Orlando Martins was a pioneering black actor in film and on stage. In the late 1940s, he was one of England's most prominent and leading black actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed among England's top 15 favorite actors.

Life

Born in Lagos, Nigeria to a civil servant Brazilian father, he came to England after World War I, during which he served as a stoker on the old Mauretania to avenge German cruelty to his family. On arrival in England he joined Sanger's Circus and started his performing career in the chorus.

Career

He was an extra on his first acting job in a ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 company. He also worked as a wrestler and was on the tour of the British Company: Show boat as a professional singer.
In the 1930s he went into acting on the London stage, starring in among other things, Toussaint L'Ouverture

Toussaint L'Ouverture

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture , also Toussaint Bréda, Toussaint-Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free,...

, a 1936 play by C.L.R. James which also starred the legendary Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...

. He also featured in the 1935 film with Robeson, Sanders of the River

Sanders of the River

Sanders of the River is a 1935 film directed by Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace. It was later spoofed in the 1938 Will Hay film Old Bones of the River, which also featured the characters of Commissioner Sanders, Captain Hamilton and Bosambo seen in this film, but played by...

  and Men of Two Worlds

Men of Two Worlds

Men of Two Worlds is a 1946 British drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Robert Adams, Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert. An African music student returns home to battle a witch doctor for control over his tribe.-Cast:...

 (1946) alongside Robert Adams

Robert Adams (actor)

Robert Adams was a British actor of stage and screen. He was the founder and director of the Negro Repertory Arts Theatre, one of the first professional black theatre companies in Britain.-Early years:...

.

Selected filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1935	Sanders of the River Sanders of the River Sanders of the River is a 1935 film directed by Zoltán Korda, based on the stories of Edgar Wallace. It was later spoofed in the 1938 Will Hay film Old Bones of the River, which also featured the characters of Commissioner Sanders, Captain Hamilton and Bosambo seen in this film, but played by...	Klova
1945	The Man from Morocco The Man from Morocco The Man from Morocco is a 1945 action adventure film directed by Mutz Greenbaum. The film was produced by Welwyn Studios in Great Britain.-Plot:...	Jeremiah
1946	Men of Two Worlds Men of Two Worlds Men of Two Worlds is a 1946 British drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and starring Robert Adams, Eric Portman and Phyllis Calvert. An African music student returns home to battle a witch doctor for control over his tribe.-Cast:...	Magole
1947	The End of the River The End of the River The End of the River is a British film made in Brazil about a South American Indian boy who leaves the jungle to the city, where he is accused of murder. It was directed by Derek Twist and written by Wolfgang Wilhelm, based on a novel by Desmond Holdridge...	Harrigan
1949	The Hasty Heart The Hasty Heart The Hasty Heart is a 1949 British-American co-production film based on the play of the same name by John Patrick. It tells the story of a group of wounded Allied soldiers in a mobile surgery unit at the end of World War II who, after initial resentment and ostracism, rally around a loner, a...	Blossom
1954	West of Zanzibar West of Zanzibar (1954 film) West of Zanzibar is a 1954 British adventure film directed by Harry Watt and starring Anthony Steel, Sheila Sim and Edric Connor.-Cast:* Anthony Steel - Bob Payton* Sheila Sim - Mary Payton* Edric Connor - Ushington* Orlando Martins - M'Kwongi...	M'Kwongi
1955	Simba Simba (film) Simba is a 1955 British drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Dirk Bogarde, Donald Sinden, Virginia McKenna and Basil Sydney...	Headman
1956	Safari	Jerusalem
1957	Abandon Ship Abandon Ship "Abandon Ship" is the first single from Gallows' debut Orchestra of Wolves. It was released on 4 June 2007. It was released on CD and 2 different 7 inch records.-Digital version:#Abandon Ship#Abandon Ship #Abandon Ship...	Sam Holly
1957	Tarzan and the Lost Safari Tarzan and the Lost Safari Tarzan and the Lost Safari is an action adventure film featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' famous jungle hero Tarzan and starring Gordon Scott, Robert Beatty, Yolande Donlan and Betta St. John. The movie was directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, and was the first Tarzan movie released in color, Eastman...	Chief Ogonooro
1958	The Naked Earth	Tall Bearer
1959	Sapphire Sapphire (film) Sapphire is a 1959 British crime drama. It focused on racism in London toward immigrants from the West Indies. The film was directed by Basil Dearden, and stars Nigel Patrick, Earl Cameron and Yvonne Mitchell. It received the BAFTA Award for Best Film and screenwriter Janet Green won a 1960 Edgar...	Barman
1959	The Nuns Story The Nun's Story (film) The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...	Kalulu
1960	Killers of Kilimajaro	Chief	Chief
1963	Call me Bwana Call Me Bwana Call Me Bwana is a 1963 farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg, and directed by Gordon Douglas. It is largely set in Africa. It is the only film made by EON Productions which is not about the Ian Fleming spy character, James Bond and was made by most of the same film crew as Dr...	Chief	Tribal Chief
1965	Mister Moses Mister Moses Mister Moses is an adventure film about a conman blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto...	Chief	Chief
1965	A Boy Ten Feet Tall	Abu Lubaba
1973	Kongi's Harvest Kongi's Harvest (film) Kongi's Harvest is a 1973 film directed by Ossie Davis, from a screenplay by Wole Soyinka based on Soyinka's 1965 play Kongi's Harvest.-Production:The film was shot in Nigeria...	Dr. Gbenga

External links

• In defence of the films we have made
• Preview of relevant chapter in book Black in the British Frame