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Sharlto Copley

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Sharlto Copley
Copley at the July 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International
Occupation(s)Actor, Producer, Director
Years active2005–present

Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973) is a South African producer, actor, and director who has produced and co-directed short films which have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as commercials and music videos. He co-founded a media production company, visual effects company and a talent agency. He is perhaps best known for playing the roles of Wikus van de Merwe in the Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9[1] and H. M. Murdock in the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team.

Personal life

Copley, an Anglo-African,[2][3] was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4] His first name, "Sharlto" (pronounced Shol-toe), was a word his mother heard on a radio play.[5] Copley attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School, a private school in the town Grahamstown, until the age of thirteen, when his family moved to Johannesburg. There he attended Redhill High School, a South African private school situated in the suburbs of greater Johannesburg, from 1987 through to 1991. While at school Copley was very involved in amateur production (both theatre and film) and through this interest he met Neill Blomkamp. Blomkamp would also attend Redhill High School, although Copley had already graduated by this time. Copley was not averse to pushing the boundaries and often produced, directed and acted in risqué school plays.[6]

Copley has two younger siblings: Donovan, a musician and leader of the South African band Hot Water, and Marisa, a fashion designer and owner of the clothing label WithOut. Sharlto Copley resides in Cape Town and Los Angeles. He is in a relationship with Jeanne-Melanie Haasbroek, his longtime girlfriend.[7]

Acting, producing, and directing career

A year after leaving high school, Copley first met director Neill Blomkamp; Copley was 22 and Blomkamp was 16, and Copley provided Blomkamp with the use of computers at his production company to assist the company with pitches for various projects and allow Blomkamp to further pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design.[8]

Channel 69 became part of the Midi TV consortium bidding for, and eventually winning, the broadcasting licence for South Africa's first privately owned terrestrial television channel. Copley relocated to Cape Town after Midi won the licence and started e.tv. Copley's company produced and controlled the overnight content for the new e.tv channel, broadcasting a youth focused music/entertainment brand called "Deadtime". Throughout his career in South Africa, Copley has co-directed commercials, music videos and short films.[9]

Copley starred in Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp's District 9 where he plays the leading role of Wikus van de Merwe,[10] an Afrikaner bureaucrat assigned to relocate a race of extraterrestrial creatures unexpectedly stranded on Earth, referred to as "prawns", from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to an internment camp outside the city.[11] He improvised all of his dialogue in the film.[12]

In 2009, Copley won the Favorite Hero award at the IGN Summer Movie awards[13] and Best Performance of 2009[14] for his role in District 9.[15]

In 2010, Copley produced, wrote and directed an insert for the South African Music Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African star Charlize Theron. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album.

Copley then starred alongside Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the feature film adaptation of The A-Team,[16] which was produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. Copley starred as H. M. Murdock (originally played by Dwight Schultz in the TV series) and adopted a Southern American accent for the role. He also imitated other accents, including English, Scottish, Australian, and that of his Afrikaans character Wikus from District 9. Schultz praised Copley's performance and stated that Copley was the only actor true to his character.[17]

Copley guest co-hosted WWE Raw on June 7, 2010, along with his A-Team co-stars Bradley Cooper and Quinton Jackson.

He is contracted to appear in Men in Black III.[18]

Filmography

Year Film Credited as
Director Producer Writer Actor Role
2005 Alive in Joburg Yes Yes Sniper
2005 2001: A Space Oddity Yes Yes Yes
2005 Hellweek Yes Yes Yes Yes Drill Sergeant
2008 Spoon Yes Yes Yes
2009 District 9 Yes Wikus van de Merwe
2010 The A-Team Yes Capt. H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
2010 WWE Raw Yes Himself/H. M. Murdock[note 1]
2011 Elysium Yes
2012 Men in Black III[18] Yes Alien[19]
  1. ^ June 7-Guest co-host TV cameo with Bradley Cooper (Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck) and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus)

References

  1. ^ 2010 "MTV Movie Awards Nominees Announced; New Category for Horror". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/district-9-star-sharlto-copley,31679/
  3. ^ Baker, Tom (2010-04-09). "Anger 10, sickness 7, stars 5, District 9: Sharlto Copely on South Africa and his role in one of 2009's best films". Daily Yomiuri Online. Retrieved 2010-06-13. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i0b2233969ec82f2c08bc6e81d2bf3b0c?pn=2
  5. ^ Krista Smith. "Q&A: District 9's Sharlto Copley".
  6. ^ "Sharlto Copley Biography". Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  7. ^ Chantim, Andra (2009-08-27). "'Five Things About 'District 9's' Sharlto Copley". people.com. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSON9w5Pm8o
  9. ^ MSNBC.MSN.Com[dead link‍]
  10. ^ IMDb.com
  11. ^ Wikus From District 9 Hunting Down a Different Beast - Charlize Theron!
  12. ^ "District 9 director Neill Blomkamp". A.V. Club. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
  13. ^ IGN Summer Movie Awards Favorite Hero
  14. ^ IGN Movies Best Performance of 2009
  15. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (May 12, 2010). "Olyphant replacing Copley in 'Four'". Variety.
  16. ^ Sperling, Nicole (2009-09-15). "'A-Team' remake casting update: 'District 9' star Sharlto Copley to play Murdoch; Jessica Biel to also star | EW.com". Hollywoodinsider.ew.com. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  17. ^ "The team characters are sufficiently different and, with so many roles reversed from the original, one could say they are not really derivative, save for their names. The exception is the brilliant Sharlto Copley as Murdock. He is faithful to the original, but at the same time is big screen twisted and right at home with the new team. I saw the film with a packed house and the audience applauded, laughed and were all smiles as they filed out of the theater.", Schultz, Dwight (2010-06-22). "Dwight's opinion about the A-team movie". Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  18. ^ a b SciFiMania
  19. ^ Adam Quigley (October 13, 2010). "Sharlto Copley, Alec Baldwin and Gemma Arterton in Negotiations for 'Men In Black 3′". /Film. Retrieved November 14, 2010.

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