Aaron Pierre (actor)

Aaron Stone Pierre was born in London^[2] on 7 June 1994.^[3] He has Curaçaoan, Jamaican, and Sierra Leonean ancestry.^[4][5] He participated in athletics and sprinting as a child, having idolised American gold medalist sprinter Maurice Greene,^[6] and developed an interest in acting as a teenager.^[7] He later joined the Croydon Young People's Theatre (CRYPT).^[8][9] He studied Performing Arts at Lewisham College^[10] and trained in Toronto before joining the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,^[11] where he graduated in 2016.^[12]

Pierre appeared in two episodes of the BBC One series The A Word and played a Roman soldier Antonius in series 1 of the Sky Atlantic series Britannia.^[13] In 2018, he began starring as Dev-Em in the Syfy series Krypton.^[14][15][16] That same year, Pierre starred as Cassio in Othello at Shakespeare's Globe.^[17][18] For his performance, he received an Ian Charleson Award commendation. He played the King opposite Lenny Henry in the 2019 production of King Hedley II at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.^[19]

American director Barry Jenkins saw Pierre in Othello and sent him a message afterwards, inviting him to audition for his new series. Pierre landed the role of Caesar in The Underground Railroad, released on Amazon Prime in May 2021.^[20][21] In July 2021, Pierre appeared as Mid-Sized Sedan / Brendan in M. Night Shyamalan's film Old.^[22][23]

In August 2021, it was reported that Pierre would reteam with Barry Jenkins as a young Mufasa in a Lion King film.^[24] Pierre provided the voice of young Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King, released in December 2024.

In October 2021, after John Boyega stepped down for family reasons,^[25] Pierre starred in Jeremy Saulnier's film Rebel Ridge, streamed on Netflix in 2024.

In February 2022, Pierre joined the cast of the upcoming superhero film Blade, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was scheduled to premiere on November 7, 2025. He was released from the project in March 2024,^[26] as a result of script rewrites.^[27]

Pierre won the Best Supporting Performance in a Film at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, for his performance as Francis in the film Brother.^[28] In 2023, he starred in Foe, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Iain Reid.^[29]

In October 2024, Pierre was cast as John Stewart / Green Lantern in DC Studios's Lanterns television series.^[30] According to GQ magazine, 2024 was "a busy breakout year that included portraying Malcolm X in the Genius: MLK/X series, flexing his best Rambo in Netflix’s hit fall action thriller Rebel Ridge, and signing on to play DC Universe space cop John Stewart in the upcoming Green Lantern streaming series Lanterns. These days, Pierre’s rising star is everywhere".^[31]

In June 2025, it was announced that Pierre would be starring alongside Margaret Qualley and Patrick Schwarzenegger in Love of Your Life for Amazon MGM Studios.^[32] In July 2025, it was announced that Pierre would be joining Jennifer Hudson and Ayesha Curry in Stephen Curry and Sony Pictures animated film Goat.^[33] In August 2025, It was announced that Pierre would be joining the cast in Star Wars: Starfighter alongside Amy Adams, and Ryan Gosling, in the Shawn Levy-directed Star Wars movie.^[34]

Pierre began dating American singer Teyana Taylor in early 2025. The pair reportedly split in December 2025.^{[35][36][37][38]} He has a son from a previous relationship.^[39][40]

Pierre took up boxing in 2016 and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2019, winning his first jiu-jitsu tournament in 2023.^[41][42]