Ghanaian Hollywood stars you might not know about

The achievements of black actors in Hollywood have been a monumental climb as, despite racial obstacles, they have used their talent as an opportunity to succeed.

We are proud to associate ourselves with them as blacks but what we may not have known is most of these people are actually Ghanaians.

Right from those who have portrayed classic characters, to award-winning acts, each of these famous black actors has earned their place with an excellent body of work and memorable performances.

By and large, they are undoubtedly among the greatest black actors in film history.

Let’s take a look at these Hollywood actors who are of Ghanaian descent

PETER MENSAH



With both parents hailing from the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana, the ‘Spartacus’ TV Series star was born in Accra. He lived in Ghana for a while before moving to settle in Hertfordshire, England, with his father, Peter Osei Mensah.

He has movies like Avatar, 300, Hidalgo, Tears of the Sun, Jason X, Harvard Man, Bless the Child and The Incredible Hulk and many others to his credit.

BORIS CUDJOE



Born Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe, his father (Eric Boris) was a native of Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana who got married to an Australian.

The talented Hollywood actor and model is known for his roles as Kelby in the 2002 film Brown Sugar, the sports-courier agent, Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series Soul Food and a recurring character on FOX's The Last Man on Earth.

He also stars in BET's Real Husbands of Hollywood and the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Station 19.

FREEMA AGYEMAN



Born to a Ghanaian father, Freema is an English actress who is known for playing Martha Jones in the BBC science fiction series “Doctor Who”, its spin-off series “Torchwood”, Amanita Caplan in the Netflix science fiction drama “Sense8” and many others.

Freema’s mother, Azaar, is also known to be an Iranian.

NANA-KOFI SIRIBOE



The Ghanaian American actor was born to Koshie Mills and Kwame Boakye with two brothers, actors Kwame Boateng and Kwesi Boakye.

He stars as Ralph Angel Bordelon in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar, since 2016.

As a model, he signed with Wilhelmina Models New York and Vision Los Angeles.

Siriboe played a supporting role in the 2008 comedy-drama The Longshots, and later appeared in films Prom (2011), Whiplash (2014), and Straight Outta Compton (2015).

He also co-starred in the romantic comedy film Girls Trip, starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tiffany Haddish.

JOEY ANSAH



Joey Ansah is the second son of celebrated Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi Ansah and his Devon-born wife Nicola. His sister is the visual artist Tanoa Sasraku-Ansah, his brother is musician Ryan Ansah, and his uncle is film director Kwaw Ansah.

Ansah lived in London for the first 10 years of his life before immigrating with his family to Ghana. His first important role as an actor was in the UK indie film Love Struck (2005). He has made notable appearances on British TV followed in episodes of BBC productions Spooks (2005) and Timewatch (2006).

Ansah went on to play a minor role as one of the Shadow Warriors in Batman Begins (2005).

However, his most noteworthy role to date came in 2007, when he appeared in The Bourne Ultimatum as Desh Bouksani, an assassin tracking down Jason Bourne.

Notable among his performances was an extended set-piece fight scene between himself and Matt Damon, regarded by one reviewer as one of the best ever filmed.

He also acted in British independent martial arts films, such as Left for Dead and Underground and choreographed, co-wrote and directed the short film “Street Fighter: Legacy”.

MICHAEL BLANKSON



Born Jafari Ferguson, Blackson moved up the acting ladder with his most notable onscreen performance as "Angry African Man" in the 2000 comedy film “Next Friday”, produced by Ice Cube's film production company Cube Vision.

In 2005, he made an appearance on TV series 30 Rock, P. Diddy Presents: The Bad Boys of Comedy on HBO and starred in a commercial for Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central.

He appeared in B.o.B's "I'll Be in the Sky" music video and featured on BET's The Mo'Nique Show in 2011 He also made his third appearance on the TBS series “Are We There Yet”.

SENYO AMOAKU



The Hollywood director, writer, producer, and actor hails from Ghana.

He is known for his role as the Tall Pirate in The Expendables, a character that was killed and finished off by Barney Ross.

Senyo shares a July 30th birthday with co-stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terry Crews.

VIC MENSAH



Born Victor Kwesi Mensah, the American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer was a member of the group Kids These Days, which broke up in May 2013, after which he released his debut solo mixtape Innanetape.

He is currently signed to Roc Nation.

Mensah is also a founder of the hip-hop collective, “Savemoney” which includes frequent collaborator Chance the Rapper.

His debut single "Down on My Luck" was released in June 2014 by Virgin EMI.

IDRIS ELBA



Elba is the son of Winston, a Sierra Leonean man who married a Ghanaian woman.

His parents were married in Sierra Leone and later moved to London where he was born.

The popular Hollywood actor has starred in movies such as; Thor, Fast and Furious, Obsessed, The wire, Cats, The Avengers, Beast of No Nation, just to mention but a few.

ABRAHAM ATTAH



Born Abraham Nii Attah, the young Hollywood actor hails from Ga–Dangme in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

He made his feature film debut in Beasts of No Nation (2015) after which he was awarded Best Young Actor at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival for his leading role as child soldier Agu. In 2017, he appeared in the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: Homecoming and has also joined the ensemble cast of Shane Carruth’s third film, The Modern Ocean.

Abraham has been made an Ambassador for the Free Education Policy in Ghana.