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Magna Studios signs Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE
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The actor, writer and director joins the company’s commercial talent roster.
A new addition to Magna Studios’ roster sees Chiwetel Ejiofor CBE join the company for commercial representation.
Ejiofor has established a significant career across film and theatre, with lead roles in productions such as the multi award-winning 12 Years a Slave, for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor and received nominations from the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes. His feature credits also include Love Actually, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Maleficent, Doctor Strange, American Gangster, Children of Men, Dirty Pretty Things and Amistad. In theatre, he won Best Actor at the Olivier Awards for his performance as Othello in Michael Grandage’s production for the Donmar Warehouse.
Ejiofor has also developed a body of work as a director. His debut feature, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, received critical acclaim and became one of Netflix’s most successful foreign language films. He went on to direct and star in Rob Peace, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival last year.
With Magna’s support, he will develop new screen projects alongside a roster that includes James Marsh, Steve McQueen, Oscar Hudson, Brady Corbet, Asif Kapadia and Phoebe Arnstein.
The signing follows the appointment of Lewis Taylor as Head of Film, who leads the company’s scripted strategy with a focus on director-driven genre films and debut features, alongside the studio’s work in UK television.
Davud Karbassioun, Co-CEO of Magna Studios, said: “Chiwetel is one of the most prolific actors of his generation, with that rare ability to move effortlessly between genres and make audiences laugh, cry, and everything in between. With The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Rob Peace, he’s shown he’s just as powerful in the director’s chair as he is in front of the camera. We want to help Chiwetel build on that, giving him more opportunities to tell new stories across different formats. We’re thrilled he’s chosen Magna to support him on this next chapter.”
Ejiofor added: “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Magna. They’ve consistently shown a genuine commitment to balancing artistic vision with real-world production needs, and nurturing artists along the way. I'm delighted to be partnering with them and excited to collaborate creatively and practically on stories that are future facing, impactful and innovative.”
