Hakeem Kae-Kazim ( ; born 1 October 1962) is a Nigerian-British actor and producer. He portrayed Georges Rutaganda in the film Hotel Rwanda (2004) and won a SAFTA for his performance in the film Riding with Sugar (2020). He produced and starred in Man on Ground (2011), for which he received two Africa Movie Academy Award nominations.
On television, Kae-Kazim is known for his roles in the CBC miniseries Human Cargo (2004), the Starz series Black Sails (2014–2016), and the BBC series Troy: Fall of a City (2018).
Early life Kae-Kazim was born in Lagos State to a family from Abeokuta, Ogun State in the southwestern region of Nigeria and relocated to south London when he was a baby. His interest in acting began with school plays and the National Youth Theatre, where he discovered his "love for theatre, for acting". He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 1987 and was offered a space with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he continued his classical training.
Career After working alongside Brian Cox and Ian McKellen at the Royal National Theatre, Kae-Kazim began appearing on British television in episodes of The District Nurse, The Bill, Saracen, Screen One, and Love Hurts. In 1994, he landed his first recurring role as Mr Manyeke in the seventeenth series the BBC children's series Grange Hill. He then appeared in the ITV police procedural Trial & Retribution.
Kae-Kazim began living and working in South Africa when he was 25. He made his feature film debut in Ross Kettle's After the Rain (1999) alongside Louise Lombard and Paul Bettany. However, it was his role as Georges Rutaganda in the 2004 Academy Award-nominated film Hotel Rwanda, which brought him to international attention. That same year, he starred in the Canadian CBC miniseries Human Cargo, for which Kae-Kazim was nominated for a Gemini Award. He then appeared in the Syfy and BBC miniseries The Triangle.
Following the success of Hotel Rwanda, Kae-Kazim went on to appear in the films Slipstream alongside Sean Astin and The Front Line before playing Captain Jockard in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Kae-Kazim made guest appearances in the likes of Lost, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Criminal Minds. He joined the cast of the Fox series 24 as Colonel Iké Dubaku for its 2008 tie-in television film 24: Redemption and its 2009 seventh season in 2009.
Kae-Kazim starred in the Nigerian films Inale (2010) and Last Flight to Abuja (2012), and also appeared in Half of a Yellow Sun. He produced and starred in Man on Ground (2011) about Nigerian immigrants to South Africa, earning Kae-Kazim nominations for Best Film and Best Actor at the 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards. He also had producing credits on the films Black Gold and Black November.
From 2014 to 2016, Kae-Kazim was in the main cast of the Michael Bay-produced Starz series Black Sails for its first three seasons as Mr Scott. Kae-Kazim stated his character was based on Black Caesar, a real life pirate of the time. He had a recurring role in second season of Dominion on Syfy, played Samson in part one of the 2016 miniseries remake of Roots on the History Channel, and had a role in the action horror film Daylight's End. In November 2017, Kae-Kazim was cast in the recurring role of Cesil Colby in the CW reboot series Dynasty. That same year, he appeared in the action film 24 Hours to Live.
Kae-Kazim starred in the 2018 BBC fantasy series Troy: Fall of a City as Zeus, king of the Olympians. This was followed by a recurring role in season 2 of the Fox series Deep State.
For his performance in the 2020 Netflix film Riding with Sugar, Kae-Kazim won the South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) for Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film. He also appeared in the BBC America adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Watch and the Sky One series Intergalactic, as well as the films Black Beauty, The Shuroo Process, and Godzilla vs. Kong. In 2022, Kae-Kazim starred in the Nigerian epic fantasy film Aníkúlápó and as Majordome the Starz adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons. In January 2022, it was announced he would make his directorial debut with the upcoming feature film It's the Blackness, set in South London where Kae-Kazim grew up.
Voiceover work Called the "Man with a Beautiful Voice", Kae-Kazim has done extensive voice-over work. His voice has been featured in a number of well known video games including Final Fantasy XIV, Halo 3 ODST, Halo: Reach, Guild Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Golden Compass and The Saboteur. Kae-Kazim has spoken of voice-over work as being "a lot of fun", and something he enjoys doing.
Philanthropy Kae-Kazim is an appointed global ambassador for Africa 2.0, a civil society organisation providing a platform for emerging and established African leaders to drive forward the transformation of Africa.
Speaking about his role as ambassador, Kae-Kazim said: "I am truly honoured to be associated with Africa 2.0 – a pioneering platform for a new generation of African leaders to inspire and create a solid infrastructure- to shape a brighter future for our continent".
Personal life Kae-Kazim and his South African wife Bronwyn have three daughters. He has lived and worked in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Nigeria over the course of his career.
Filmography Filmmaking Year Title Director Producer Notes 2003 God Is African 2004 Coming to South Africa Direct-to-video 2005 Coming to South Africa 2 2011 Black Gold Man on Ground 2012 Black November 2017 Bypass 2019 Comatose 2020 Mugabe Cracka Television film TBA It's the Blackness
Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 After the Rain Bingo The Secret Laughter of Women Dr. Ade 2002 Global Effect Satto 2003 God Is African Femi 2004 Critical Assignment Jomo Coming to South Africa Mike Direct-to-video Hotel Rwanda Georges Rutaganda 2005 Coming to South Africa 2 Mike Direct-to-video Slipstream Runson Out on a Limb D.I. Edwards Othello: A South African Tale Iago 2006 The Front Line Erasmus 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Captain Jocard Big Fellas Ray Whitehead Othello Iago The Jinn Ahmad 2008 Tony 5 Preacher 2009 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Nigerian Businessman The One Last Time Batman Short film Hurricane in the Rose Garden Eddie The Fourth Kind Awolowa Odusami Darfur Captain Jack Tobamke 2010 Inale Odeh Faith and Dreams Rebel Leader Short film 2011 CIS: Las Gidi Commander Mohammad Black Gold Dede Man on Ground Ade Inside Story Valentine 2012 Black November Dede Last Flight to Abuja Adesola The American Failure Detective Matheis Short film 2013 Half of a Yellow Sun Captain DUTSE 2015 The Boy The Father Short film Dias Santana Obi Mukwa Daylight's End Chris Whitlock Chasing the Rain Mutua Yefon Fon Nto 2017 24 Hours to Live Amahle 2020 Riding With Sugar Mambo Black Beauty Terry 2021 The Shuroo Process Willie Godzilla vs. Kong Admiral Wilcox Marrying a Campbell Charles Campbell 2022 Aníkúlápó Kabiyesi, Ilu Ojumo 2023 Hammarskjöld Moise Tshombe
Television Year Title Role Notes 1987 The District Nurse Ademola 1 episode 1988 The Bill Kuzalo 1 episode 1989 Saracen Bazantsi 1 episode 1991 Screen One Jerome 1 episode 1992 Double Vision Barman Television film 1993 Runaway Bay Henry Ornette 1 episode 1994 Love Hurts Desmond Matankube 1 episode Grange Hill Mr Manyeke 11 episodes 1995 Hidden Empire: A Son of Africa Equiano Television film 1996 Ellington Tommy Knight 2 episodes Testament: The Bible in Animation Ham 1 episode A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 1997 Trial & Retribution DC Cranham 2 episodes The Adventures of Sinbad Ali Rashid 1 episode 2000 Raad Television film Animated Epics: Moby Dick Queequeg 2003 Canterbury Tales Yasouf 1 episode 2004 Human Cargo Youssef Miniseries; 3 episodes King Solomon's Mines Twala Television film 2005 The Triangle Saunders Miniseries, 3 episodes 2006 The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines Jomo Television film Lost Emeka 1 episode 2007 Cane Tommy 1 episode Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Chuckwei Bothame 1 episode 2008 Ben 10: Alien Force Sir Connor Voice, episode: "Be-Knighted" 24: Redemption Colonel Ike Dubaku Television film 2009 24 Recurring role, 9 episodes 2010 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes T'Chaka Voice, episode: "The Man in the Ant Hill" Human Target Andre Markus 1 episode 2011 Criminal Minds Julio Ruiz 1 episode NCIS: Los Angeles Abdul Habaza 2 episodes Generator Rex Ghrun Set Voice, episode: "Riddle of the Sphinx" 2012 Covert Affairs Somali Pirate 1 episode Strike Back Sulaimani 2 episodes 2014 Gotham Richard Gladwell 1 episode State of Affairs 1 episode 2014–2016 Black Sails Mr. Scott Main role, 23 episodes 2015 Dominion The Prophet 4 episodes 2016 Vixen Eshu Voice role; 5 episodes Roots Samson Miniseries, 1 episode 2017–2018 Dragons: Race to the Edge Krogan, Drago Recurring voice role, 16 episodes 2017–2019 Dynasty Cesil Colby Recurring role, 6 episodes 2017–2018 MacGyver Solomon 2 episodes 2018 The Looming Tower Commander Onyayango 1 episode Troy: Fall of a City Zeus Miniseries, 7 episodes 2019 Love, Death & Robots Simon Voice, episode: "Sonnie's Edge" Deep State Joseph Damba 4 episodes 2020 Silent Witness Adam Brookham 2 episodes 2020–2021 The Watch Captain John Keel 2 episodes 2021 Intergalactic Yann Harper 4 episodes 2022 Dangerous Liaisons Majordome 6 episodes Death in Paradise Marvin Peters Christmas special 2023 Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire Ogun Voice, episode: "Mkhuzi: The Spirit Racer" 2024 FBI: Most Wanted Bankole Udoji 1 episode Twilight of the Gods Baldr Voice, 4 episodes
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2006 Guild Wars Nightfall Djinn / Additional Voices 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Gentleman Jocard The Golden Compass Nicholas / Samoyed 2009 The Bourne Conspiracy Additional Voices Halo 3: ODST Dr. Endesha The Saboteur Mingo 2010 Halo: Reach JorgeArmy of Two: The 40th DayJB Final Fantasy XIV Additional Voices English dub Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011 MBeki 2011 Saints Row: The Third Additional Voices 2011 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Waraabe 2012 Unit 13 Ringo2020Beyond BlueAndre
Stage Year Title Role Notes 1987–1988 Julius Caesar Various Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon / Barbican Theatre, London The Merchant of Venice Prince of Morocco UK tour Measure for Measure Claudio 1989 Othello Othello Theatr Clwyd, Mold 1990–1991 King Lear Edmund National Theatre, London Richard III Tyrrel 1993 Macbeth Macbeth Bridge Lane Theatre, London
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2004 Gemini Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series Human Cargo 2012 Africa Movie Academy Awards Best Film Man on Ground Best Actor in a Leading Role 2021 South African Film and Television Awards Best Supporting Actor – Feature Film Riding with Sugar
References
External links