British-Nigerian Star Of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ O.T. Fagbenle Is Ready For Nollywood
Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s brilliant 1985 novel of the same name, the first season of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale was a critical and commercial success, landing 11 Emmy nominations along the way.
There were a lot of reasons The Handmaid’s Tale was such a roaring success – from its relevance to its impeccable direction – but the strongest element of the show’s debut season had to be its moving and thoughtful performances.
While the women that led the show were all exceptional – Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley and Ann Dowd were standouts – the men also got their chances to really shine: particularly British-Nigerian actor, O.T. Fagbenle.
Fagbenle plays Luke Bankole, the loving husband to the show’s lead, June/Offred, who we see entirely through her memories in the earlier episodes – before he gets an episode focused entirely on his ordeal (which Fagbenle totally knocked out of the park).
Fagbenle, who was born in London to a Nigerian father and a British mother, spent most of his childhood in Nigeria before he turned 10 years old. For most of his life, he has alternated between living in London, Spain and Nigeria.
Now 36 years old, Fagbenle first started acting when he was only 14 and has since starred in a number of plays, movies and TV shows. Although he is finally getting widespread attention thanks to The Handmaid’s Tale, he still has a soft spot for Nigeria and Nollywood
Speaking with us recently about his plans to be a part of Nollywood, Fagbenle said:
“It’s inspiring because you have people who are creating extraordinary pieces of work with sometimes finite resources, and really you are just seeing the quality and quantity as well increasing.
I really want to be a part of that as well. I am a filmmaker as well as an actor.”
Well, here’s to hoping Fagbenele’s dream to be a part of Nollywood comes true really soon. He is way too talented for Hollywood to have him all to themselves.
Till then, he’ll be going back to work on the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale, which is slated to begin production this month.
