Chipo Tariro Chung (born 17 August 1977)[1] is a Zimbabwean actress and activist based in London.[2]
Chipo Chung | |
|---|---|
 Chung in 2008 | |
| Born | Chipo Tariro Chung 17 August 1977 |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (BA) |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Parents |
|
Early life and education
editChung was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her given name Chipo means "gift" in the Shona language. She spent her first two years in refugee camps in Mozambique with thousands of young people who were escaping the war in then-Rhodesia.[3]
Chung was raised in Harare where she attended Dominican Convent High School and developed her acting with the mixed-race theater company Over the Edge. At eighteen, she moved to the United States where her mother, educationist and former minister of education in Zimbabwe Fay Chung, was working for the United Nations.
Chung first studied directing at Yale University and then trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating in 2003.[4]
Career
editChung's stage debut was as Ophelia in a Nuffield Theatre production of Hamlet. Appearances in The Mayor of Zalamea and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse followed. She then appeared in Talking to Terrorists (Royal Court Theatre),[5] The Overwhelming (Royal National Theatre) and Fallujah (in which she played Condoleezza Rice),[6] as well as classical plays including Phedre, which was the first National Theatre Live recording, and starred Helen Mirren.[7]
Chung has appeared twice in Doctor Who,[8] in one episode playing the Master's assistant Chantho in the series 3 episode "Utopia", and a character called the Fortune Teller in series 4’s "Turn Left".[9] Her first film credit was as the voice of Icarus II in Danny Boyle's Sunshine (2007). Other television appearances include in the drama The Last Enemy[10] and as a reporter in the Sherlock second series episode "The Hounds of Baskerville".[11]
In 2011, she had a recurring role in the medieval romance drama series Camelot[12] as Vivian, an indentured servant at King Uther's court who then works as an attendant and messenger for Morgan le Fay, played by Eva Green. Chung appeared in the first season of Sky Atlantic series Fortitude as Trish Stoddart,[13] before winning the role of Mary Magdalene in the TV series, A.D. The Bible Continues. The show was hailed for its international and multiracial casting and opened to 11 million viewers in April 2015.[14][15]
Chung then featured as the Master in AMC's post-apocalyptic kung fu series Into the Badlands.
In 2017, Chung played Portia and Octavius in the Sheffield Theatre production of Julius Caesar, before taking on the title role of Dido, Queen of Carthage in the Royal Shakespeare Company's premiere production of Christopher Marlowe's tragedy. Michael Billington wrote in The Guardian that she "plays [Dido] with a volatility and sense of contradiction that anticipates Shakespeare's Cleopatra".[16]
In 2021, Chung joined the cast of HBO/ BBC co-production His Dark Materials playing the angel Xaphania.[17] She features in a number of Apple TV+ series including Foundation and Silo. In 2022, it was announced that she would be playing Eleanor Bennett in the Hulu series Black Cake, based on the best-selling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson.[18] The series is produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment.
Chung reads a number of titles on Audible, most notably the novel Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, which was a 2022 finalist for the Booker Prize,[19] as well as books by Petina Gappah and Tsitsi Dangarembgwa.
Chung was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2014.[20] She was nominated for Best Actress at the Zimbabwe International Women's Awards (ZIWA) in 2015 and honoured with a Special Recognition Award for her contribution to Media and the Arts at the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards in London in 2017.[21]
Activism
editChung co-founded the charity SAFE-Kenya[22] which develops theatre for social change in Kenya, focusing on HIV education and abandoning clitoridectomy. She worked closely with the charity Peace Direct to start Envision Zimbabwe, a women's trust that works towards consensus-building and peace in Zimbabwe. She also sits on the RADA Council[23] and British Equity's International Committee for Artists' Freedom (ICAF).
In December 2019, along with 42 other cultural figures, Chung signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."[24][25]
In 2020, Chung co-chaired British Equity's Independent Commission on Race Equality, and in 2022 founded the British charity Partnership on Rape Aftercare (PORA), which supports the Adult Rape Clinic in Zimbabwe.[26][27]
Filmography
editMobile App
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Deep Time Walk | The Scientist |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Proof | University Friend | |
| 2007 | Sunshine | Icarus II (voice) | |
| 2009 | In the Loop | Annabelle Hsin | |
| 2011 | 360 | Editor | |
| 2012 | Labalaba, He'll Return | Atika | Short film |
| 2013 | Red Zone | Starling (voice) | Short film |
| 2014 | Beyond Plain Sight | Agnes Takahata | Short film |
| 2018 | Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! | African Troublesome Trucks, Various African Characters (voice) | UK & US versions |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Absolute Power | Miriam | Episode: "History Man" |
| 2007 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Layla Jadwin | 2 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | Doctor Who | Chantho, Fortune Teller | Episodes "Utopia" & "Turn Left" |
| 2007 | Holby City | Dr. Nicola Wood | Episode: "Past Imperfect" |
| 2008 | The Last Enemy | Lucy Fox | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Casualty | Dan Dan | Episode: "Who Do You Think You Are?" |
| 2009 | National Theatre Live | Ismene | Episode: "Phédre" |
| 2010 | Identity | Michelle Fielding | Episode: "Second Life" |
| 2011 | Camelot | Vivian | 8 episodes |
| 2012 | Sherlock | Presenter | Episode: "The Hounds of Baskerville" |
| 2015 | Fortitude | Trish Stoddart | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | A.D. The Bible Continues | Mary Magdalene | 12 episodes |
| 2015 | From Darkness | Jemima Greer | Episode: "Episode #1.2" |
| 2016 | Thirteen | Alia Symes | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Absentia | Agent Whitman | 7 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | Into the Badlands | The Master | 14 episodes |
| 2018 | Thomas & Friends | Hong-Mei, African Trucks | UK/US voice |
| 2021 | Foundation | Simulation Instructor | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | His Dark Materials | Xaphania | Main role |
| 2023 | Silo | Sandy | Main role |
| 2023 | Black Cake | Eleanor Bennett | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | Constellation | Michaela Moyone | 5 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice | Narrator |
References
edit- ^ "Chipo Tariro Chung". Directors.findthecompany.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Greer, Bonnie (31 July 2011). "How We Met: Chipo Chung & Bonnie Greer". The Independent. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "100 Women: Chipo Chung on identity, acting and activism". London: BBC. 21 October 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Williams, Holly (14 September 2017). "Chipo Chung: 'I had to go round the houses to get into theatre'". THE STAGE. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Talking to Terrorists – Stockroom". www.stockroom.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Peter, John (13 May 2007). "Fallujah". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Hytner, Nicholas; Lough, Robin (25 June 2009). "National Theatre Live: Phèdre". IMDb (Drama). National Theatre. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (5 January 2019). "8 actors who played more than one role in new Doctor Who". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "15 actors who've appeared in 'Doctor Who' as different characters - Page 2 of 3". CultBox. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ "The Last Enemy (TV Mini Series 2008)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Sherlock (TV Series 2010–2017)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Camelot (TV Series 2011)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Jeffery, Morgan (11 February 2015). "Fortitude star Chipo Chung: 'I don't know what happens in the end'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Battersby, Matilda (7 April 2015). "Jesus was a feminist, says Mary Magdalene actress". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Culturati, Kate O'Hare's Pax (10 May 2015). "'A.D.' Star Chipo Chung Thinks Mary Magdalene Was 'Robust'". Kate O'Hare's Pax Culturati. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ Billington, Michael (23 September 2017). "Coriolanus/Dido, Queen of Carthage review – Shakespeare and Marlowe do battle". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "His Dark Materials". IMDb (Adventure, Drama, Family). Anton, Bad Wolf, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Black Cake". IMDb (Drama). Harpo Films, Hulu Originals, Kapital Entertainment. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Glory". The Booker Prizes. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Who are the 100 Women 2014?". BBC News. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ Radio, Nehanda (3 May 2016). "Zim Achievers to celebrate women in media and arts". Nehanda Radio. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "S.A.F.E. Homepage". Safekenya.org. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ Fabrique. "Governance and advisors — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Vote for hope and a decent future". The Guardian. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ Proctor, Kate (3 December 2019). "Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ Grater, Tom (28 May 2020). "UK Actors' Union Equity Sets Up Race Equality Commission After Laurence Fox Row". Deadline. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Welcome to S.A.F.E. – safekenya.org". safekenya.org. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
External links
edit- Chipo Chung on Twitter
- Chipo Chung at IMDb