Corey Hawkins

Corey Hawkins (birthname: Corey Antonio Hawkins) is a powerful classically-trained actor who has performed in various roles, from Shakespeare to Marvel movies. Hawkins’ debut feature role was in the Iraq War movie, Allegiance (2012), written and directed by Michael Connors and co-starring Seth Gabel, Pablo Schreiber, Malik Yoba, Dominic Fumusa, Aidan Quinn, Shad “Bow Wow” Moss, and premiering at the Seattle film festival.

Hawkins’ next movie role was a supporting turn in writer-director Shane Black’s Marvel Cinematic Universe production, Iron Man 3 (2013), with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley, grossing $1.2 billion worldwide, the fifth-highest total in box office history. Hawkins’ next supporting role was in the Liam Neeson-starring thriller, Non-Stop (2014), with Julianne Moore, Scoot McNairy, and Michelle Dockery earning $223 million globally.

Corey Hawkins portrayed Dr. Dre in the acclaimed F. Gary Gray-directed N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton (2015), with O’Shea Jackson Jr., Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr., and Aldis Hodge, earning a knockout $202 million gross for Universal. Hawkins’ consistent choice of roles in hit movies continued with Warner Bros.’ adventure tale, Kong: Skull Island (2017), with Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, and John C. Reilly, and grossing $566.6 million globally.

Hawkins’ next historical Black American figure he portrayed on screen was Stokely Carmichael in one of Spike Lee’s most critically and commercially successful dramas, BlacKkKlansman (2018), starring John David Washington, Adam Driver (Oscar-nominated), Laura Harrier, and Topher Grace; the movie premiered at the Cannes film festival, went on to gross over $93 million gross worldwide, and winning the best screenplay Oscar for Lee (his first, along with his first Oscar nomination for direction, and four other nominations including best picture.

Corey Hawkins co-starred opposite Christoph Waltz, Vanessa Redgrave, and Annette Bening in the Waltz-directed drama, Georgetown (2019), premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival. Hawkins had one of his biggest roles to date in Warner Bros.’ disappointing big-screen version of Quiara Alegria Hudes’ and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, In the Heights (2021), with Anthony Ramos, Leslie Grace, Miranda, Jimmy Smits, Melissa Barrera, and Olga Merediz.

Hawkins, a veteran Shakespearean actor on stage, took on the role of Macduff in Ethan Coen’s black-and-white version of The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), with Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Melling, Bertie Carvel, and Alex Hassell, and theatrically released in limited form by Apple TV+ after premiering at the New York film festival.

Hawkins landed the lead role in the Universal/DreamWorks Dracula movie, The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), with Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian, and then co-starred as Harpo opposite Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, H.E.R., Aunjanue Ellis, Louis Gossett Jr., and Jon Batiste in Warner Bros.’ anticipated new film version of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (2023), directed by Blitz Bazawule.

Hawkins joined the cast of John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, and Erykah Badu in producers Todd Black’s and Denzel Washington’s production of writer-director Malcolm Washington’s screen version of August Wilson’s modern classic play, The Piano Lesson (date to be announced), marking a reunion of the cast in the 2022 stage revival.