Arinzé Kene


Arinze Kene is a British actor and playwright.

Early life

In 1987, Kene was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Kene's father was a taxi driver.

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.
In January 2011, his play Suffocation opened at the Oval House Theatre in London.
He won the 2010 award for Most Promising Playwright at The Offies. His latest play, Little Baby Jesus at the Oval House, has been nominated for Best New Play in The Offies 2011. He is a member of the series 3 writing team for . In April 2011, his casting as Rocco in Hollyoaks was announced.
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 will appear opposite Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen in How to Build a Girl, directed by Coky Giedroyc.
In 2018, Arinze 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.

Filmography