August 13, 1957

Actor Isaach De Bankolé was born on August 13, 1957 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. His parents emigrated to the country from Benin, with his grandparents coming from Nigeria. After earning an acting degree at Cours Simon and a mathematics masters degree at the Université de Paris, he began his acting career, in 1984. Initially beginning in French cinema, he went on to win a Cesar Award for his role in the 1986 film Black Mic Mac.

De Bankolé transitioned to English-speaking project in the 1990s, eventually appearing in films such as Night on Earth and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. In 2000, he began working behind the scenes, directing the concert movie Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson. (He eventually married the film’s subject.) He then slowly began establishing himself in American shores, taking roles in films such as Manderlay, Miami Vice and Casino Royale, and guest slots in The Sopranos and The Unit. More recently, he appeared in the seventh season of 24, continuing a character he debuted in the prequel special 24: Redemption.

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Isaach De Bankole

Male

Isaach was discovered on the streets of Paris while studying to be an airline pilot.

He won the C?sar Award for Most Promising Actor
for Black Mic Mac in 1987.

He won the Outstanding Achievement Award in the New York VisionFest for his work in The Killing Zone in 2003.

Manderlay (2005) - Timothy
The Skeleton Key (2005) - Creole Gas Station Owner
Before It Had a Name (2005) - Waiter
Stay (2005) - Professor
5up 2down (2006) - Hunter
Miami Vice (2006) - Neptune
Casino Royale (2006) - Steven Obanno
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) - Laurent
The Fifth Patient (2007) - Cpt. Mugambe
Battle in Seattle (2007) - Abasi
The Guitar (2008) - Roscoe Wasz
Machetero (2008) - Jean Dumont, French journalist
24: Redemption (2008) (TV) - Prime Minister Ule Matobo
24 (2009) (TV series) - Ule Matobo
The Limits of Control (2009) - Lone Man

None

5' 9" (1.75 m)

None