Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Personal context

Summary

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a Ghanaian-born British actor whose work spans theatre, film, television, and audio; he won an Olivier Award for playing Ike Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and has appeared in August Wilson plays, Hamlet, Mary Poppins Returns, and Wonka. In public discussions, he has argued for broader racial representation in theatre and television, criticized the slow pace of change, and said that seeing people of colour represented matters across media. He has supported the Act for Change campaign and the ERA 50:50 campaign for gender-balanced representation, and has called for actively antiracist theatres that share power with people of colour. His public record centers on representation and equity in the arts; no party campaigning or public statements on his sexuality are on record.