Bishop Blay
{{short description|Liberian actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bishop Blay
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1980}}
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| nationality = Liberian
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| occupation = Actor
| notable_works = Out of My Hand (2015)
}}
Bishop Blay (born 1980) is a Liberian actor.
Biography
Blay was born in Liberia in 1980. During the Liberian Civil War, Blay worked as a rubber tree tapper in one of the largest rubber plantations in the country. He escaped to Ghana and lived at a refugee camp.{{cite news |title=Out of My Hand,’ starring Bishop Blay win top prizes in the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival |work=LSV Magazine |date=19 June 2015}} During his time at the camp, he began his acting training by performing in improvised "street dramas". After the war, he acted in Liberian film and theater productions.{{cite news |title=SPECIAL GUESTS |url=https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/film/japan-cuts-2015/special-guests |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=Japan Society |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027023329/https://www.japansociety.org/page/programs/film/japan-cuts-2015/special-guests |url-status=dead }} Blay also worked in a parking lot in Monrovia when not acting.{{cite web |last1=Mu'min |first1=Nijla |title=Interview - From Tragedy to Triumph: Takeshi Fukunaga's 'Out of My Hand' Tells a Moving Story |url=https://shadowandact.com/interview-from-tragedy-to-triumph-takeshi-fukunagas-out-of-my-hand-tells-a-moving-story |website=Shadow and Act |accessdate=23 October 2020 |date=20 April 2017}}
In 2015, Blay made his feature film debut in Takeshi Fukunaga's Out of My Hand. He played Cisco, a rubber tapper who is involved in a labor dispute, and eventually decides to immigrate to New York. When he arrives in America, Blay's character is forced to confront his dark past. Katie Walsh of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Blay brings a naturalism and grounded soulfulness to his performance," noting that he "has an arresting face and an even more arresting screen presence."{{cite news |last1=Walsh |first1=Katie |title=Review: Soulful immigrant’s tale ‘Out of My Hand’ shows how the past lingers |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-out-of-my-hand-review-20151113-story.html |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=11 November 2015}} The film debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the U.S. Fiction Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival.{{cite news |last1=Schilling |first1=Mark |title='Out of My Hand': Documentary-like elements add to realistic portrayal of immigrants |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/08/02/films/film-reviews/hand-documentary-like-elements-add-realistic-portrayal-immigrants/ |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=The Japan Times |date=2 August 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Bob |title=LA Film Festival Review: ‘Out of My Hand’ an intriguing international movie |url=https://www.dailynews.com/2015/06/19/la-film-festival-review-out-of-my-hand-an-intriguing-international-movie/ |accessdate=23 October 2020 |work=Los Angeles Daily News |date=19 June 2015}} Fukunaga discovered Blay at an audition that he had in cooperation with the Liberian Movie Union, and was impressed with Blay's ability to convey emotion through facial expressions.
Like his character, Blay moved to New York to further his career.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7130838/ Bishop Blay] at the Internet Movie Database
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blay, Bishop}}
Category:Liberian expatriates in Ghana