Gbenga Akinnagbe

Gbenga Akinnagbe, born Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe on December 12, 1978, in Washington, D.C., is an American actor and writer. The son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, he grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is the second oldest of six children, with one older sister and four younger brothers. He was the first member of his family to be born in the United States. His cousin is rapper Wale. Akinnagbe attended Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland, before enrolling at Bucknell University on a wrestling scholarship, where he earned a degree in Political Science and English in 2000.

Akinnagbe is best known for his television work, particularly his portrayal of Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire. He auditioned for the role in 2003 and began appearing in the series in 2004 as a recurring player, eventually being elevated to series regular during the show's fifth and final season in 2008. He also starred as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce. Among his other television credits, he appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Elijah Okello, a former Ugandan child soldier facing deportation, and played Pastor Isiah Easton on The Good Wife, where his former Wire castmate Frankie Faison portrayed his father in multiple episodes. He played Kelly Slater, a nurse, in the third season of the Showtime series Nurse Jackie, appeared as a drug lord in the USA series Graceland, and starred as Tom in The Following. He also portrayed CIA Agent Erik Ritter in 24: Live Another Day. In March 2020, he was cast in The Old Man.

His film work includes a role in The Savages alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, and Philip Bosco in 2007, and an appearance in Sony's 2009 remake of The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He also appeared in Lottery Ticket and led two independent productions, playing Jack in Home, directed by Jono Oliver, and James in Big Words, directed by Neil Drumming. In October 2016, he began production on the feature film Starbright. Earlier in his career, in the summer of 2006, he performed the role of Zim in the NYC Fringe Festival production of Modern Missionary, which received the festival's Outstanding Play award.

On Broadway, Akinnagbe appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird in 2018, a credit for which he received a Theatre World Award in 2019. In 2010, he starred in the world premiere of The Thin Place at The Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington.

Beyond acting, Akinnagbe owns Enitan, a Brooklyn-based furniture business in which he designs vintage furniture incorporating Dutch wax-resist fabrics. He has also had two articles published in The New York Times, one documenting a trip to Nepal to climb the Himalayas and another describing medical procedures he underwent to address severely flat feet.