Edi Mūe Gathegi (born March 10, 1979) is a Kenyan-American actor. He appeared as a recurring character, Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love"), in the television series House, as Cheese in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone, Laurent in the films Twilight and its sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and as Darwin in X-Men: First Class. Gathegi also featured in the AMC series Into the Badlands as Baron Jacobee. He has also been a recurring character in the NBC television series The Blacklist as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season crime thriller, The Blacklist: Redemption.[2] He has also played a leading role in Startup, a television drama series on Crackle. Since 2022, Gathegi has played engineer and entrepreneur Dev Ayesa in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind.
Edi Gathegi | |
|---|---|
 Gathegi in 2009 | |
| Born | Edi Mūe Gathegi[1] March 10, 1979 |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse | Adriana Marinescu (m. 2018) |
Early life
Born March 10, 1979,[3] in Nairobi, Kenya, Gathegi grew up in Albany, California, U.S.[4] Gathegi attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he played basketball until a knee injury ended his career. Gathegi then began taking acting classes.[4] He then studied at New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 2005.[5] Gathegi's career began in theatre,[6] and his stage credits include Two Trains Running at the Old Globe Theatre, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cyrano de Bergerac, among others.[1]
Career
Gathegi's first professional role was the Haitian Cabbie in the 2006 film, Crank. Though he had originally auditioned for the role of Kaylo, the producers gave the role to Efren Ramirez and instead offered Gathegi an appearance as the Haitian Cabbie.[6] He was skeptical at first about performing a Haitian accent but was coached by a Haitian friend.[6] In 2007, after guest-starring on Lincoln Heights and Veronica Mars, Gathegi went on to star as Bodie in Death Sentence, Darudi in The Fifth Patient, and Cheese in Gone Baby Gone. He later had a recurring role as Mormon intern Dr. Jeffrey Cole in the television medical drama House. His character was often mocked for his religious beliefs by Dr. House, who himself is an atheist. He also guest-starred in CSI: Miami, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Life on Mars in 2008 before being cast as Laurent in Twilight. When Gathegi first auditioned for the 2008 film, adapted from the same-titled first book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, he had not heard of the series and was not aware that his character was a vampire.[7] He now has read the whole series and calls himself a hardcore fan.[7][8] He portrays Eddie Willers in Atlas Shrugged (2011), based on Ayn Rand's novel of the same name. He later portrayed another Haitian character, Jean Baptiste, in the fifth season of Justified, but was unhappy with the role and asked to be written off the show.[9][10] He has also been a recurring character in NBC's television series, The Blacklist, as Matias Solomon, an operative for a covert organization. Gathegi reprised the role in the 2016–2017 season crime thriller, The Blacklist: Redemption.[2] He also portrays the character Ronald Dacey on StartUp. In July 2023, Gathegi was cast as Mister Terrific in the DC Universe (DCU) film Superman: Legacy (2025).[11]
Personal life
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Crank | Haitian Cabbie | |
| 2007 | Gone Baby Gone | Cheese | |
| The Fifth Patient | Darudi | ||
| Death Sentence | Bodie | ||
| 2008 | Twilight | Laurent | |
| 2009 | My Bloody Valentine 3D | Deputy Martin | |
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Laurent | ||
| 2010 | This Is Not a Movie | Ghost of Jimmy | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Armando Muñoz / Darwin | |
| Atlas Shrugged | Eddie Willers | ||
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part I | Laurent | Flashback only | |
| 2014 | Bleeding Heart | Dex | |
| 2015 | This Isn't Funny | Ryan | |
| Aloha | Lt. Col. Curtis | ||
| Criminal Activities | Marques | ||
| 2016 | The Watcher | Noah | |
| 2018 | Pimp | Kenny Wayne | |
| Better Start Running | Fitz Paradise | ||
| 2019 | Princess of the Row | Beaumont "Bo" Willis | |
| 2020 | The Last Thing He Wanted | Jones | |
| 2021 | Caged | Harlow Reid | |
| The Harder They Fall | Bill Pickett | ||
| 2023 | Aporia | Mal |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | House | Dr. Jeffrey Cole | Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| Lincoln Heights | Boa | 3 episodes | |
| Veronica Mars | Zeke Molinda | Episode: "I Know What You'll Do Next Summer" | |
| 2008 | CSI: Miami | Freddie Mays | Episode: "Tunnel Vision" |
| Life on Mars | Fletcher Bellow | Episode: "Things to Do in New York When You Think You're Dead" | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Skinny Dude | Episode: "Leave Out All the Rest" | |
| 2011 | Nikita | Kalume Ungara | Episode: "Girl's Best Friend" |
| 2012 | Phineas and Ferb | Iggy/Various characters | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | The Family Tools | Darren Poynton | Main role; 10 episodes |
| Beauty & the Beast | Kyle | 3 episodes | |
| Red Widow | Leon | ||
| 2014 | Justified | Jean Baptiste | 4 episodes |
| Wild Card | Tres | Unsold television pilot[13] | |
| 2015 | Proof | Zed | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | The Blacklist | Matias Solomon | Recurring role; 13 episodes |
| 2015 | Into the Badlands | Jacobee | 2 episodes |
| 2016–18 | StartUp | Ronald Dacey | Main role; 30 episodes |
| 2017 | The Blacklist: Redemption | Matias Solomon | Main role; 8 episodes[2] |
| 2020 | Briarpatch | A.D. Singe | Main role |
| 2022–present | For All Mankind | Dev Ayesa | Main role; season 3–present[14] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Mantawauk Caves | James Fincher | Main role; podcast[15] |
Awards and nominations
- 2018: Won along with Sean Carvajal for last-minute entrances into the Signature production of this powerful play ensured it had a happy real-life ending" after replacing Reg E. Cathey in late September for a October 5 first preview[16][17]
- 2018: Won OBIE Award for his performance as Lucius Jenkins in Signature Theater Company revival of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train [18]
Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards
- 2011: Won LADCC Award for best Lead Actor in a Play for the role of Franco Wicks in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Superior Donuts"[19]
Method Fest Independent Film Festival
- 2019: Won Breakout Acting Award for his method performance as Beau Willis in "Princess of the Row"[20]
- 2011: Nominated for Featured Actor in a Play for the role of Franco Wicks in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Superior Donuts"[21]
- 2018: Nominated for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train at Signature Theatre Company[22]
References
- ^ a b Shirlene Alusa-Brown (April 7, 2008). "Edi Mue Gathegi – Slated to Shine in 'Twilight'". Jamati Online. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie (March 29, 2016). "The Blacklist Spinoff Starring Famke Janssen In the Works At NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Rose, Mike (March 10, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for March 10, 2023 includes celebrities Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde". Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Cassandra Handley (November 4, 2008). "Q&A: Twilights Edi Gathegi". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 2008-11-09. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ "NYU Graduate Acting Alumni". 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-01.
- ^ a b c "Twilight Lexicon Q&A with Edi Gathegi" (PDF). TwilightLexicon.com. March 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
- ^ a b Denise Martin (October 28, 2008). "'Twilight' Countdown: Edi Gathegi's vampire love". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ Sara Castillo (August 4, 2008). "We Speak with 'Twilight's' Jacob and Laurent!". FearNet.com. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ Bierly, Mandi (February 5, 2014). "'Justified' postmortem: EP Graham Yost dissects 'Shot All to Hell'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ "Justified Creator Graham Yost Vents About Critical Backlash for Season Five". Vanity Fair. 17 April 2014.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (2023-07-11). "Superman Legacy Cast Adds Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion: EXCLUSIVE". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
- ^ "Actorul din Twilight s-a însurat, în secret, cu o vedetă din România" (in Romanian). diva.ro. 6 June 2019.
- ^ "Jennifer Finnigan to Star in USA Pilot 'Wild Card'". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 June 2011.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (June 15, 2021). "For All Mankind Season 3: Blacklist Vet Edi Gathegi Joins Cast as Series Regular". TVLine. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ https://www.fangoria.com/original/mystery-murder-and-the-mantawauk-caves/
- ^ Andrew Gans, "Signature’s Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train Delayed Two Days Following Departure of Reg E. Cathey", Playbill, September 28th, 2017.
- ^ "2018 Nominees". dramadeskawards.com.
- ^ "2018 Obies Winners and Performances". 19 May 2018.
- ^ "Full LA Drama Critics Circle Award Winners; A RAISIN IN THE SUN Wins 4".
- ^ "'Princess of the Row' Wins Audience Award at Method Fest". The Hollywood Reporter. April 2019.
- ^ "Kiss Me Kate Tops 2011 Ovation Award Nominations". 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "2018 Nominations". www.lortelaward.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
External links
- Edi Gathegi at IMDb