Sharlto Copley
Encyclopedia
Sharlto Copley is a South Africa
n producer
, actor
, and director
who has produced and co-directed short films which have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival
, as well as commercials and music videos. He is perhaps best known for playing the roles of Wikus van der Merwe in the Oscar-nominated science fiction
film District 9
and Howling Mad Murdock
in the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team
.
and educated at St. Andrew's Preparatory School
in Grahamstown
and Redhill School
in Morningside
, Johannesburg
.
His brother Donovan is a musician, and his sister Marisa is a fashion designer.
His parents are Linda, a housewife, and Bruce, a university professor.
He resides alternately in Cape Town
and Los Angeles
.
; Copley was 22 and Blomkamp was 16, and Copley provided Blomkamp with use of computers at his production company to assist the company with pitches for various projects and allow Blomkamp to further pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design.
Copley starred in Peter Jackson
and Neill Blomkamp's District 9 where he plays the leading role of Wikus van der Merwe, an Afrikaner
bureaucrat
assigned to relocate a race of extraterrestrial creatures unexpectedly stranded on Earth, referred to as "prawns
", from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg
, South Africa
, to an internment camp outside the city. He improvised all of his dialogue in the film.
In 2009, Copley won the Favorite Hero award at the IGN
Summer Movie awards and Best Performance of 2009 for his role in District 9.
In 2010, Copley produced, wrote and directed an insert for the South African Music Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African star Charlize Theron
. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album.
Copley then starred alongside Liam Neeson
, Bradley Cooper
and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the feature film adaptation of
The A-Team
, which was produced by Ridley Scott
and Tony Scott
. Copley starred as H. M. Murdock
(originally played by Dwight Schultz
in the TV series) and adopted a Southern American
accent for the role. He also imitated other accents, including English, Scottish, Australian, and his native South African. Schultz praised Copley's performance and stated that Copley was the only actor true to his character.
Copley guest co-hosted WWE Raw
on 7 June 2010, along with his A-Team
co-stars Bradley Cooper
and Quinton Jackson
.
Copley will star in Elysium
, an upcoming science-fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Despite similarities with District 9, Blomkamp has confirmed it will not be a sequel. Copley was cast in Men in Black III
as "a fast-talking Yoda
type alien". He later left the project.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
who has produced and co-directed short films which have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, as well as commercials and music videos. He is perhaps best known for playing the roles of Wikus van der Merwe in the Oscar-nominated science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film District 9
District 9
District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James...
and Howling Mad Murdock
H. M. Murdock
Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock is a fictional character in the 1980s action/adventure television series, The A-Team. He was played by Dwight Schultz. The character of Murdock was almost written out of the series before it aired, as the producers found the character too "over the top"...
in the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team
The A-Team (film)
The A-Team is an American action film based on the television series of the same name. It was released in cinemas in the United States on June 11, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell and the Scott brothers Ridley and Tony...
.
Personal life
Copley was born in PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and educated at St. Andrew's Preparatory School
St. Andrew's Preparatory School
St. Andrew's Preparatory School is a private, co-educational boarding school in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa.-A Family of Schools:St. Andrew's Prep shares has close ties with it brother school, St...
in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
and Redhill School
Redhill School
Redhill School is an independent, private, co-educational multi-faith day school located in Morningside, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.It was founded in 1907 as an interdenominational Christian school and today educates over a thousand pupils from pre-primary to high school .There is also a...
in Morningside
Morningside
-Places:Morningside may be one of the following place names:Australia*Morningside, QueenslandCanada*Toronto:**Morningside, Toronxto, a neighbourhood in Scarborough**Morningside Avenue , a street in Scarborough...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
His brother Donovan is a musician, and his sister Marisa is a fashion designer.
His parents are Linda, a housewife, and Bruce, a university professor.
He resides alternately in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Acting, producing, and directing career
A year after leaving high school, Copley first met director Neill BlomkampNeill Blomkamp
Neill Blomkamp is an Afrikaner-Canadian film and advertisement writer and director. Blomkamp employs a documentary-style, hand-held, cinéma vérité technique, blending naturalistic and photo-realistic computer-generated effects. He is best known as the co-writer and director of critically acclaimed...
; Copley was 22 and Blomkamp was 16, and Copley provided Blomkamp with use of computers at his production company to assist the company with pitches for various projects and allow Blomkamp to further pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design.
Copley starred in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
and Neill Blomkamp's District 9 where he plays the leading role of Wikus van der Merwe, an Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
bureaucrat
Bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...
assigned to relocate a race of extraterrestrial creatures unexpectedly stranded on Earth, referred to as "prawns
Parktown prawn
The Parktown prawn aka Parkmore prawn aka Parkhurst prawn, Libanasidus vittatus, is a monotypic species of king cricket found in Southern Africa. Although a member of the cricket order Orthoptera, it is placed in the family Anostostomatidae, separate from that of the true crickets, Gryllidae...
", from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, to an internment camp outside the city. He improvised all of his dialogue in the film.
In 2009, Copley won the Favorite Hero award at the IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
Summer Movie awards and Best Performance of 2009 for his role in District 9.
In 2010, Copley produced, wrote and directed an insert for the South African Music Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African star Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album.
Copley then starred alongside Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
, Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the feature film adaptation of
The A-Team (film)
The A-Team is an American action film based on the television series of the same name. It was released in cinemas in the United States on June 11, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell and the Scott brothers Ridley and Tony...
The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, which was produced by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
and Tony Scott
Tony Scott
Anthony D. L. "Tony" Scott is an English film director. His films include Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Unstoppable...
. Copley starred as H. M. Murdock
H. M. Murdock
Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock is a fictional character in the 1980s action/adventure television series, The A-Team. He was played by Dwight Schultz. The character of Murdock was almost written out of the series before it aired, as the producers found the character too "over the top"...
(originally played by Dwight Schultz
Dwight Schultz
William Dwight Schultz is an American stage, television, film actor, and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action show The A-Team, and as Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and the film Star Trek: First...
in the TV series) and adopted a Southern American
Southern American English
Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from Southern and Eastern Maryland, West Virginia and Kentucky to the Gulf Coast, and from the Atlantic coast to most of Texas and Oklahoma.The Southern dialects make...
accent for the role. He also imitated other accents, including English, Scottish, Australian, and his native South African. Schultz praised Copley's performance and stated that Copley was the only actor true to his character.
Copley guest co-hosted WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
on 7 June 2010, along with his A-Team
The A-Team (film)
The A-Team is an American action film based on the television series of the same name. It was released in cinemas in the United States on June 11, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell and the Scott brothers Ridley and Tony...
co-stars Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
and Quinton Jackson
Quinton Jackson
Quinton Ramone Jackson ;, also known as Rampage Jackson, is an American mixed martial artist and actor. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Jackson rose to prominence in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships where he was noted for his powerful body slams including a knockout victory over...
.
Copley will star in Elysium
Elysium (film)
Elysium is an upcoming 2013 American science fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Wagner Moura. Elysium is scheduled to be released on , 2013.-Premise:...
, an upcoming science-fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Despite similarities with District 9, Blomkamp has confirmed it will not be a sequel. Copley was cast in Men in Black III
Men in Black III
Men in Black III is an upcoming 3D science fiction comedy film starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones...
as "a fast-talking Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
type alien". He later left the project.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credited as | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
Producer Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The... |
Writer Screenwriter Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:... |
Actor Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... |
Role | ||
| 2005 | Alive in Joburg Alive in Joburg "Alive in Joburg" is a 2005 science fiction short film directed by Neill Blomkamp, produced by Simon Hansen and Sharlto Copley in Canada, and released by Spy Films. It runs approximately six minutes long and was filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa with soundtrack featuring composer sound designer... |
Sniper | ||||
| 2005 | 2001: A Space Oddity | |||||
| 2005 | Hellweek | Drill Sergeant | ||||
| 2009 | District 9 District 9 District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James... |
Wikus van der Merwe | ||||
| 2010 | The A-Team The A-Team (film) The A-Team is an American action film based on the television series of the same name. It was released in cinemas in the United States on June 11, 2010, by 20th Century Fox. The film was directed by Joe Carnahan and produced by Stephen J. Cannell and the Scott brothers Ridley and Tony... |
Capt. H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock H. M. Murdock Captain H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock is a fictional character in the 1980s action/adventure television series, The A-Team. He was played by Dwight Schultz. The character of Murdock was almost written out of the series before it aired, as the producers found the character too "over the top"... |
||||
| 2013 | Elysium Elysium (film) Elysium is an upcoming 2013 American science fiction film written and directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Wagner Moura. Elysium is scheduled to be released on , 2013.-Premise:... |