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Arnold Vosloo

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Arnold Vosloo
Vosloo in 2009
Born (1962-06-16) 16 June 1962 (age 62)
Citizenship
  • South Africa
  • United States (since 1988)
EducationTechnikon Pretoria
OccupationActor
Years active1983–present
Spouses
  • Nancy Mulford
    (m. 1988; div. 1991)
  • Sylvia Ahí
    (m. 1998)

Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June 1962)[1] is a South African and American actor. He began his career as a stage actor and starring in South African films like Boetie Gaan Border Toe (1984). After emigrating to the United States in the late 1980's, he became known for playing villainous roles, most notably as Imhotep in The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001).

Vosloo is also known for his roles in Hard Target (1993), Agent Cody Banks (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), Silverton Siege (2022), and as Zartan in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013). He played terrorist Habib Marwan in the fourth season of 24 (2005), Amit Hadar on NCIS (2009-10), Robin van Rees on Cape Town (2016) and Rudy Tafero on Bosch (2017).

Early life

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An Afrikaner of Dutch and German ancestry,[2] Vosloo was born into a Pretoria acting family, his parents having been stage actors. His father ran a drive-in theater in Alberton, Gauteng. He has one sister. After high school and military service (from which he received a medical discharge),[3] he took drama courses at the Technikon Pretoria.[2]

Career

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Vosloo began his acting career in South African theatre, where he won several Dalro Awards for his performances in such plays as Don Juan, Hamlet, and Môre is 'n Lang Dag (Tomorrow is a Long Day) and quickly became a regular at Pretoria's State Theatre. He also starred in Torch Song Trilogy and won another award for the TV show, Meisie van Suid-Wes (Girl from South West).[4]

In 1984, Vosloo moved on to film where he continued Dalro Award-winning performances[citation needed] in films such as Boetie gaan Border toe (Boetie goes to the border, a comedy about the Border War) acting alongside fellow South African actor Frank Opperman, and Circles in a Forest (based on the book Kringe in 'n Bos by author Dalene Matthee) in 1990. Vosloo also starred in the "Boetie" sequel, Boetie op maneuvers (Boetie on maneuvers) in 1986. Next was the German three-parter Morenga (1985), Saturday Night at the Palace (based on the play by Paul Slabolepszy about racism in South Africa), Skeleton Coast (1987) and The Rutanga Tapes (1990).

Upon arriving in the U.S., Vosloo returned to the theatre where he appeared in Born in the R.S.A. at Chicago's Northlight Theatre and in the NY's Circle in the Square Uptown's short-lived production of Salomé (1992) together with Al Pacino.[5]

His American film debut was in Gor (1987). He later appeared in the two less successful sequels to the 1990 film Darkman, Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994) and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996), filling the shoes of Liam Neeson as the title character Darkman.

Vosloo is also known for portraying villains such as in the John Woo film Hard Target (1993), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the title role of the 1999 film The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser), as well as its 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns. In both films he played Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest. Vosloo also played François Molay, the main villain's henchman, in the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks.

In 2004, The Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride opened in both Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood. Vosloo and Fraser were there at both openings to promote the new rides, in which both of them star, as well as featuring a life size image of Vosloo as The Mummy.

Alongside his film career, he guest-starred in several TV series, including The Red Shoe Diaries, American Gothic (1995), Nash Bridges (1995), Charmed (2000), Alias (2004) and NCIS (2009). He was one of the main characters in Veritas: The Quest (2003). He also had a major role in the fourth season of 24 (2005), as terrorist leader Habib Marwan. Vosloo appeared in three episodes of Chuck in 2009 as Fulcrum agent Vincent.

In 2004, Vosloo returned to South Africa to make Forgiveness, about an ex-policeman who seeks out the family of the anti-Apartheid activist that he killed. He played mercenary Colonel Coetzee in the 2006 film Blood Diamond, which was partially filmed in South Africa.

Vosloo has been involved in video games: his likeness, as well as his voice, was chosen for the main hero (Saul Myers) of video game Boiling Point: Road to Hell, published in the summer of 2005 by Atari.

Vosloo portrayed the Cobra mercenary and master of disguise, Zartan, in the summer 2009 release G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, reprising this villainous role in the 2013 release G.I. Joe: Retaliation.[6]

Personal life

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In 1988, Vosloo became a naturalized United States citizen[citation needed] after marrying his Act of Piracy and Skeleton Coast co-star Nancy Mulford; they divorced three years later. On 16 October 1998, he married Southern California native Silvia Ahí, a Mexican-American marketing director. Vosloo and Ahí are spokespersons for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW.[citation needed]

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Vosloo noted he looked similar to American actor Billy Zane. According to Vosloo, when people came asking him if he was "the guy in Titanic," he would reply, "Of course, of course," as a joke.[7]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Funny People 2 Self - actor at interview
1984 Boetie Gaan Border Toe Boetie Van Tonder
1985 Morenga V. Schiller
1986 Boetie Op Manoeuvres Boetie Van Tonder
1987 Saturday Night at the Palace Dougie
1987 Gor Norman
1987 Steel Dawn Makker
1988 Skeleton Coast 'Blade'
1988 Act of Piracy Sean Stevens
1989 Reason to Die Wesley Wilson
1989 The Revenger Mackie
1989 Circles in a Forest Saul Barnard
1992 1492: Conquest of Paradise Guevara
1992 The Finishing Touch Mikael Gant
1993 Hard Target Pik Van Cleef
1995 Darkman II: The Return of Durant Peyton Westlake / Darkman Direct-to-video,
replacing Liam Neeson
1996 Darkman III: Die Darkman Die Peyton Westlake / Darkman Direct-to-video
1997 Zeus and Roxanne Claude Carver
1998 Progeny Dr. Craig Burton
1999 The Mummy Imhotep
2001 The Mummy Returns Imhotep
2002 Con Express General Anton Simeonov Direct-to-video
2003 Agent Cody Banks François Molay
2003 Endangered Species Warden
2004 Forgiveness Tertius Coetzee
2006 Waist Deep Police Detective #1 Uncredited
2006 Blood Diamond Colonel Coetzee
2006 Lasko: Death Train [de] Lennart
2007 Living & Dying Detective Rick Devlin
2008 Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld Odysseus
2008 Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles King Augustin
2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Zartan
2010 Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam Black Adam Voice, short film; direct-to-video[8]
2011 All-Star Superman Bar-El Voice, direct-to-video[8]
2011 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Abin Sur Voice, direct-to-video[8]
2013 G.I. Joe: Retaliation Zartan
2013 Odd Thomas Tom Jedd
2015 Shark Killer Nix
2018 The Harrowing Dr. Franklin Whitney
2020 Griekwastad Colonel Dick de Waal
2022 Silverton Siege Captain Johan Langerman
2023 Condor's Nest Colonel Martin Bach

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Meisie van Suidwes Willem Dreyer 9-parter TV series
1988 Killer Instinct Assad Television film
1990 Buried Alive Ken Wade Television film
1992 Red Shoe Diaries Bill Episode: "Double Dare"
1995 American Gothic Rafael Santo Episode: "A Tree Grows in Trinity"
1995 Fallen Angels MacMan Episode: "Fly Paper"
1996 Nash Bridges Alex Abe Episode: "Genesis"
1999–2000 Strange World Dark-Haired Man 3 episodes
2000 Charmed Darklighter Episode: "Murphy's Luck"
2003–2004 Veritas: The Quest Vincent Siminou 13 episodes
2004 Alias Mr. Zisman Episode: "Crossings"
2004 Meltdown Khalid / Sands Television film
2005 24 - (season 4) Habib Marwan 17 episodes
2007 Shark Andre Zitofsky Episode: "Gangster Movies"
2008 Fire & Ice King Augustin Television film
2009 Chuck Vincent Smith 3 episodes
2009–2010 NCIS Mossad Officer Amit Hadar 3 episodes
2010 Psych J.T. Waring Episode: "A Very Juliet Episode"
2011 Young Justice Kobra Voice, episode: "Drop-Zone"[8]
2011 Bones Jacob Broadsky 3 episodes
2013 Elementary Christos Theophilus Episode: "Heroine"
2014 Crisis Jakob Vries 2 episodes
2015 Grimm Jonathon Wilde Episode: "Maréchaussée"
2016 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Armand Smit Episode: "Iqiniso"
2016 Cape Town Robin Van Rees 6 episodes
2017 Voltron: Legendary Defender Ulaz Voice, episode: "Shiro's Escape"
2017 Bosch Rudy Tafero 9 episodes
2019 The Blacklist Marko Jankowics Episode: "Marko Jankowics (No. 58)"
2019 Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Jost Van Der Byl 4 episodes
2022 Ludik Daan Ludik 6 episodes[9]
2024 Plan B Paul Schmidt 5 episodes

Video games

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Year Title Voice role
2005 Boiling Point: Road to Hell Saul Myers
2007 Stranglehold Damon Zakarov

References

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  1. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 11–17". The Associated Press. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023. Actor Arnold Vosloo is 61
  2. ^ a b Daniel Jacobs (2003). Die Vosloos: Nuttige Landsburgers (1 (2003) ed.). T. Vosloo. pp. 10–234. ISBN 9780620309929.
  3. ^ Vosloo, Arnold (3 May 2005). "Arnold Vosloo". Charlie Rose (Interview). Interviewed by Charlie Rose. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  4. ^ Interview from May 2020 (YouTube)
  5. ^ Laetitia Pople: Pacino verstommend - Arnold Vosloo 'New York is stimulerend én neerdrukkend', Beeld-Kalender, 5 May 1992.
  6. ^ Franklin, Garth (18 February 2008). "Logo, Prez & More "G.I. Joe" Updates". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  7. ^ "Arnold Vosloo", Charlie Rose.
  8. ^ a b c d "Arnold Vosloo (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 May 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  9. ^ Thangevelo, Debashine. "Arnold Vosloo helms Netflix's first Afrikaans series 'Ludik'". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
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