From the Vaults: David Oyelowo

The actor David Oyelowo co-stars in two films currently playing in Austin, The Paperboy and Middle of Nowhere. The ascending screen star also appears in two more coming out before the end of the year, was in two of last year's big films, and this week was cast to play Sugar Ray Robinson in an upcoming biopic to be made of the boxer's life.

Who, you ask?

Expect to see a lot more of David Oyelowo in the coming months and years. He's a versatile and dynamic actor who also has a strong screen presence. What's remarkable is how his roles vary from film to film and his persona never seems to get pegged in one identity or another. The British actor appears equally at home in the body of Yardley Asheman, the smug Miami Times reporter who prickles under the racist atmosphere in a 1969 small town in The Paperboy, and Brian, the gentle, American-accented bus driver who moves the heart of Middle of Nowhere's heroine, which has been in a state of stasis for way too long. Earlier this year, Oyelowo played one of the flyboys in Red Tails, George Lucas’ movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Probably best known for his running role as Danny Hunter on the BBC spy series MI-5, Oyelowo comes to television and film after acclaimed work on the London stage. When he played the title role in Henry VI with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2001, he became the first black actor to ever play an English king for the RSC. In 2011, Oyelowo played a preacher in The Help, a biotech villain in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and had a role in 96 Minutes, an indie film that made its world premiere at SXSW 2011.

Still to come in 2012 are his appearances in a in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (opening in Austin on Nov. 16) and the Tom Cruise crime thriller Jack Reacher (opening wide on Dec. 21). Also in the can now is The Butler, Oyelowo's follow-up film with his Paperboy director Lee Daniels. Now, after securing the Sugar Ray role (and an executive producer title), I guarantee this actor's Hollywood dance card will remain fully booked in the years to come. You might as well start paying attention to his footwork now.