Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye (/ˈkweɪsi buːɑːˈtʃiː/ KWAY-see boo-ah-CHEE; born April 6, 1999) is an American actor. He is best known as the original voice of Darwin, Gumball's best friend and adoptive brother on the Cartoon Network animated TV series The Amazing World of Gumball. He also voiced Gossamer on The Looney Tunes Show and The Passenger on Bravest Warriors. He also played Manny in the 2009 Tyler Perry film I Can Do Bad All By Myself.
Kwesi Boakye | |
|---|---|
 Boakye at Hub Network Halloween Bash 2013 | |
| Born | Kwesi Nii-Lante Boakye April 6, 1999 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Relatives | Kofi Siriboe (brother) |
Early life
editKwesi Nii-Lante Boakye was born on April 6, 1999 in Los Angeles, California. He is the youngest of three brothers who are also actors; Kwame Boateng, and Kofi Siriboe. Boakye's family is originally from Ghana.[1]
Career
editBoakye began his acting career at the age of six, making one-episode appearances on the television shows Strong Medicine and Inconceivable. He then appeared in eighteen episodes of the NBC soap opera series Days of Our Lives. In 2006, he appeared in five episodes of Day Break as James Mathis. He then began his voice acting career at the age of seven, where he provided several voices to the animated film Happy Feet. He then continued to make one-episode appearances on The Shield and 'Til Death, the latter in 2007. In the same year, he appeared as a little boy in the film If I Had Known I Was a Genius. He also had minor voice roles in the Nick Jr. series Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, marking this as his first time voice acting on a preschool show. He then appeared on an episode as Turnip in the legal drama series Boston Legal. In 2009, he appeared in Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All by Myself as Manny. He voiced Newspaper Boy on the Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog and starred on the TV series Men of a Certain Age as Jamie Thoreau.
In 2010, he appeared on the NBC television series Community as Elijah Bennett and the romantic comedy film Valentine's Day as a soccer kid. He also appeared as Andrew on an episode of the Playhouse Disney television series Special Agent Oso and William Glass in the TNT TV series Hawthorne. From 2011 to 2014, he voiced Darwin Watterson on Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball. During 2014, he was replaced by Terrell Ransom Jr. due to puberty. He appeared on an episode of Southland as Richard, Hawaii Five-0 as Kevin and The Mentalist as Anthony Rome. He also played young Narrator on two episodes of the TV series The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. From 2011 to 2013, Boakye provided the voice of Gossamer on the television cartoon The Looney Tunes Show, which also aired on Cartoon Network. In 2012, he appeared on an episode of Touch as Farai and the biographical drama film Unconditional as Macon. He then provided the voice of The Passenger on the YouTube/VRV television series Bravest Warriors. In 2014, Boakye appeared on an episode of the ABC comedy-drama series Mind Games as Tyler.
He appeared in the black comedy film Pocket Listing as Billy and made three-episode appearances on Murder in the First and Colony. He most recently appeared in the TNT drama series Claws as Malik and the drama film Tazmanian Devil as Ike.
Filmography
editFilm and television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Strong Medicine | Lavonne | 1 episode |
| Inconceivable | Kid | ||
| 2005–2007 | Days of Our Lives | Artemis / Scott[2][3] | 18 episodes |
| 2006–2007 | Day Break | James Mathis | 5 episodes |
| 2006 | Happy Feet | Other Voices | Film |
| The Shield | Wendell | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | 'Til Death | Kid | |
| If I Had Known I Was a Genius | Little Boy | Film | |
| 2008–2010 | Ni Hao, Kai-Lan | Worm # 1 / Mr. Hoppy | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Boston Legal | Turnip | 1 episode |
| 2009 | I Can Do Bad All By Myself | Manny[4] | Film |
| The Princess and the Frog | Newspaper Boy | Voice, film | |
| 2009–2011 | Men of a Certain Age | Jamie Thoreau[5] | 14 episodes |
| 2010–2012 | Community | Elijah Bennett | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Faith and Dreams | Student | Short Film |
| Valentine's Day | Soccer Kid[citation needed] | Film | |
| Special Agent Oso | Andrew | Episode: "Thunderbubble" | |
| Hawthorne | Willam Glass | 1 episode | |
| 2011–2014 | The Amazing World of Gumball | Darwin Watterson | Voice, main role (seasons 1-3) |
| 2011 | Southland | Richard | 1 episode |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Kevin[6] | ||
| The Mentalist | Anthony Rome | ||
| The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers | Young Narrator | 2 episodes | |
| 2011–2013 | The Looney Tunes Show | Gossamer[7] | Voice, recurring role (14 episodes) |
| 2012 | Touch | Farai | 1 episode |
| Unconditional | Macon | Film | |
| 2012–Present | Bravest Warriors | The Passenger | Voice |
| 2014 | Sketch | Sketch | Short Film |
| Mind Games | Tyler | 1 episode | |
| 2015 | Pocket Listing | Billy[8] | Film |
| Murder in the First | Kormega | 3 episodes | |
| 2017 | Colony | Emmett[9] | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Claws | Malik[10] | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Costume Quest | Benji Nichols | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Tazmanian Devil | Ike[11] | Film |
References
edit- ^ "Kwesi Boakye: Hollywood's Cutest Kid", AfricanLoft.com
- ^ "Days Nick Fallon's new storyline!". soaps.sheknows.com. 21 September 2007. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Q&A with Kwesi Boakye". michiganchronicle.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Ten-Year Old Kwesi Boakye Stars in The Number One Box Office Film and Finds Tyler Perry An Inspiration". PRWeb. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ "'Men of a Certain Age' Series Preview: Cast, Plot Details, and Trailer". www.showbizjunkies.com. 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Kwesi Boakye stars with hip-hop mogul Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs on Hawaii Five-O". lasentinel.net. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ "The Voice Artist's Spotlight official Twitter". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
- ^ "Pocket Listing Cast and Crew - Cast Photos and Info". www.fandango.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Koshie Mills Presents THE DIASPORA DIALOGUES Live Tour 2019". www.broadwayworld.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Video: Abraham Attah, Kwesi Boakye In Official Trailer For Tazmanian Devil Movie". www.nydjlive.com. 25 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
- ^ "Official Trailer for 'Tazmanian Devil' Film About a Nigerian Immigrant". firstshowing.net. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
External links
edit- Kwesi Boakye at IMDb
- Kwesi Boakye at Hollywood.com at archive.today (archived 2013-01-25)
- Kwesi Boakye at Blackcelebkids.com Archived 2009-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Kwesi Boakye Official Myspace