Barkhad Abdi

Biography:

Actor Barkhad Abdi, also known as Barkhad Cabdi in Somalia, was born on April 10, 1985. In the 2013 biographical drama film Captain Phillips, he made his acting debut as the Somali pirate Abduwali Muse. The role won him nominations for the Screen Actors Guild, Academy Award, and British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Abdi starred in Eye in the Sky (2015), Good Time (2017), The Pirates of Somalia (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) after making his debut. Away from the screen, he had recurring roles in the Showtime satire comedy series The Curse (2023) and the second season of the Hulu horror anthology Castle Rock (2019).

On April 10, 1985, Barkhad Abdi was born in Mogadishu, Banaadir, Somalia, to a Somali mother and a Somali Bantu father. In Somali, the word “Barkhad” literally translates as “cistern,” with water standing in for life.

He and his family relocated to Yemen to join his father, who had become a teacher, after the Somali Civil War broke out when he was six or seven years old. Abdi moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1999, where there is a sizable Somali community.

After completing his studies at Roosevelt High School, he enrolled in Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2003. Abdi worked as a mobile phone salesman at his brother’s store in a Minneapolis mall before to going into the film business. In addition, he was a DJ and a limousine driver for a relative’s chauffeur business.