Emmanuel Ohene Boafo
{{Short description|Dutch-Ghanaian actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Emmanuel Ohene Boafo
| image =Emmanuel_Boafo.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1993|07|04}}
| birth_place = Meppel, the Netherlands
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts
| nationality = Dutch
| other_names =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2010 – present
| known_for = Sea Wall, Dutch voice of Black Panther
| notable_works =
| awards =2013: Golden Calf for Best Television Drama
2017: Guido de Moor Prize
2020: Henriëtte Hunstinx Award
2021: Louis d'Or
2022: Nomination Golden Calf for Best Supporting Role
| website =[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5317126/ IMDB profile]
}}
Emmanuel Ohene Boafo (born 4 July 1993) is a Dutch-Ghanaian actor. He plays the Dutch voice of Black Panther in the What if...? animation series and in 2021 he became the first black actor to win the prestigious Louis d'Or, for his version of the monologue Sea Wall.{{Cite web |date=12 September 2021 |author=Ally Smid |title=Emmanuel Ohene Boafo first black actor to win most important theater prize Louis d'Or |url=https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur-media/emmanuel-ohene-boafo-wint-als-eerste-zwarte-acteur-belangrijkste-toneelprijs-louis-d-or~be6a273a/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=Volkskrant|language=nl}} He was born in a Ghanaian family in the town of Meppel in the Netherlands.
Early life
As a child he played the drums, but after seeing the play Backfire by youth theatre group Jong Rast, he wanted to become an actor. His parents were immigrants from Ghana.{{Cite web |url=https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur-media/acteur-emmanuel-ohene-boafo-smeekte-zijn-vader-laat-me-spelen~bf369b4d/ |website=De Trouw |date=17 December 2021 |access-date=21 November 2022 |title=Actor Emmanuel Ohene Boafo begged his father, let me play |author=Ally Smid}}{{cite web |author1=Ms. Aba |title=Emmanuel Ohene Boafo – Taking acting to higher heights #TheBigScreen |url=https://aftownmusic.com/track/xICAv3PCK5VfBlN |website=aftown}}
Acting career
His acting career started when he joined Jong Rast, led by artistic director Elike Roovers. To avoid a conflict with his father, he had promised to quit acting after a performance in the play I don't care, but was eventually cast for a role in the film Exit. The 2013 production awarded him a Golden Calf, and marked a change in his father's attitude. The following year, he was accepted to the Dutch theater school Toneelacademie Maastricht, which he attended from 2014 to 2018.{{Cite web |title=Just graduated the Toneelschool Maastricht and already won the major prize: 'I live in a dream' |url=https://www.limburger.nl/cnt/dmf20211014_93354858 |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=www.limburger.nl |date=14 October 2021 |language=nl}} During his studies, he did an internship at Het Nationale Theater (HNT), where he had a conflict with the director about his role in Meanwhile in Casblanca. He viewed his role as too "role-affirming."{{Cite web |author=Robert Vuijsje |date=10 December 2021 |title=I want to be able to play a hero as well |url=https://www.parool.nl/ps/louis-d-or-winnaar-emmanuel-ohene-boafo-ze-maakten-grappen-over-me-en-ik-moest-dansen-zoals-carlton-uit-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air~b9e0ba3c/ |access-date=21 November 2022 |work=Het Parool |language=nl}} Despite the conflict, he was able to join the theater group after graduation. He appeared on stage in The reunification of the two Koreas by Eric de Vroedt, Cinema by Jeroen de Man, The world according to John, Sexual Healing and Trojan Wars, the latter performed by HNTjong. He won the Guido de Moor Prize in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Emmanual Ohene Boafo Biography- Het Nationale Theater |url=https://www.hnt.nl/pQo2aCw/het-nationale-theater---emmanuel-ohene-boafo |access-date=22 November 2022 |language=nl}}{{Cite web |author=Joke Beeckmans |date=2 July 2017 |title=Emmanuel Ohene Boafo wins the Guido Moor Prize 2017 |url=https://www.theaterkrant.nl/nieuws/emmanuel-ohene-boafo-wint-guido-moorprijs-2017/ |language=nl}}
From 2021 he played the role of war veteran Richard Mehciz in BNNVARA's drama series Thuisfront. He also played guest roles in the series Toon, De Maatschap, A'dam - E.V.A., Papadag and the movie The Paradise Suite. He played the Dutch voice for T'Challa in the animation series What If...?. The same year, he won the Louis d'Or, for his version of the monologue Seawall, which he performed in English.{{Cite web |last= |title=Louis d'or |url=https://tf.nl/toneelprijzen/louis-dor/ |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=Nederlands Theater Festival |language=nl}} In the same year he decided to quit the HNT to focus on film and television roles. In 2022 he voiced Knuckles in the adventure film Sonic the Hedgehog 2.{{Cite web |url=https://www.couturekrant.nl/8-columns/nieuws-a-tv/9067-film-sonic-the-hedgehog-4.html |title= Film: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 |website=Couturekrant |access-date=22 November 2022}}
=Awards=
Boafo won the following awards:
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Prize !Production |
| 2013
|Golden Calf for Best Television Drama{{cite web|title=Het overzicht van alle Gouden Kalveren 2013|url=https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/het-overzicht-van-alle-gouden-kalveren-2013~a95d4c06/|work=Algemeen Dagblad|date=2013-10-04|access-date=2022-11-22|language=nl}} |Exit (television drama) |
| 2017
|Ondertussen in Casablanca (theatre play) |
| 2020
| - |
| 2021
|Sea Wall (monologue) |
| 2022
|Nomination Golden Calf for Best Supporting Role{{Cite web |url=https://www.volkskrant.nl/gs-b6522f66 |title=Nominations Golden Calfs released |author= Bor Beekman |date=24 September 2022 |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=de Volkskrant |language=nl}} |White Berry (film) |
External links
- [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5317126/ Boafo's IMDB profile]