Sharlto Copley

South African-born Sharlto Copley, known for his vivid portrayals and work in features made in the U.S., South Africa, Russia, and India, made a striking feature in his friend Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi thriller, District 9 (2009). It established Copley as a specialist in science fiction and fantasy, followed by his supporting roles in The A-Team (2010), Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, and Sebastian Cordero’s Europa Report (2013).

Copley reunited with Blomkamp for his anticipated Hollywood debut, the dystopian sci-fi thriller, Elysium (2013), with Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, and Wagner Moura, and earning $286 million worldwide. Copley’s visibility in Hollywood and the U.S. features escalated, with a supporting role in Spike Lee’s American remake of Park Chan-wook’s 2003 original, Oldboy (2013), with Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Rami Malek; and then his first starring role, in the post-apocalyptic horror film, Open Grave (2013), with Thomas Kretschmann; and in his biggest movie yet, Disney’s Maleficent (2014), with Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Janet McTeer, Imelda Staunton, and Juno Temple.

Perhaps Copley’s most unusual role came in his third feature with co-writer-director Blomkamp, the dystopian sci-fi film, Chappie (2015), in which Copley played the title character, a robot, which Copley enacted with the cast (and was later used as a reference by CGI animators), including High Jackman, Dev Patel, and Sigourney Weaver.

In his second feature with Russian filmmaker-producer Timur Bekmambetov, Copley starred in the sci-fi thriller, Hardcore Henry (2015), with Haley Bennett and Tim Roth. In a major change of pace, Copley joined the fine ensemble of John Krasinski’s indie comedy-drama, The Hollars (2016), with Richard Jenkins, Margo Martindale, Krasinski, and Anna Kendrick.

Yet again surprising expectations, Copley was a major part of the mayhem in Ben Wheatley’s black comedy, Free Fire (2016), with Brie Larson, Armie Hammer, and Cillian Murphy. A different kind of crime comedy was Copley’s next feature, Gringo (2018), under Nash Edgerton’s direction with cast members David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Amanda Seyfried, and Thandiwe Newton. 

Perhaps Sharlto Copley’s most striking and ambitious performance to date is his electrifying portrayal of The Unabomber aka Ted Kaczynski in Tony Stone’s striking indie feature, Ted K (2021), which Copley also produced. Copley returned to his native Africa opposite Idris Elba in the action thriller, Beast (2022), directed by Baltasar Kormákur. In 2021, Copley rejoined fellow actor Dev Patel, but this time with Patel as co-writer-producer-director, for Monkey Man (2022 release), with Patel and Sobhita Dhulipala.

Under producer Sam Raimi, Copley joined the cast of the action-thriller Boy Kills World (2023), with Bill Skarsgård, Jessica Rothe, and Yayan Ruhian, followed by writer-director Rupert Wyatt’s exotic adventure, Desert Warrior (2022), with Anthony Mackie, Ben Kingsley, Sami Bouajila, and Ghassan Massoud.      

Copley co-starred with star/director/writer/producer Dev Patel in the India-based thriller, Monkey Man (2024), which executive producer Jordan Peele arranged (through his Monkeypaw Productions shingle) to be theatrically released by Universal Pictures, and featured an Indian cast including Pitobash, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikander Kher, and Vipin Sharma, and premiered at the South by Southwest film festival.