David Oyelowo

That rare British actor capable of a flawless American accent, the classically trained David Oyelowo graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1999. During his time with that group he became the first black actor to portray an English king in a major British production of any Shakespeare play when he was cast as Henry VI. His film career began in earnest in 2006 with a notable part in the Academy Award winning The Last King of Scotland. He went on to work with Kenneth Branagh on a film version of As You Like It, and appeared in such high-profile Hollywood fare as Lincoln and Jack Reacher.In 2012 he co-starred in Middle of Nowhere, directed by Ana DuVernay, who two years later he tapped to direct a biopic of {Martin Luther King that Oyelowo spent years trying to get made. With her as director, Selma was released in theaters at the end of 2014, earning strong reviews, especially for Oyelowo's lead performance. The actor garnered a Best Actor nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards.