• Born in 1988 in Upper Heyford, England to an African American father and British-Nigerian mother
• Holds both British and American nationality
• Gained recognition after his portrayal of Cory Maxson in the 2016 drama movie "Fences"
• Has appeared in various films and TV series, including "Mother!", "Overlord", "The Leftovers", "When They See Us", "Watchmen" and "The Stand"
• Has an estimated net worth of over $1 million
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Who is Jovan Adepo?
Jovan Valde Olalekan Adepo was born in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England, on 6 September 1988 – his zodiac sign’s Virgo and he holds both British and American nationality. He’s an actor, who’s perhaps known best for his portrayal of Cory Maxson in the 2016 drama movie “Fences”, written by August Wilson and directed by Denzel Washington, who also starred in it alongside Viola Davis and Stephen McKinley Henderson. It follows a married African-American man trying to raise his children in the ‘50s, and the movie was a hit, winning 57 awards including an Oscar for Viola Davis for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for 120 other awards.
Early life, parents and education
Jovan spent his first two years of life in Upper Heyford, where he was raised alongside his sister Macayla by their African-American father who’s originally from Chattanooga in Tennessee USA, and their British-Nigerian mother who’s English. Fatai Adepo, Jovan’s maternal grandfather, served as the special adviser to Olusegun Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president.
The family moved to the USAin 1990 and settled in Waldorf, Maryland, where Jovan attended a local elementary school, and became interested in acting. He went on to appear in various school as well as church plays, then upon matriculating in 2006, he enrolled at Bowie State University in Maryland, at which he played football, was a member of a drama club, and had good grades.
In 2010, Jovan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and philosophy, and he then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career.
Roles in movies
Jovan made his debut film appearance with his portrayal of Sentwali in the 2012 short drama “Gahiji”, but which failed to attract any attention; he then went on to star in several other shorts such as “Sandbox”, “Kay” and “Bruise”.
“Fences” also marked Jovan’s first appearance in a feature film, then in 2017 he was cast to play Cupbearer in the 2017 hit mystery horror “Mother!”, written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, and which starred Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Ed Harris. The film follows a couple as they’re visited by uninvited and unwelcome guests; it won nine of the 50 awards it was nominated for.
One can say that Jovan became popular after his portrayal of the main character Boyce in the 2018 action adventure horror “Overlord” which also starred Wyatt Russell and Mathilde Olivier, and follows a squad of American soldiers who find themselves behind enemy lines during the D-Day battle. The movie was nominated for eight awards winning two. In 2019, Jovan was featured in the comedy “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’, and ‘The Jeffersons’” hosted by the famous American TV show host, comedian and writer Jimmy Kimmel – it won the cast an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
Two of Jovan’s most recent roles in movies have been in the 2019 comedy “The Planters”, and the 2020 thriller drama “The Violent Heart”.
He has recently finished shooting for the upcoming thriller drama “5150”, set to be released sometime in 2021, while he’s currently shooting for the mystery crime drama “Misanthrope”, set for release in 2022, and the drama “Babylon” due to be released on 6 January 2023.
Roles in TV series
Jovan made his debut TV series appearance with his portrayal of Dushaan Jackson in the 2014 episode “House of Lies” of the crime documentary “Blood Relatives”, and in 2016 he appeared in the episode “Revenge Deferred” of the action crime drama “NCIS: Los Angeles”.
He gained recognition after being cast to portray the supporting character Michael Murphy in the hit mystery fantasy drama “The Leftovers”, created by Tom Perrotta and Damon Lindelof, and which starred Justin Theroux, Christopher Eccleston and Amy Brenneman.
The series follows the people of New York as they’re trying to go on with their lives after two percent of the entire world’s population mysteriously vanishes. It won ten of the 80 awards it was nominated for, including a Primetime Emmy.
The year 2019 saw Jovan play Antron McCray (Adult) in the biographical crime mini-series “When They See Us”, which follows the true story of five teenagers who were wrongfully accused of a brutal attack which took place in Central Park. The mini-series won 28 awards including two Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 73 other awards; it’s considered to be amongst the best 40 TV series of all time. The same year also saw Jovan play Marcus Bishop in eight episodes of the award-winning action thriller drama “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”, and star as Danny Greer alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Kelly Marie Tran in the drama “Sorry for Your Loss”.
Jovan’s two most recent roles in TV series have been his portrayal of Will Reeves in three episodes of the 2019 mystery action mini-series “Watchmen”, which was a huge hit winning 50 awards including 11 Primetime Emmys, and his portrayal of Larry Underwood in the 2021 adventure fantasy drama “The Stand”, which starred Whoopi Goldberg but received mixed reviews.
Other credits
Jovan sang the song “Old Blue” in the movie “Fences”.
He has been featured in various TV specials, such as the 2017 “ABFF Honors” and “La Noche de los Oscar”, and the 2020 “The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards”. Jovan has also appeared in the short documentary films “IMAX® Presents: Overlord” in 2018, and “The Horrors of War: The Making of Overlord” in 2019.
EXCLU: OVERLORD and WATCHMEN actor Jovan Adepo joins Damien Chazelle’s BABYLON https://t.co/02vkCFMS7M
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) March 3, 2021
He has been invited to make a guest appearance in many talk-shows, including “Home & Family”, “Hollywood Today Live”, and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Awards and nominations
Jovan has been nominated for 12 awards, winning two in 2019: an Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Limited Series, and an African-American Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble, both for his and his colleagues’ performance in the mini-series “When They See Us”.
Some of the other awards he has been nominated for include two Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and a 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the series “Watchmen”.
Love life and girlfriend
Jovan’s amongst the most secretive actors in the film industry, as he hasn’t spoken about any women or men he has perhaps been with and this seems to be a good enough reason for people to start spreading rumors around the internet concerning his sexual orientation and love life.
He’s believed to be gay by some of his fans, who have claimed that Jovan hasn’t been seen spending time or being close to any girls because he’s not into them. It’s also said that he’s perhaps afraid of how coming out of the closet could affect his acting career, however, none of these rumors have been confirmed, nor has Jovan commented on them.
There are also those who believe that he’s dating a mysterious girl and prefers to keep her away from the media’s attention but t,his hasn’t been confirmed either.
As of March 2021, Jovan appears to be single, hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.
Hobbies and other interests
Jovan’s a huge fan of soccer which he practiced for a couple of years while he was still a teenager. He today enjoys watching European soccer on TV, and cheers for both Oxford United and Chelsea.
He’s keen on travelling, and has been to various European countries and many US States, while he’s hoping to go on a tour around Africa, and spend some time living in Nigeria.
Jovan’s physically quite active as he has four to five training sessions at the gym each week, thus his muscular body. He’s also keen on winter sports, such as snowboarding and skiing.
He’s a dog-lover and has two pet dogs.
In his spare time, Jovan enjoys watching movies starring his favorite actor and actress Jean Reno and Natalie Portman, such as “Leon: The Professional”, “The Crimson Rivers” and “V for Vendetta”.
Age, height and net worth
Jovan’s age is 32. He has short black hair and brown eyes, his height is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) and he weighs around 165lbs (76kgs).
As of March 2021, his net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.
