Nnamdi Asomugha may not be a name you’re familiar with just yet, but it’s one you’ll likely be seeing and hearing a lot more of. Nnamdi has had a breakout year in his acting career thanks to his role as Robert Halloway in the Amazon Prime series Sylvie’s Love. Starring opposite Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi has no problems holding his own. He effortlessly lights up the screen in his portrayal of talented musician who is also a young man in love. Although Sylvie’s Love represents Nnamdi’s first major acting job, anyone who has seen the movie knows that it probably won’t be his last. Continue reading to learn 10 things you didn’t know about Nnamdi Asomugha.
1. He Has a Degree In Corporate Finance
Nnamdi was raised in Los Angeles and decided he wanted to attend a school a little further away from home. After a successful high school football career, he earned an athletic scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to being a member of the football team, he also majored in corporate finance and graduated with a degree in the subject.
2. He Has Nigerian Roots
Nnamdi was born and raised in the United States, but his parents are both Nigerian. Specifically, they are members of the Igbo ethnic group. Not only are the Igbo people one of the large groups in Nigeria, they are also one of the largest ethnic groups in all of Africa.
3. He Is A Former Professional Football Player
Nnamdi’s path to becoming an actor is completely different from most of his colleagues. After graduating from college, he entered the NFL draft and was chosen by the Oakland Raiders in the first round. He played professional football for a decade and made it to the Pro Bowl three times.
4. He Is A Kappa
Greek letter organizations have played an important role in the African American community since the first one was founded more than 100 years ago. Nnamdi is a proud member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity which was founded in 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington.
5. He Started A Non-Profit
Giving back to the community is something that has always been at the top of Nnamdi’s priority list. He is the founder of the Asomugha Foundation, a non-profit which was created “To empower disadvantaged youth and women by providing educational opportunities and mentorship.”
6. He Is Colorblind
Most of us don’t even think twice when looking at colors, but things aren’t as simple for Nnamdi. During an interview with ESPN, Nnamdi revealed that he is colorblind. Fortunately, it never impacted his career as a football player although it does make it difficult for him to know which camera to look at when filming.
7. He Is Married To Kerry Washington
One of the main things many people will be surprised to learn about Nnamdi is that he is married to actress Kerry Washington. The two tied the knot in 2013 and have two children together. Kerry Washington is best-known for playing Olivia Pope in the hit series Scandal.
8. He Is A Private Person
One of the reasons that no one really knows about Nnamdi’s marriage to Kerry is because they are both notoriously private people. They have done a good job at keeping their business out of the media. This has even trickled down to their children who the public has never really seen. As far as we can well, Nnamdi doesn’t even have any personal social media accounts.
9. He Never Planned On Being An Actor
Growing up with dreams of becoming an actor simply wasn’t the reality for Nnamdi. During an interview with Uproxx, Nnamdi said “I’ve never done acting. It’s very much brand new. The weird thing is, I’ve now been in it for a handful of years, but because I’ve done so few projects it still feels very brand new. But no, this wasn’t a dream of mine as a kid. I mean, I was playing football and my thought was, all right, when I’m finished playing, I’m going to become one of the NFL correspondents, where I sit behind a desk and talk about the games or whatever.”
10. He Is A Screenwriter
Despite the fact that he never really saw himself getting into the entertainment industry, Nnamdi has embraced his creative side by doing more than just acting. In 2013, he wrote a short film called Double Negative. There’s no word on whether he plans to do more writing in the future, but it would definitely be cool to see him do more behind the scenes work.
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