Malachi Kirby to star in Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series Anansi Boys

•  Amazon Studios today confirmed that Malachi Kirby will be starring in the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Anansi Boys, based on Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel.
• Malachi Kirby will play the leading roles of brothers “Charles Nancy” and “Spider” –
• Charles Nancy, sometimes known as Fat Charlie (it was his father's nickname for him - he's not fat), is awkward, stressed, engaged to be married, and working at a job he hates for a man he hates. He is as normal as it is possible to be - at least until he learns that his father was a god, and that he has a magical brother he does not know about.
• Spider is that brother. Cocky, self-assured, magical, superpowered, utterly amoral, and perhaps a bit of a monster.
• About Kirby’s casting, Gaiman says: “Malachi Kirby is an actor of astonishing sensitivity, charm, and power. We needed somebody who could bring us the humanity of Charlie and the godly dangerousness of Spider; who could play two very different characters and who could in many ways carry the show. We found Malachi, and I am so thrilled that we did. He's astonishing.”

 Malachi Kirby Bio:

BAFTA TV 2021 winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe for Amazon/BBC. Featured as one of BAFTA’s Breakthrough Brits in 2016 and one of Screen International’s “Stars of Tomorrow,” in 2013, British actor Malachi Kirby has since established himself as a versatile actor with a range of roles across television, film, and theatre. 

He has recently wrapped on Season 2 of Devils (Sky Atlantic/CW) and feature film My Name Is Leon (Tiger Aspect). Soon to appear in feature film Boiling Point starring alongside Stephen Graham.

Malachi was seen playing a lead role in action series Curfew produced by Tiger Aspect. Curfew is an exhilarating new street race drama, which sees Malachi lead an ensemble cast including Sean Bean, Billy Zane, and Phoebe Fox. The eight-part series was shown on Sky One and Now TV in the UK this year.

He can currently be seen in TV series Devils (Sky Atlantic/CW), which focuses on a worldwide financial conspiracy that is discovered by a group of traders of a large investment bank. The story is based on the novel by Guido Maria Brera and also stars Patrick Dempsey, Alessandro Borghi, and Laia Costa.

Malachi played the lead, Kunta Kinte, in the remake of Roots, starring opposite Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin. He received rave reviews for his role, with Indiewire calling him “magnetic” and The Telegraph saying “Brit Actor Malachi Kirby is exceptional in this powerful remake.” The historical series is an adaptation of Alex Haley’s book of the same name, chronicling the history of a young boy from The Gambia sold into slavery in America. The mini-series premiered on History, A&E, and Lifetime in the U.S.

Other television credits include a leading role in season three of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror in the episode “Men Against Fire.” Malachi played Stripe, a soldier in the near future whose duty is to protect frightened villagers from an infestation of vicious feral mutants.

He was also seen in BBC Three’s critically acclaimed My Murder opposite John Boyega; the television film recounted the true story of Shakilus Townsend, a 16-year-old boy who was led to his death by who he believed was his girlfriend, in what became known as the “honey trap” killing. He has also appeared in the hugely popular series Dr. Who, Jekyll and Hyde, and Silent Witness.

Malachi was nominated for Outstanding Newcomer at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2011 for his role in Mogadishu at the Lyric Theatre. The play was positively received by critics and audiences alike. He also recently appeared in the Donmar’s hugely popular Belleville alongside James Norton and Imogen Poots.

Past film credits include My Brother the Devil, which won the Cinematography Award at Sundance, the European Cinema award at the Berlin Film Festival, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. He also starred in Ron Scalpello’s Offender, in which he played Harry, opposite Joe Cole. He’s also appeared in heart-warming comedy Dough, and short films Exhaleand Checkpoint.

Kirby is represented by Femi Oguns & Jonathan Hall at IAG (Identity Agency Group) /  Hanley Baxter at UTA.

About ANANSI BOYS:

Based on Neil Gaiman’s International Best-Selling novel of the same name, Anansi Boys follows Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now his brother, Spider, is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting but making it a lot more dangerous.

• Delroy Lindo has been cast as “Mr. Nancy” - Charlie and Spider’s father who is Anansi the trickster, and a god.
• Six-Part Limited Series will begin filming in Scotland later this year and will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
• Gaiman, Sir Lenny Henry, Douglas Mackinnon, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Hilary Bevan Jones (Endor Productions) and Richard Fee (RED Production Company) are executive producers.
• Gaiman and Henry will also write for the series. Culpepper will direct the pilot.
• Gaiman and Mackinnon will serve as co-showrunners.
• Anansi Boys is a stand-alone story, not a sequel or spin-off of Gaiman’s novel American Gods. The book’s story was originally developed in conversation between Gaiman and Henry with the series adaptation reuniting the collaboration between the pair.
• The show is produced by Amazon Studios, The Blank Corporation, Endor Productions, and RED Production company.
• Gaiman has an overall deal with Amazon Studios.

Malachi Kirby photo credit Jolade Olusanya