Age: 41
male
Barkhad Abdi (Somali: Barkhad Cabdi, IPA:[bàrxád̪ ʕábd̪ì]; born April 10, 1985) is a Somali-American actor. He made his acting debut as the pirate Abduwali Muse in the biographical drama film Captain Phillips (2013), which earned him a British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, along with Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Following his breakthrough, Abdi appeared in the films Eye in the Sky (2015), Good Time (2017), The Pirates of Somalia (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Outside of film, he was featured as a series regular on the second season of the Hulu horror anthology Castle Rock (2019) and had a recurring role in the Showtime satirical comedy series The Curse (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Barkhad Abdi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Born Carl Lucas and raised in New York City's Harlem neighborhood, he spends his youth in a gang called the Rivals. With his friend Willis Stryker, he fights rival gangs and commits petty crimes. In and out of juvenile homes throughout his teens, Lucas dreams of becoming a major New York racketeer until he finally realizes how his actions are hurting his family. He seeks to better himself as an adult by finding legitimate employment. Meanwhile, Stryker rises through the ranks of crime, but the two men remain friends. When Stryker's activities anger the Maggia crime syndicate, he is badly beaten in a mob hit, saved only by Lucas's intervention. When Stryker's girlfriend, Reva Connors, breaks up with him in fear of his violent work, she seeks solace with Lucas. Stryker is convinced that Lucas is responsible for the breakup, so he plants heroin in Lucas's apartment and tips off the police. Lucas is arrested and sent to prison where contact with his family is sparse due to the resentment of his brother James Jr., who intercepts Lucas's letters to their father James and eventually leads each to believe the other is dead. During this time, Reva is killed by members of the Maggia, whose drugs Willis had stolen to frame Lucas in the first place.
