Michael Sahr Ngaujah (born September 7, 1976) is an American theater actor and director. Not long after his parents arrival from Sierra Leone via UK, Sahr was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Within five years his family relocated to Atlanta. He spent most of his early career working in experimental theater in Amsterdam. He made his breakthrough for his Tony Award-nominated performance as Fela Kuti in the 2009 Broadway musical Fela! He was nominated for his second Tony Award for his performance Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! (2019). On screen, he is best known for his roles in ABC's Last Resort (2012) and Netflix's Luke Cage (2018).

Early life Ngaujah was born to an African-American mother and Sierra Leonean Kono father. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he began his career in theatre there with the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, through 7Stages Theatre in Little 5 Points.

Career

1990s–2007: Early career and Amsterdam

As an actor Sahr began his career at age 15. He has worked with Gerrit Timmers (Onafhankelijk Toneel, Rotterdam), Falk Richter (Berlin Schaubühne, Berlin), Del Hamilton (7 Stages, Atlanta), Walter Chakela (Windybrow, Johannesburg), Tim Habeger (PushPush Theater & Film, Atlanta), Made n da Shade/MC (Amsterdam).

Sahr has also maintained a presence in the world of film since the late 1990s, with appearances in Passing Glory (TNT), A Lesson Before Dying (HBO), How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Castle Way), among other films, and more recently in The Signal (Magnolia/Pop Films, 2008), Stomp the Yard (Sony/Rainforest Films – Jan. 2007), and Blood Done (Sign My Name, 2009 release).

Sahr began as a director under the guidance of Freddie Hendricks, working as an assistant director on FH Y.E.A. productions, playing for audiences ranging from the Atlanta Black Arts Festival to the Tweetakt Festival 2000 Antwerp.

During late winter 1999, Ngaujah began the writing process that led to the short story collection Refracting (Dasarts 2004), which inspired the piece Conversations with Ice Amsterdam-BitterZoet (Dasarts 2006). Over Het Ij Festival, Amsterdam, 2007 (Made n Da Shade/Cosmic Theater).

Since relocating to Amsterdam in 2001, Sahr has worked as a theater director and developer with Rotterdam’s Lef and ACT Festival, and as a collaborator with Made n da Shade. He completed his studies at Dasarts in Amsterdam 2006, under the direction of Alida Neslo and Monique Toebosch. Under the primary influence of his work with Freddie Hendricks, as it relates to his creating of original works, integrating music into every layer of the developmental process, together with what he gained through close work with Made n da Shade and their extensive exploration into the weaving of interactive design technology throughout the base fibers of their theatre, Sahr used the laboratory of Dasarts and his encounters with Shu Lea Chang and Germaine Acogny to search for his own unique language and process, in an effort to lay a foundation that will hopefully allow him to all ways break new ground in his personal approach as a Maker.

His work Conversations with Ice deals with the question of value (who decides, who buys), within the context of the global diamond trade, Sierra Leone’s child soldiers, and its links to the Bling sub-culture in hip-hop. Sahr has appeared at speaking engagements at art conferences in Northern Europe (2007–08) about the construction and development of Conversations With Ice, with invitations pending to present this work in Sweden and Tokyo. Ngaujah continues to work with a host of inspiring artist between Europe, Africa, and the U.S. He is actively attempting to help forge stronger links between the artist community between Atlanta and the Netherlands through the development of an art festival called A to the A, celebrating and exploring Global Underground Art and Culture.

2008–present: Broadway and screen acting In November 2008, Ngaujah received the Audelco Award (or "Viv award") for his work on the Off-Broadway musical Fela!, under the direction of Bill T. Jones, which explores the life and inspiration of the Nigerian composer Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He also received a Tony Award nomination and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his role in this musical. In December 2008 Fela! The Musical was classified as the #1 theatre show of 2008 in New York, by New York magazine.

In July 2017, Ngaujah lent his voice to the video game Overwatchs hero Doomfist."Overwatch's Doomfist is Voiced by Veteran Actor Sahr Ngaujah". PVPLive, 6 July 2017.

In Summer 2018 he appeared in the stage musical Moulin Rouge! as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Moulin Rouge! was scheduled to begin preview performances on June 27, 2018, at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston.

Personal life For much of the 2000s, he was based in Amsterdam, Netherlands (and briefly London).

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 First Time Felon Smiling Inmate Television film How I Spent My Summer Vacation D'Angelo 1999 Passing Glory Lil' Ricky Television film A Lesson Before Dying Brother Television film 2002 Big Ain't Bad Clay 2005 Shi cha qi xiao shi Orintheus 2007 Stomp the Yard Harold The Signal Rod 2009 The Jailhouse Cash 2010 Blood Done Sign My Name Boo Chavis 2011National Theatre Live: Fela!Fela KutiLive broadcast 2015 Freeheld Father John 2016 Farewell Meu Armor Walter Short film Money Monster Yao Appiah COO 2017 Patti Cake$ O-Z Kensho at the Bedfellow Mosi 2018Vox Lux Sound engineer

Television Year Title Role Notes 2007–2010 House of Payne Blue 3 episodes 2012–2013 Last Resort Julian Serrat 13 episodes 2014–2015 The Blacklist General Yaabari 2 episodes 2015 The Good Wife Joel Becquet Episode: "Restraint" 2016 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Father Akintola 2 episodes 2018 High Maintenance Solomon Episode: "#goalz" 2018 Deception Oliver Scott Episode: "Code Act" 2018 Luke Cage Anansi 8 episodes2019BullADA CarterEpisode: "Separate Together"2020The Accidental Wolf2 episodes2021Prodigal SonDarryl2 episodes2024Power Book II: GhostChinedu2 episodes

Theatre Selected credits (2008 on). Year Title Role Venue Notes2008–2012 Fela! Fela Anikulapo-Kuti 37 Arts Theatre:July – October 2008Off-BroadwayEugene O'Neill Theatre:October 2009 – October 2010BroadwayWorld Tour:September 2011 – August 2012US/CanadaAl Hirschfeld Theatre:July – August 2012Broadway return2015The Painted Rocks at Revolver CreekJonathonRomulus Linney Courtyard Theatre:April – June 2015Off-Broadway2016Signature Plays: Drowning / Funnyhouse of a NegroRoe / Patrice LumumbaAlice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre:May – June 2016Off-Broadway2016"Master Harold"... and the boysWillieIrene Diamond Stage:October – December 2016Off-Broadway2018Mlima's TaleThe Public Theater:March – May 2018Off-Broadway2018–presentMoulin Rouge!Henri de Toulouse-LautrecEmerson Colonial Theatre:July – August 2018RegionalAl Hirschfeld Theatre:June 2019 – March 2020September 2021 –Broadway2019Boesman and LenaBoesmanAlice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre:March – February 2019Off-Broadway

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2016 Overwatch Doomfist 2022 Overwatch 2 Doomfist

Podcasts Year Title Role Notes 2021 Tomorrow's Monsters David Trusedale Episode: "It's Not The Fall That Kills You"

Awards and nominations YearAward CategoryWorkResultRef.2009Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Actor in a MusicalFela!Drama League AwardDistinguished PerformanceLucille Lortel AwardOutstanding Lead ActorObie AwardPerformance2010Tony AwardBest Actor in a MusicalTheatre World Award 2011Laurence Olivier AwardBest Actor in a Musical2018Drama League AwardDistinguished PerformanceMlima’s Tale 2019Lucille Lortel AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Play2020Tony AwardBest Featured Actor in a MusicalMoulin Rouge!Grammy AwardBest Musical Theater Album

References

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