Following “Amistad,” Ejiofor starred in the British drama “G:MT – Greenwich Mean Time” in 1999. He received his first big part the following year in the comedy “It Was an Accident”. In 2002, Ejiofor played alongside Audrey Tautou in Stephen Frears’ social thriller “Dirty Pretty Things,” which earned him his highest critical acclaim. He won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actor for his performance. In 2003, he appeared in “Love Actually,” a Christmas-themed romantic comedy, and “Three Blind Mice,” a criminal picture.
Throughout the decade, Ejiofor landed roles in a number of prominent films. In 2004, he appeared in Spike Lee’s “She Hate Me,” Tom Hooper’s post-apartheid drama “Red Dust,” and Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda.”He appeared in “Four Brothers” and “Slow Burn” the next year, as well as “Kinky Boots,” a critically acclaimed dramedy, and “Serenity,” a space Western. Spike Lee’s “Inside Man,” Alfonso Cuarón’s “Children of Men,” Kasi Lemmons’ “Talk to Me,” Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” David Mamet’s “Redbelt,” Pete Travis’ “Endgame,” and Roland Emmerich’s disaster thriller “2012” were among Ejiofor’s subsequent credits.
After that, In 2010, Ejiofor starred in the action thriller “Salt” alongside Angelina Jolie and Liev Schreiber. He starred in three historical plays three years later: “Savannah,” “Half of a Yellow Sun,” and “12 Years a Slave.” Solomon Northup, a free black man in New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, was played by Ejiofor in the latter film. “12 Years a Slave” went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2013, receiving numerous award nominations and victories. Ejiofor was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, while the film itself took home the award for Best Picture.
