Jovan Adepo (born 6 September 1988) is a British and American actor. He made his feature film debut in the period drama Fences (2016), which was followed by roles in the psychological horror film Mother! (2017), the action horror film Overlord (2018), the period comedy-drama Babylon (2022), and the drama His Three Daughters (2023).
Adepo also starred in the HBO supernatural drama series The Leftovers (2015–2017), the Facebook Watch drama series Sorry for Your Loss (2018–2019), the Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Jack Ryan (2019), the Netflix true crime miniseries When They See Us (2019), the HBO superhero miniseries Watchmen (2019), the CBS All Access fantasy miniseries The Stand (2020–2021), the Netflix science fiction series 3 Body Problem (2024) and the HBO horror series It: Welcome To Derry (2025). For his performance as Hooded Justice in Watchmen, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
Early life and education Adepo was born in 1988 in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. His mother is a British Nigerian from London, while his father is an African American from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He holds dual American and British citizenship. His maternal grandfather Fatai Adepo was special adviser to former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. He moved to the United States with his family at age 2. Raised in Waldorf, Maryland, he acted in school and church plays.
He attended college at Bowie State University in Maryland, receiving his B.A. in political science and philosophy. While studying political science, he began taking creative writing classes.
Career Early workshops and roles Adepo moved to Los Angeles in 2011 after receiving his bachelor's degree. He intended to become a writer, but he started conducting commercial workshops to supplement his income. He took acting classes in order to book commercials for extra income. His interest in acting grew. Adepo studied acting under the tutelage of a variety of notable instructors, including Ben Guillory of The Robey Theatre Company and Dianne Hull of the Actors Studio. Through church in Maryland, he had met Viola Davis's older sister, who helped him get in contact with Davis. Davis directed him to study techniques, attend plays, and read as many plays as he could.
Film and television roles He was part of Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons. He played the role of Lionel Jefferson. The special was conceptualized and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and the team took home the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). In 2016 he starred in Fences alongside Viola Davis and Denzel Washington. In Fences, he stars as Cory Maxson, the son of the main characters played by Davis and Washington. Adepo was "the only member of the Fences cast who did not star in the play's 2010 Broadway revival before it made the jump to feature film."
In 2017, he appeared as the central character along with Wyatt Russell in Overlord, both playing American paratroopers confronted by Nazi super soldiers. By 2017, he was also a series regular on The Leftovers on HBO, appearing in the second and third seasons. Adepo performed in the 2017 horror film Mother! by Darren Aronofsky.
In May 2019, he appeared as the adult Antron McCray in When They See Us, nominated for an Emmy, about the Central Park Five. Adepo played the role of Larry Underwood in the 2020 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. In November 2019, he appeared as the central character in the sixth episode of Watchmen, playing the world's first superhero, Hooded Justice. Also in November 2019, he was in an unreleased independent film called Violent Heart, to be released in 2020. He was named one of Dazed Magazine's "Dazed 100".
In March 2021, he was cast to star in Babylon. In 2024, Adepo co-starred as one of the major characters in the Netflix science-fiction series "3 Body Problem." He will reprise his role in at least one of the two new seasons greenlit by Netflix.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 2016 Fences Cory Maxson 2017 Mother! Cupbearer 2018 Overlord Private Edward Boyce 2019 The Planters Jesus (voice) 2020 The Violent Heart Daniel 2021 5150 Celeb Short film 2022 Babylon Sidney Palmer 2023 To Catch a Killer Jack McKenzie His Three Daughters Benjy 2026 The Odyssey Elpenor
Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2014 Blood Relatives Dushaan Jackson Episode: "House of Lies" 2015–2017 The Leftovers Michael Murphy Main role (seasons 2–3) 2016 NCIS: Los Angeles Emmanuel Salim Episode: "Revenge Deferred" 2018–2019 Sorry for Your Loss Danny Greer Main role 2019 Jack Ryan Marcus Bishop Main role (season 2); 8 episodes 2019 Live in Front of a Studio Audience Lionel Jefferson Episode: "All in the Family and The Jeffersons" 2019 When They See Us Adult Antron McCray Main role 2019 Watchmen Will Reeves / Hooded Justice 3 episodes 2020–2021 The Stand Larry Underwood Main role 2024 3 Body Problem Saul Durand Main role 2025 It: Welcome to Derry Leroy Hanlon Main role
Video Games Year Title Role NotesRef. 2026 Silent Hill: Townfall Simon Ordell Main role
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref.2017Black Reel Award Outstanding Breakthrough PerformanceFences Outstanding Supporting Actor Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2020 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Watchmen 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Babylon
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