Michael Wawuyo Sr is a Ugandan actor and special effects artist. He is notable for his big screen roles on Last King of Scotland, Kony: Order from Above, The Only Son, Sometimes in April, The Mercy of the Jungle, The Taste of our Land, and small screen roles on Uganda NTV's Yat Madit and Power of Legacy.
Career Wawuyo broke into film industry in the 1991 Mira Nair directed film Mississippi Masala playing a terrorist soldier. He subsequently took on a series of military-type roles in several international productions, including an intelligence security officer in Black Blood (1997); a military commander in the HBO film Sometimes in April (2005) about the Rwandan genocide; and an air force commander in The Last King of Scotland (2016) about former Ugandan president Idi Amin.
In addition to homegrown Ugandan productions, Wawuyu continues to periodically work in regional African and international films, including the awarding winning Rwandan films The Mercy of the Jungle (2018) and A Taste of our Land (2022). The latter film, set in an unnamed African country and told against the backdrop of Chinese influence on the continent, garnered him the Best Male Actor award at Morocco's Festival du Cinéma Africain de Khouribga.
His Ugandan films include Situka (2015); Kony: Order from Above (2017), The Boda Boda Thieves (Abaabi Ba Booda) (2015), The Only Son (2016) and The Girl in the Yellow Jumper (2020), the first Ugandan film to be made available on Netflix.
After a quarter of a century of big screen appearances, Wawuyo made his television debut on NTV Uganda's 2016 award-winning drama series,Yat Madit, about a fictional post-conflict Northern Ugandan community. The series was part of an effort to promote reconciliation and peace among post-conflict communities in North and North Eastern Uganda following Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army war. Wawuyo's next television role was in the 2019 television drama series Power of Legacy, starring as the patriarch of the Batte family hotel empire.
Wawuyo is also known for his work as a special effects and make up artist on films that includeThe Felista's Fable (2013) for which he received his first nomination at the 2nd Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards in 2014, Imbabazi: The Pardon (2013), and The Mercy of the Jungle (2018).
At the Uganda 2024 iKon Awards, Wawuyo was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes2022Taste of Our LandYohani2022 Kafa Coh Cedric Nkono2020 The Girl in the Yellow Jumper 2019 Power of Legacy Zacharias Batte Sr.2018 The Mercy of the Jungle Village Chief Rwandan film by Joël Karekezi 2017 Kony: Order from Above About the LRA Rebel leader Joseph Kony2016 Yat Madit Achan Aired on NTV Uganda in 2016-2017 The Only Son Father 2015 King of Darkness James - Airport store man SitukaMuwadada The Boda Boda Thieves Goodman2014 Bullion Produced by Henry H. Ssali and directed by Phillip Luswata2013 Luzira:Escape From Uganda Inspector Michael Morais Malayalam thriller movie directed by Rajesh Nair Imbabazi: The Pardon KalisaRwandan film by Joël KarekeziThe Felistas FableKuku2012 Bye Bye Mzungu WaswaShort2006 The Last King of Scotland Air Force CommanderHollywood Production starring Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin, Kerry Washington as Kay Amin and James McAvoy as Dr. Nicholas Garrigan2005 Sometimes in April RAF Soldier #8HBO TV Movie about Rwandan genocide of 19941991 Mississippi Masala Soldier on BusMira Nair directed film
Awards and nominations Year Nominated work Association Category Result Notes2024iKon Awards Lifetime Achievement AwardWon2022Taste of our LandFestival du Cinéma Africain de KhouribgaBest Male ActorWon 2017 Uganda Film Festival Awards Judges' Choice Award Honorary Award 2014 Felista's Fable Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCAs) Make Up Artiste of the Year
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