Actor Gbenga Akinnagbe has starred in many high-profile roles, bursting onto the scene as Chris Partlow for 30 episodes in HBO’s The Wire (2002-2008). The MoCo native and Magruder High School alumnus recently made his debut on the STARZ hit show Power Book II: Ghost, playing the role of billionaire Ron Samuel Jenkins (RSJ).
Akinnagbe grew up in Montgomery County and has stated that he was in and out of the Mark Twain School in Rockville, an alternative school that operated under than name until 2009 for students with consistent behavioral or attendance issues. When he got to Magruder on a permanent basis, Akinnagbe joined the wrestling team. “Fast forward a couple of years to when I was in Magruder full-time, and I started wrestling then. I was fortunate. I was really good at it, and I was recruited Division I the next year, my senior year to Bucknell to wrestle.” he said in a Washington Post interview in 2008.
Per the interview, Akinnagbe graduated from Bucknell in 2000 with a degree in Political Science and English. He was working an office job in DC for the government when he started researching acting and was offered a role at the Shakespeare Theater. He quit his job within a week and the rest was history. Since then, Akinnagbe has starred in The Wire, Nurse Jackie, The Deuce, The Taking of Pelham 123, The Old Man, and a lot more. Featured photo courtesy of @GbengaAkinnagbe on Instagram
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