It's another Monday morning and work has been very slow so I have decided to do another on my list of favorite actors. This next actor is one I really admire and wonder why he hasn't been in a lot more movies and television shows. He definitely has the skills to be a great actor and has proved so in several of his roles.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was born August 22, 1967 in Islington, London, England. His parents immigrated from Nigeria to England before he was born. The meaning of his name, when broken down, is the following: Ade- the crown, wale- has come home, Akin- warrior, nuoye- of chieftaincy, Agbaje- prosperity and wealth. Adewale is a very educated person and holds a Master of Laws from King's College London and is fluent in several languages, including English, Swahili, Yorùbá, and Italian.

His beginning in the acting world started small parts in video's for Dawn Penn {No, No, No} and the Pet Shop Boys {Jealousy}. His first big screen role was in the movie Congo {1995} and later that same year Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. I remember his from the movie Congo because he has some really intense eyes.

He later went on to play some really popular roles on television shows including Oz and Lost. In Oz he played the criminal Simon Adebisi who was the leader of a black gang named the Homeboys. His character was feared by most of the inmates due to him being portrayed as one of the most fierce and powerful people there. This character turned out to be a very popular one on the show. I have yet to see him in the film but I have ordered the first season of Oz and I'm looking forward to watching it.

In the television show Lost Adewale played the character Mr. Eko. The character Mr. Eko, for me, was one of the most interesting on the show. In interviews Adewale states he often spent the entire day in character just to grasp the intensity of Mr. Eko. He quickly became my favorite character of the series and I was sad to see him written off. He left on his own terms because he asked to be released from the show after both of his parents died.

Adewale has also starred some really successful movies including The Mummy Returns as Lock-Nah and The Bourne Identity as the deposed leader Nykwana Wombosi. Even though they were supporting roles in both films he did a very good job.

I am really looking forward to his latest film G.I. Joe which should be released sometime in 2009. In this movie he plays another one of my favorite characters from the series Heavy Duty. So far the movie looks like it will be pretty good.

If you are interested in learning more about this actor please see his character pages as http://www.tv.com/ and http://www.imdb.com/.