Magna Studios has signed Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE, director, writer and actor to its commercial talent roster.
As a director, his critically acclaimed debut, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, has become one of Netflix’s most successful foreign language films. Since then, he directed and starred alongside Mary J Blige in Rob Peace which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Ejiofor is known for his roles in films such as 12 Years A Slave, Love Actually, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Maleficent, Doctor Strange, American Gangster, Children of Men, Dirty Pretty Things and Amistad. Chiwetel is also known for his theatre work. He won Best Actor at the Olivier Awards for his seminal performance as Othello in Michael Grandage’s production for the Donmar Warehouse.
“Magna has consistently shown a genuine commitment to balancing artistic vision with real-world production needs, and nurturing artists along the way,” says Ejiofor. “I’m delighted to be partnering with them and excited to collaborate creatively and practically on stories that are future facing, impactful and innovative.”
He joins Magna’s roster of emerging and established voices, including James Marsh, Steve McQueen, Oscar Hudson, Brady Corbet, Asif Kapadia and Phoebe Arnstein.
This follows the the appointment of Lewis Taylor as Magna Head of Film, spearheading its scripted strategy, focusing on director-driven genre films and breakthrough debuts, as the studio also builds on its legacy of high-impact UK TV.
Commenting on the news, Davud Karbassioun, Co-CEO of Magna Studios said: “Chiwetel is one of the most prolific actors of his generation, with that rare ability to move effortlessly between genres and make audiences laugh, cry, and everything in between. With The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Rob Peace, he’s shown he’s just as powerful in the director’s chair as he is in front of the camera. We want to help Chiwetel build on that, giving him more opportunities to tell new stories across different formats. We’re thrilled he’s chosen Magna to support him on this next chapter.”
Pippa Considine
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