Arinzé Mokwe Kene () is a Nigerian-born British actor and playwright.
Early life Kene was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1987 and moved to London when he was four. Kene's father was a taxi driver. Kene was bullied growing up and was encouraged to take kickboxing lessons. When he turned 16, he started his amateur kickboxing career and went on to win two national championships. He quit kickboxing at 21 years old and went on to pursue an acting career.
Career Kene has appeared in stage productions such as playing Simba in The Lion King, Daddy Cool, and in June 2009 played strutting lothario Raymond LeGrendre in the musical Been So Long, based on Ché Walker's 1998 play, which opened at the Young Vic. Kene also plays the lead in 2010 UK Film Council feature Freestyle. In 2010, he joined the cast of the BBC's EastEnders as Connor Stanley, for which he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards. His play Suffocation opened at the Oval House Theatre in London in 2011. Kene was also a member of the series 3 writing team for EastEnders: E20. In April 2011, his casting as Rocco in Hollyoaks was announced.
In 2013, Kene's play God's Property was a Talawa Theatre Company, Soho Theatre and Albany Theatre co-production, directed by Michael Buffong.
In 2016 he portrayed Tyler in the television series Crazyhead. From 6 October to 3 December 2016 Kene acted and sang in the role of Sam Cooke in the Donmar Warehouse production of the European premiere of One Night in Miami, a play by Kemp Powers. He also appeared opposite Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen in How to Build a Girl, directed by Coky Giedroyc.
In 2018, Arinzé starred in Misty, which in September transferred to Trafalgar Studios, following a sold-out run at the Bush Theatre earlier in the year. The play was written by Kene, directed by Omar Elerian and produced by Trafalgar Entertainment Group.
On 17 February 2020, it was announced that Arinzé Kene would play the role of Bob Marley in the new musical Get Up, Stand Up!, opening at the Lyric Theatre in February 2021 in London's West End, before being postponed to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.
In 2025 He played Walker in Michael Abbensetts play Alterations at The Royal National Theatre.
Kene was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to drama and screenwriting.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes2010GloryMMA Fighter2010FreestyleLeonfeature film2010CasualtyJacob MaynardTV series, 3 episodes2010EastEndersConnor StanleyTV series, 41 episodes2011Drink, Drugs and KFCJason Simpsonshort film2011HollyoaksRoccoTV series, 2 episodes2013YoungersAshleyTV series, 16 episodes2014Our GirlCorp. KindersTV series, 5 episodes2016The PassAdefeature film2016Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemAuror 6feature film2016CrazyheadTylerTV series, 6 episodes2018Been So LongRaymondfeature film2018InformerSal BrahimiTV series, 6 episodes2019I Am... James TV series; Episode 3: I Am Hannah2019How to Build a Girl Kenny feature film2019Flack Sam TV series, 7 episodes2020 I'm Your Woman Cal feature film2021 Ear for Eye UK Man feature film2023 Love Again John feature film2023 Tuesday Death feature film2024 Harvest Phillip "Quill" Earle feature film2026 Up Against It TBA feature film
Awards and nominations
Major associations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2018Evening Standard Theatre AwardBest Musical PerformanceMisty2019Laurence Olivier AwardBest New PlayBest Actor2020Best Actor in a Supporting RoleDeath of a Salesman 2022Best Actor in a MusicalGet Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical
Other awards YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef2010OffieNew PlayEstate Walls Most Promising New Playwright 2011New PlayLittle Baby Jesus 2013God's Property 2019Black British Theatre AwardBest Male Actor in a PlayMisty OffieNew Play Performance Piece WhatsOnStage AwardBest New PlayBest Actor in a Play2020Black British Theatre AwardBest Supporting Male Actor in a PlayDeath of a Salesman
References
External links