Gbenga Akinnagbe Biography, Career, and Net Worth

Nigerian-American actor and writer Gbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe are best known for his performances as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up in New York City.
Profile Summary of Gbenga Akinnagbe
Born | 1978/1979
Washington, D.C., U.S.
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Occupation |
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Years active | 2002–present |
Relatives | Wale (cousin) |
Gbenga Akinnagbe Early Life
Akinnagbe was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, and grew in Silver Spring, Maryland. Akinnagbe is a member of the Democratic Party. He is the second oldest of six children, with one elder sister and four younger brothers. He is also the first member of his family to be born in the United States, having arrived there as a toddler. Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland, was where he received his education. He received a wrestling scholarship to attend Bucknell University, where he graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and English. Wale, a rapper, is Akinnagbe’s cousin.
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Gbenga Akinnagbe Net Worth
Gbenga Akinnagbe is currently one of the richest and most influential actors in the United States of America with an estimated net worth of $1 million
Gbenga Akinnagbe as an Actor
The character of Ben Ellis was performed by Akinnagbe in the episode “Contenders” of the television series Numb3rs. In the summer of 2006, Akinnagbe played the part of “Zim” in the Modern Missionary production of the New York Fringe Festival, which won the prize for “Outstanding Play” that year. In 2003, Akinnagbe auditioned for the part of Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire, and he was cast in the role, which he continued to play on a regular basis until 2004. In 2008, during the fifth and last season of the program, he was elevated to the position of series regular.
Akinnagbe featured in the 2007 film The Savages, which also starred Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco, among others. In June 2009, Sony released the remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, in which he played the role of Pelham One Two Three. As Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier residing in New York who is facing deportation, Akinnagbe had a cameo appearance on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from season 10 titled “Hell.” In the episode, Akinnagbe’s former The Wire co-star Robert Wisdom appears as Father Theo Burdett, who was also played by Akinnagbe. Akinnagbe made her stage debut in the world premiere production of The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington, in 2010.
He also starred in the film Lottery Ticket and in the television show The Good Wife, where he played Pastor Isiah Easton. A number of episodes of The Good Wife included his old co-star from The Wire, Frankie Faison, who played his father on the show. His other television appearances include Kelly Slater, a nurse in the third season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie.
In addition, he featured in two indie films, playing Jack in Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and James in Big Words, directed by Neil Drumming, in which he played the major part of James. In the USA series Graceland, he played a drug kingpin, and in the film The Following, he played the lead character, Tom. In addition, he featured as CIA Agent Erik Ritter in the television series 24: Live Another Day. In October 2016, he began shooting the feature film Starbright, which will be released in 2017.
Akinnagbe was cast in the latest movie The Old Man, which was a premiere in March 2020
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Gbenga Akinnagbe as a Writer
His work has appeared in The New York Times twice, once chronicling a trip to Nepal with the purpose of climbing the Himalayas and once describing medical treatments he took to repair his extremely flat feet, both of which were featured in the newspaper.
Gbenga Akinnagbe Movies
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2005 | They’re Made Out of Meat | Merlin | Short film |
2007 | Man-Up | Q | Short film |
2007 | The Savages | Jimmy | |
2009 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Wallace | |
2010 | Edge of Darkness | Darcy Jones | |
2010 | Overnight | TMJ | |
2010 | Lottery Ticket | Lorenzo | |
2011 | Clap (One Day) | Police Officer | Short film |
2013 | Fort Bliss | Sgt. Butcher | |
2013 | Big Words | James | |
2013 | Home | Jack Hall | |
2014 | Render to Caesar | Dipo | |
2014 | Mall | Michel | |
2015 | Knucklehead | Langston | Also producer |
2016 | Detour | Michael | |
2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Agent Travis | |
2017 | Crown Heights | Sampson | |
2017 | Detroit | Aubrey Pollard Sr. | |
2018 | Egg | Wayne | |
2018 | All the Devil’s Men | Samuelson | |
2019 | The Sun Is Also a Star | Samuel Kingsley | |
2021 | Passing | Dave Freedland |
Gbenga Akinnagbe on Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2004–2008 | The Wire | Chris Partlow Officer in courtroom |
29 episodes |
2005 | Barbershop | Yinka | 10 episodes |
2006 | Conviction | Calvin | 1 episode |
2006 | Conviction | Gary Wade | 1 episode |
2007 | Numb3rs | Ben Ellis | Episode: “Contendors” |
2008 | Cold Case | Victor Nash ’05/’08 | Episode: “Street Money” |
2009 | Fringe | Akim | Episode: “The No-Brainer” |
2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Elijah Okello | Episode: “Hell” |
2009 | Dark Blue | Dante Rollings | Episode: “August” |
2009 | Maggie Hill | Elliot Springer | Television film |
2010–2015 | The Good Wife | Pastor Isaiah Easton | 7 episodes |
2011 | Blue Bloods | Pierre | Episode: “All That Glitters” |
2011–2012 | Nurse Jackie | Kelly Slater | 8 episodes |
2011 | Chase | John Macon | Episode: “The Man at the Altar” |
2011 | A Gifted Man | Dr. Leo ‘Bax’ Baxter | 2 episodes |
2012 | Damages | Walid Cooper | 4 episodes |
2012 | Elementary | Jeremy Lopez | Episode: “The Leviathan” |
2012–2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Father Biobaku | 2 episodes |
2013 | Graceland | Bello | 8 episodes |
2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Erik Ritter | 11 episodes |
2015 | The Following | Tom | 11 episodes |
2015–2016 | Limitless | Quentin Walker | 2 episodes |
2016 | Madam Secretary | Chris Santumari | Episode: “Desperate Remedies” |
2017 | Mercy Street | Saga | Episode: “House of Bondage” |
2017–2018 | The Deuce | Larry Brown | Main cast |
2020 | Evil | Lando Mutabazi | Episode: “Justice x 2” |
2021 | The Old Man | Julian | Main cast, upcoming series |
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Gbenga Akinnagbe on Theater
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2001 | The Oedipus Plays | Soldier | |
2002 | Romeo and Juliet | Ensemble | |
2002 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Le Bret | |
2003 | Henry V | A French Messenger | |
2005 | The Controversy of Valladolid | A Black Servant | |
2006 | Modern Missionary | Zim | |
2007 | A View From 151st Street | Dwight | |
2008 | Lower Ninth | Lowboy | |
2010 | A Thin Place | Isaac | |
2013 | The Rainmaker | Bill Starbuck | |
2015 | Fulfillment | Michael | |
2018 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Tom Robinson |