Isaach De Bankole

At 66 years old, Isaach De Bankole has this physical status:

Isaach or Isaac de Bankolé (born 12 August 1957) is an Ivorian actor.

Early life and education

De Bankolé was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Yoruba parents from Benin. His grandparents are from Nigeria. He returned to Paris in 1975 for his last year of lycée and earned a master's degree in physics and mathematics. He enrolled in an aviation school and obtained a private pilot licence before being led by a chance meeting with French director Gérard Vergez led him to enroll in the Cours Simon, a Paris drama school.

Personal life

De Bankolé is fluent in Yoruba, Bambara, England, French, and German, and he speaks a bit of Italian. Cassandra Wilson, a musician from 2000 to 2003, was married to him.

Source

Career

De Bankolé has appeared in over fifty films, including Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Coffee and Cigarettes and The Limits of Control. He has been based in the United States since 1997. He appeared in the movie Machetero, in the role of journalist interviewing an imprisoned Puerto Rican revolutionary, along with the members of the New York City-based punk band Ricanstruction.

De Bankolé has also appeared in Lars von Trier's Manderlay. He portrayed Steven Obanno, a terrorist, in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, and "The Lone Man", an assassin in Jim Jarmusch's film, The Limits of Control (2009). In 2013, he starred as Ayodele Balogun in Andrew Dosunmu's Mother of George, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and was the closing night selection for Maryland Film Festival 2013. He has also had roles in Calvary, The Last Witch Hunter, and Black Panther.

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Awards

• 1987 César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in Black Mic Mac.