Barkhad Abdi’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Early life

Abdi was born in Mogadishu, Banaadir to a Majeerteen family. Around the age of six or seven, when the Somali Civil War broke out, he and his family moved to Yemen to join his father, who had taken up teaching. In 1999, Abdi and his family relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where there is a large Somali community. He subsequently attended Minnesota State University Moorhead. Before entering the film industry, Abdi sold mobile phones at his brother’s shop at a mall in Minneapolis. He also worked as a limousine driver at a relative’s chauffeur company and as a DJ.

Career

Abdi made his debut in the 2013 film Captain Phillips. He played ship hijacker and pirate leader Abduwali Muse. He was cast following a worldwide search for the lead roles. Abdi and three other actors were subsequently chosen from more than 700 participants at a 2011 casting call in Minneapolis. According to the casting director, the four were selected because they were “the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out”. He was paid only $65,000 for his appearance in the film and returned to working in his brother’s shop afterwards.

For his work, Abdi was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and a Golden Globe Award. He won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. Abdi’s experience in Captain Phillips was his first in the film industry.

In January 2014, Abdi read scripts for a television show. He landed a role in an episode of the series Hawaii Five-0, playing former warlord Roko Makoni. Later that year, he began work on the comedy film Trainwreck, though he did not appear in the finished film. He also appeared in the 2015 thriller Eye in the Sky, playing Jama Farah; and appeared in The Brothers Grimsby. In 2016 Abdi played the lead role in A Stray, an independent film directed by Musa Syeed that was set in the Minneapolis Somali community.

Abdi reversed his Captain Phillips role in the 2017 film The Pirates of Somalia, playing the Somali government-sponsored local agent and translator for Canadian freelance journalist Jay Bahadur. Abdi coordinates interviews between local pirate leaders and Bahadur, who records the motivations of Somali piracy in the weeks leading up to the Maersk Alabama hijacking.

In October 2017, Abdi featured in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, in a minor role of a scientist. He shared one scene with Ryan Gosling, providing him information on where to go next.

Abdi directed a film, Ciyaalka Xaafada, as well as several music videos.

Philanthropy

In 2013, Abdi began to serve as an Ambassador for Adeso, an NGO founded by the Somali environmentalist Fatima Jibrell.

Personal life

Abdi resides in Los Angeles, California, as well as Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis, Minnesota. The notable lump on his forehead came from a car accident he was in sometime prior to auditioning for Captain Phillips.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations