Sharlto Copley
 |
Sharlto Copley | |
|---|---|
 Copley at the July 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International | |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Producer, Director |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Sharlto Copley (born 27 November 1973) is a South African producer, actor, and director who is best known for playing Wikus van de Merwe in the film District 9.
Personal life
Sharlto Copley attended Redhill High School, a South African private school situated in the suburbs of greater Johannesburg, from 1987 through to 1991. While at school Copley was very involved in amateur production (both theatre and film) and through this interest he met his future business partner, Simon Hansen (as well as Neill Blomkamp's extended family. Blomkamp would also attend Redhill High School, although Copley had already graduated by this time). Copley was not averse to pushing the boundaries and often produced, directed and acted in risqué school plays.
Copley has two younger siblings: Donovan, a musician and leader of the South African band Hot Water; and Marisa, a fashion designer and owner of WithOut. Sharlto's father is Dr. Bruce Copley, a holistic animator and multi-instrumentalist who lives in Pringle Bay and owns the company AAHA Learning. Sharlto is currently living in Cape Town and is in a relationship with his girlfriend of many years.[1]
Acting, producing and directing career
A few years after leaving school, Copley relocated to Cape Town in order to set up a media production company (Channel 69 Studios) with Simon Hansen. Their company soon became part of the Midi TV consortium bidding for the broadcasting licence of South Africa's fifth TV channel e.tv. Originally Copley and Hansen were tasked with producing dead-time content for the new e.tv channel. Unfortunately, due to internal politics and some hostile take-overs, Copley and Hansen found themselves independent again. It was during this time that Copley first met director Neill Blomkamp; Copley was 20 and Blomkamp was 14, and Copley hired Blomkamp as a computer-graphics designer.[2]
Throughout his career in South Africa, Copley has directed commercials, music videos and short films, and he also once owned a talent agency.[2]
In 2005, Copley and Simon Hansen produced Neill Blomkamp's short film, Alive in Joburg on which the feature film, District 9 is based. Copley co-wrote and co-directed two of South Africa's most popular viral short films With Simon Hansen—2001: A Space Oddity, a comedy featuring a space shuttle making a crash landing in Cape Town and Hellweek, a spoof on digital artist training in Africa. Both films were screened at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Copley and Hansen also wrote, produced and directed the supernatural-thriller feature film Spoon, starring Darren Boyd and Rutger Hauer. The filming of Spoon utilised a prototype digital camera.[3] In 2003/2004 Sharlto and Simon Hansen directed the music video for a song called "Dream", from international music producers/artists "Jago".[citation needed]
As an actor, he had a small role in Alive In Joburg. He stars in Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp's District 9, in which he plays the part of main character Wikus van de Merwe. He improvised all of his dialogue in the film during the eviction scenes.[4] Copley is now signed on to star alongside Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the forthcoming theatrical remake of The A-Team.[5] He will be playing H. M. Murdock, originally played by Dwight Schultz in the show.
References
- ^ Chantim first=Andra (2009-08-27). "'Five Things About 'District 9's' Sharlto Copley; people.com". people.com. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
{{cite web}}: Missing pipe in:|last=(help) - ^ a b [1][dead link]
- ^ "Local CGI revolution : Channel: Movies: Features". Channel24.co.za. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ "District 9 director Neill Blomkamp". A.V. Club. Retrieved August 16, 2009.
- ^ Sperling, Nicole (2009-09-15). "'A-Team' remake casting update: 'District 9' star Sharlto Copley to play Murdoch; Jessica Biel to also star | EW.com". Hollywoodinsider.ew.com. Retrieved 2009-10-09.