Ukweli Roach (born September 1986)[1] is an English actor, dancer, and choreographer,[2] best known for playing the role of Jay in StreetDance 3D (2010), FBI psychiatrist Robert Borden, on the American television series Blindspot (2015–2020),[3] and Tyrone Clark on the crime drama series Annika (2021–2022).[4]

Ukweli Roach
BornSeptember 1986
Derby, Derbyshire, England, UK
Occupation(s)Actor, dancer, choreographer
Years active2010–present

Career

edit

Roach's film credits include: Venus & the Sun, StreetDance 3D, Shakespeare's Globe: Romeo and Juliet, StreetDance: The Moves, One Day, Eternal Law. On television, Roach has appeared in Monroe, Starlings, Drifters, Silk, Grantchester, The Royals, Dickensian, Anatole in TV series Humans, Robert Borden, an FBI psychiatrist on Blindspot.

In 2018, Roach starred as Pete in the play Nightfall, which was staged at the Bridge Theatre, London.[5] In 2019, he performed in a London production of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, staged at the Young Vic.[6][7]

In 2021, Roach starred as Tyrone Clark in the Alibi crime drama Annika;[8] On being on the production, Roach shared to Scottish Field: "It was a great chance to play a type of character I had not been asked to portray before. I'd never done a police procedural or been part of a team before, so Annika was a really good challenge for me. It was also a chance to work with an amazing cast. Nick's scripts were wonderful, too. [...] [t]hey're quite hard-hitting, dark and gritty, but at the same time, they are light and warm."[9] From 2023, Roach appears in Wolf.[10][11]

Filmography

edit

Film

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2010 StreetDance 3D Jay
Shakespeare's Globe: Romeo and Juliet Tybalt Video
StreetDance: The Moves Jay Video
2011 One Day Rapper
2021 Impressions: Ensign 7 Writer, director, producer

Television

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Eternal Law Tom Greening 6 episodes
Monroe Jacob Namobu Episode: #2.6
2012–2013 Starlings Reuben 12 episodes
2013 Drifters Rick Henderson Episode: "Friend Night Stand"
2014 Silk Jordan Sinclair Episode: #3.2
Grantchester Johnny Johnson Series 1, 2 episodes
2015 The Royals Marcus 9 episodes
Dickensian Sergeant George Episode: #1.3
2015–2020 Blindspot Robert Borden Main cast (seasons 1 & 2), 28 episodes
recurring (season 3), 2 episodes
guest (seasons 4 & 5), 2 episodes
2018 Hard Sun Will Benedetti 3 episodes
Humans Anatole 5 episodes
2021–2022 Annika Tyrone Clarke 9 episodes
2022 The Midwich Cuckoos Tom Cork 8 episodes
2023 Wolf Jack Caffery 6 episodes[12]
2024 Big Mood Jay 5 episodes
Piglets Mike Main role[13]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ukweli Roach - Companies House". Gov.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. ^ Berry, Kevin (20 April 2014). "Ukweli Roach: dancer and actor". The Stage. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Ukweli Roach". IMDb. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  4. ^ Hibbs, James (20 May 2023). "Meet the cast of Annika". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ^ Trueman, Matt (8 May 2018). "Review: Nightfall (Bridge Theatre)". What's on Stage. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. ^ Wood, Alex (9 January 2019). "Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, Wild East and The Jumper Factory at the Young Vic casting announced". What's on Stage. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Interview with Ukweli Roach". Love London Love Culture. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Jamie Sives, Katie Leung and Ukweli Roach join crime drama Annika". Screen Scotland. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  9. ^ Smith, Kenny (14 September 2021). "Jumping Into Freezing Loch Lomond Was Fun For Ukweli". Scottish Field. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  10. ^ Cormack, Morgan (15 February 2023). "Wolf unveils first look at Ukweli Roach, Sacha Dhawan and Iwan Rheon". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  11. ^ "BBC releases first look imagery for new crime thriller series Wolf". BBC. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  12. ^ "BBC releases first look imagery for new crime thriller series Wolf". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Piglets". British Comedy Guide. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
edit