Yard Harold
The Signal Rod
2009 The Jailhouse Cash
2010 Blood Done Sign My Name Boo Chavis
2011 National Theatre Live: Fela! Fela Kuti Live broadcast
2015 Freeheld Father John
2016 Farewell Meu Armor Walter Short film
Money Monster Yao Appiah COO
2017 Patti Cake$ O-Z
Kensho at the Bedfellow Mosi
2018 Vox Lux Sound engineer

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007–2010 House of Payne Blue 3 episodes
2012–2013 Last Resort Julian Serrat 13 episodes
2014–2015 The Blacklist General Yaabari 2 episodes
2015 The Good Wife Joel Becquet Episode: "Restraint"
2016 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Father Akintola 2 episodes
2018 High Maintenance Solomon Episode: "#goalz"
2018 Deception Oliver Scott Episode: "Code Act"
2018 Luke Cage Anansi 8 episodes
2019 Bull ADA Carter Episode: "Separate Together"
2020 The Accidental Wolf 2 episodes
2021 Prodigal Son Darryl 2 episodes

Theatre

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Selected credits (2008 on).

Year Title Role Venue Notes
2008–2012 Fela! Fela Anikulapo-Kuti 37 Arts Theatre:
July – October 2008
Off-Broadway
Eugene O'Neill Theatre:
October 2009 – October 2010
Broadway
World Tour:
September 2011 – August 2012
US/Canada
Al Hirschfeld Theatre:
July – August 2012
Broadway return
2015 The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek Jonathon Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre:
April – June 2015
Off-Broadway
2016 Signature Plays: Drowning / Funnyhouse of a Negro Roe / Patrice Lumumba Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre:
May – June 2016
Off-Broadway
2016 "Master Harold"... and the boys Willie Irene Diamond Stage:
October – December 2016
Off-Broadway
2018 Mlima's Tale The Public Theater:
March – May 2018
Off-Broadway
2018–present Moulin Rouge! Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Emerson Colonial Theatre:
July – August 2018
Regional
Al Hirschfeld Theatre:
June 2019 – March 2020
September 2021 –
Broadway
2019 Boesman and Lena Boesman Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre:
March – February 2019
Off-Broadway

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2016 Overwatch Doomfist
2022 Overwatch 2 Doomfist

Podcasts

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Year Title Role Notes
2021 Tomorrow's Monsters David Trusedale Episode: "It's Not The Fall That Kills You"

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2009 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Fela! Nominated
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Actor Nominated
Obie Award Performance Won
2010 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical Nominated
Theatre World Award Honoree
2011 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Musical Nominated
2018 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Mlima’s Tale Nominated
2019 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play Nominated
2020 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a Musical Moulin Rouge! Nominated
Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album Nominated [10]

References

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  1. ^ "Sahr Ngaujah – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  2. ^ a b Rohter, Larry (2010-05-12). "From Atlanta to Europe to 'Fela!'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  3. ^ Green, Jesse (23 August 2009). "You Can't Stop the Afrobeat". New York magazine. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  4. ^ Hetrick, Adam; Gans, Andrew (4 August 2012). "Fela! Ends Limited Broadway Encore Engagement Aug. 4". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25.
  5. ^ "Laurence Olivier Awards 2011: full list of nominees". telegraph.co.uk. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  6. ^ Rohter, Larry (12 May 2012). "From Atlanta to Europe to 'Fela!'". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Overwatch's Doomfist is Voiced by Veteran Actor Sahr Ngaujah". PVPLive, 6 July 2017.
  8. ^ Bhimani, Anjali [@sweeetanj] (6 July 2017). "Let's welcome @sahr1Official to the @PlayOverwatch family!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Moulin Rouge! The Musical". emersoncolonialtheatre.com. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  10. ^ "2020 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Winners & Nominations List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
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