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David Oyelowo (born 1 April 1976) is an English actor. Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons and a daughter. Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied theatre studies for A level and his teacher suggested he should become an actor. After A levels Oyelowo enrolled for a year on an art foundation course before being funded through training at LAMDA by Nicholas Hytner. Having been offered television work Oyelowo left LAMDA before completing... MORE

David Oyelowo (born 1 April 1976) is an English actor. Oyelowo was born in Oxford, England of Nigerian descent. He is married to actress Jessica Oyelowo and they have three sons and a daughter. Oyelowo first attended a youth theatre after being invited by a girl to whom he was attracted. He then studied theatre studies for A level and his teacher suggested he should become an actor. After A levels Oyelowo enrolled for a year on an art foundation course before being funded through training at LAMDA by Nicholas Hytner. Having been offered television work Oyelowo left LAMDA before completing the course. He had begun his stage career in 1999 when he was offered a season with the RSC playing roles in Ben Jonson's Volpone, as the title character in Oroonoko (in which he also performed in the BBC radio adaptation) and Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (1999) alongside Guy Henry, Frances de la Tour and Alan Bates. His next theatrical role is his best known one – his performance as King Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2001 productions of Shakespeare's trilogy of plays about the king – part of its season This England: The Histories. In a major landmark for colour-blind casting, LESS