Malachi Kirby
British actor (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malachi Kirby (born September 20, 1989) is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 Roots remake and the Black Mirror episode "Men Against Fire".[1] He won a BAFTA for his performance in Small Axe: Mangrove (2020). Kirby plays the lead role of Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow in the Victorian drama series A Thousand Blows.
Malachi Kirby | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Actor, writer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Early life
Kirby grew up an only child on the Patmore Estate in Battersea. His father died when he was 6.[2] His parents were born in London where his grandparents had arrived from Jamaica. The cast of Roots were invited to take DNA tests, and Kirby's results came up as mostly West African with some South Asian and a small amount of European. He stated he hopes to do more specific research.[3]
Kirby attended Salesian College, Battersea. Originally into literature, he discovered acting in year nine through a course at the Battersea Arts Centre. He studied at Richmond upon Thames College[4] and was admitted to Identity School of Acting in 2007.[2]
Career
Kirby began his career in theatre, and describes himself as a theatre actor "at heart".[5] He was shortlisted for Outstanding Newcomer at the 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards after appearing in a production of Mogadishu.[6] He also appeared in a number of television shows and films, including a stint on EastEnders and the lead in the television film My Murder.[7] He was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2013.[8]
In 2016, Kirby starred as Kunta Kinte in the American miniseries Roots, a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name.[9][10] His performance was well received by critics.[11][12] That October, Kirby starred in an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror entitled "Men Against Fire", directed by Jakob Verbruggen.[13][14]
He won the Rising Star and Male TV Performance awards at the 2016 and 2017 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards respectively. For Roots, he also received nominations at the 2017 Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards.[15]
Kirby went on to star as Michael Garwick in the 2019 Sky One dystopian drama Curfew and Oliver Harris in the Italian series Devils.[16][17] He penned his first play Level Up, which first premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2019.[18]
Kirby landed the role of Darcus Howe in the "Mangrove" installment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology, which premiered in 2020. It was the first time he got to play an explicitly Caribbean character.[5] For his performance, he won the 2021 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In September 2021, it was announced Kirby would star opposite Delroy Lindo as both of Mr. Nancy's sons Charlie and Spider in the Amazon Prime adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.[19]
In 2025, Kirby played the lead role of Hezekiah Moscow in Steven Knight's (creator of Peaky Blinders) British drama series A Thousand Blows, about organized crime and illegal bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s London. The first series premiered in February 2025, with Kirby reprising the role in a second series (filmed concurrently with the first series) released on 9th January 2026.[20]
Personal life
Kirby did not have a religious upbringing, but he turned to religion as an adult, and belongs to a Christian fellowship in East London.[21]
Filmography
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Molly & Plum | Troublemaker | Short films |
| 2009 | Exhale | Chris | |
| 2012 | My Brother the Devil | J-Boy | |
| Checkpoint | Socrates | Short film | |
| Offender | Harry | ||
| 2013 | Jonah | Juma | Short film |
| Gone Too Far! | Yemi | ||
| 2014 | The Last Showing | Clive | |
| Kajaki | Snoop | ||
| 2015 | Dough | Shaun | |
| 2016 | Fallen | Roland Sparks | |
| 2019 | A Place for You and Me | Short film | |
| 2021 | Boiling Point | Tony | |
| 2023 | Wicked Little Letters | Bill | |
| 2026 | Project Hail Mary | Martin Dubois |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Casualty | Group Leader | Episode: "Interventions" |
| Silent Witness | Tic-Toc | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | The Bill | Michael Clark | Episode: "Back to School" |
| 2011 | Doctors | Tony Coe | Episode: "Decent People" |
| 2012 | My Murder | Danny McLean | Television film |
| 2013 | Way to Go | Nkanta | 2 episodes |
| Lawless | Tyler Repton | Television film | |
| 2014 | EastEnders | Wayne Ladlow | 8 episodes |
| BBC Comedy Feeds | DJ Dee Danger | Episode: "Vodka Diaries" | |
| 2015 | Doctor Who | Gastron | Episode: "Hell Bent" |
| Jekyll and Hyde | Spring Heeled Jack Burton | Miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Roots | Kunta Kinte | Miniseries |
| Black Mirror | Stripe | Episode: "Men Against Fire"[14] | |
| 2017 | The Machine | Aaron | Television film |
| 2019 | Curfew | Michael Garwick | Main role |
| 2020 | Devils | Oliver Harris | Main role |
| Small Axe | Darcus Howe | Miniseries; episode: "Mangrove" | |
| 2022 | My Name is Leon | Tufty Burrows | Television film; upcoming |
| 2025-26 | A Thousand Blows | Hezekiah Moscow | Main role |
| TBA | † Anansi Boys | Charlie / Spider | Main role; upcoming |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | † Squadron 42 | Joachim Steiger | Upcoming |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Evening Standard Theatre Awards | Outstanding Newcomer | Mogadishu | Nominated | [22] |
| 2016 | Screen Nation Film and Television Awards | Rising Star | Jekyll & Hyde, Dough | Won | [23] |
| 2017 | Male Performance in TV | Roots | Won | [24] | |
| 2017 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series | Nominated | [25] | |
| 2017 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Nominated | [26] | |
| 2021 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Small Axe | Won | [27] |