Joey Ansah

Infobox actor


imagesize = 150px
name = Joey Ansah
birthdate = Birth date and age|1982|11|24
birthname = Joey Ansah
location = London, England
notable role = Desh in "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007)

Joey Ansah (born November 24, 1982 in London) is a British actor.

Biography

Early life

Joey Ansah was born in London, England of mixed ethnicity, the second son of celebrated Ghanaian fashion designer Kofi [ [http://www.djembe.dk/no/28/26colf.html Djembe Online - No 28: Kofi Ansah: Celebration of local fabrics ] ] and his Devon-born wife Nicola. He lived in London for the first 10 years of his life before emigrating with his family to Ghana. While in Ghana, he studied the martial art of Tae Kwon Do for 4 years and took up hip hop dance and motorbike racing. At 15 he returned to England, settling with his mother and young sister in Plymouth. Whilst studying for his GCSEs and A levels at Devonport High School for Boys, he began training in the martial art of Ninjutsu. This would include a period of training with Ninjutsu Grandmaster Hatsumi Sensei. Later, while studying for his degree in Human Biology at Oxford Brookes University, he began training in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. He also worked as a model and extra at this time.

Acting career

His first important role as an actor was in the UK indie film "Love Struck" (2005). Notable appearances on British TV followed in episodes of BBC productions "Spooks" (2005) and "Timewatch" (2006).

Ansah went on to play a minor role as one of the Shadow Warriors in "Batman Begins" (2005). However, his most noteworthy role to date came in 2007, when Ansah appeared in "The Bourne Ultimatum" as Desh Bouksani, an assassin tracking down Jason Bourne. His performance was notable for an extended set-piece fight scene between himself and Matt Damon, regarded by one reviewer as one of the best ever filmed, [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/15800687/review/15747167/bourne_ultimatum Bourne Ultimatum : Review : Rolling Stone ] ] in which Ansah performed all of his own stunts. He was recently nominated for an MTV Film Award in the 'Best Fight' category.

Family

His artistic family includes:
* Kofi Ansah (father) - fashion designer [http://www.kofiansah.com]
* Kwaw Ansah (uncle) - award-winning film director [imdb name | id=0030503 | name=Kwaw Ansah]
* Tommy Ansah (uncle) - actor [imdb name | id=0030506 | name=Tommy Ebow Ansah]
* Ryan Ansah (brother) - musician [ [http://www.foolishearthlings.com MySpace.com - Foolish Earthlings - London, UK - Funk / Rock / Soul - www.myspace.com/foolishearthlings ] ]

References

External links

*http://www.joeyansah.co.uk/ Actor's Official Website
*imdb name | id=1438275 | name=Joey Ansah
*http://www.sansao.org/english/testimonials/joey.htm