Arnold Vosloo (born 16 June 1962)[1] is a South African and American actor. He began his career as a stage actor and starring in South African films like Boetie Gaan Border Toe (1984). After emigrating to the United States in the late 1980's, he became known for playing villainous roles, most notably as Imhotep in The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001).
Arnold Vosloo | |
|---|---|
 Vosloo in 2009 | |
| Born | 16 June 1962 Pretoria, Transvaal Province, South Africa |
| Citizenship |
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| Education | Technikon Pretoria |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouses |
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Vosloo is also known for his roles in Hard Target (1993), Agent Cody Banks (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), Silverton Siege (2022), and as Zartan in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013). He played terrorist Habib Marwan in the fourth season of 24 (2005), Amit Hadar on NCIS (2009-10), Robin van Rees on Cape Town (2016) and Rudy Tafero on Bosch (2017).
Early life
editAn Afrikaner of Dutch and German ancestry,[2] Vosloo was born into a Pretoria acting family, his parents having been stage actors. His father ran a drive-in theater in Alberton, Gauteng. He has one sister. After high school and military service (from which he received a medical discharge),[3] he took drama courses at the Technikon Pretoria.[2]
Career
editVosloo began his acting career in South African theatre, where he won several Dalro Awards for his performances in such plays as Don Juan, Hamlet, and Môre is 'n Lang Dag (Tomorrow is a Long Day) and quickly became a regular at Pretoria's State Theatre. He also starred in Torch Song Trilogy and won another award for the TV show, Meisie van Suid-Wes (Girl from South West).[4]
In 1984, Vosloo moved on to film where he continued Dalro Award-winning performances[citation needed] in films such as Boetie gaan Border toe (Boetie goes to the border, a comedy about the Border War) acting alongside fellow South African actor Frank Opperman, and Circles in a Forest (based on the book Kringe in 'n Bos by author Dalene Matthee) in 1990. Vosloo also starred in the "Boetie" sequel, Boetie op maneuvers (Boetie on maneuvers) in 1986. Next was the German three-parter Morenga (1985), Saturday Night at the Palace (based on the play by Paul Slabolepszy about racism in South Africa), Skeleton Coast (1987) and The Rutanga Tapes (1990).
Upon arriving in the U.S., Vosloo returned to the theatre where he appeared in Born in the R.S.A. at Chicago's Northlight Theatre and in the NY's Circle in the Square Uptown's short-lived production of Salomé (1992) together with Al Pacino.[5]
His American film debut was in Gor (1987). He later appeared in the two less successful sequels to the 1990 film Darkman, Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1994) and Darkman III: Die Darkman Die (1996), filling the shoes of Liam Neeson as the title character Darkman.
Vosloo is also known for portraying villains such as in the John Woo film Hard Target (1993), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the title role of the 1999 film The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser), as well as its 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns. In both films he played Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian high priest. Vosloo also played François Molay, the main villain's henchman, in the 2003 film Agent Cody Banks.
In 2004, The Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride opened in both Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Hollywood. Vosloo and Fraser were there at both openings to promote the new rides, in which both of them star, as well as featuring a life size image of Vosloo as The Mummy.
Alongside his film career, he guest-starred in several TV series, including The Red Shoe Diaries, American Gothic (1995), Nash Bridges (1995), Charmed (2000), Alias (2004) and NCIS (2009). He was one of the main characters in Veritas: The Quest (2003). He also had a major role in the fourth season of 24 (2005), as terrorist leader Habib Marwan. Vosloo appeared in three episodes of Chuck in 2009 as Fulcrum agent Vincent.
In 2004, Vosloo returned to South Africa to make Forgiveness, about an ex-policeman who seeks out the family of the anti-Apartheid activist that he killed. He played mercenary Colonel Coetzee in the 2006 film Blood Diamond, which was partially filmed in South Africa.
Vosloo has been involved in video games: his likeness, as well as his voice, was chosen for the main hero (Saul Myers) of video game Boiling Point: Road to Hell, published in the summer of 2005 by Atari.
Vosloo portrayed the Cobra mercenary and master of disguise, Zartan, in the summer 2009 release G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, reprising this villainous role in the 2013 release G.I. Joe: Retaliation.[6]
Personal life
editIn 1988, Vosloo became a naturalized United States citizen[citation needed] after marrying his Act of Piracy and Skeleton Coast co-star Nancy Mulford; they divorced three years later. On 16 October 1998, he married Southern California native Silvia Ahí, a Mexican-American marketing director. Vosloo and Ahí are spokespersons for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW.[citation needed]
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Vosloo noted he looked similar to American actor Billy Zane. According to Vosloo, when people came asking him if he was "the guy in Titanic," he would reply, "Of course, of course," as a joke.[7]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Funny People 2 | Self - actor at interview | |
| 1984 | Boetie Gaan Border Toe | Boetie Van Tonder | |
| 1985 | Morenga | V. Schiller | |
| 1986 | Boetie Op Manoeuvres | Boetie Van Tonder | |
| 1987 | Saturday Night at the Palace | Dougie | |
| 1987 | Gor | Norman | |
| 1987 | Steel Dawn | Makker | |
| 1988 | Skeleton Coast | 'Blade' | |
| 1988 | Act of Piracy | Sean Stevens | |
| 1989 | Reason to Die | Wesley Wilson | |
| 1989 | The Revenger | Mackie | |
| 1989 | Circles in a Forest | Saul Barnard | |
| 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | Guevara | |
| 1992 | The Finishing Touch | Mikael Gant | |
| 1993 | Hard Target | Pik Van Cleef | |
| 1995 | Darkman II: The Return of Durant | Peyton Westlake / Darkman | Direct-to-video, replacing Liam Neeson |
| 1996 | Darkman III: Die Darkman Die | Peyton Westlake / Darkman | Direct-to-video |
| 1997 | Zeus and Roxanne | Claude Carver | |
| 1998 | Progeny | Dr. Craig Burton | |
| 1999 | The Mummy | Imhotep | |
| 2001 | The Mummy Returns | Imhotep | |
| 2002 | Con Express | General Anton Simeonov | Direct-to-video |
| 2003 | Agent Cody Banks | François Molay | |
| 2003 | Endangered Species | Warden | |
| 2004 | Forgiveness | Tertius Coetzee | |
| 2006 | Waist Deep | Police Detective #1 | Uncredited |
| 2006 | Blood Diamond | Colonel Coetzee | |
| 2006 | Lasko: Death Train | Lennart | |
| 2007 | Living & Dying | Detective Rick Devlin | |
| 2008 | Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld | Odysseus | |
| 2008 | Fire & Ice: The Dragon Chronicles | King Augustin | |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Zartan | |
| 2010 | Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam | Black Adam | Voice, short film; direct-to-video[8] |
| 2011 | All-Star Superman | Bar-El | Voice, direct-to-video[8] |
| 2011 | Green Lantern: Emerald Knights | Abin Sur | Voice, direct-to-video[8] |
| 2013 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Zartan | |
| 2013 | Odd Thomas | Tom Jedd | |
| 2015 | Shark Killer | Nix | |
| 2018 | The Harrowing | Dr. Franklin Whitney | |
| 2020 | Griekwastad | Colonel Dick de Waal | |
| 2022 | Silverton Siege | Captain Johan Langerman | |
| 2023 | Condor's Nest | Colonel Martin Bach |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Meisie van Suidwes | Willem Dreyer | 9-parter TV series |
| 1988 | Killer Instinct | Assad | Television film |
| 1990 | Buried Alive | Ken Wade | Television film |
| 1992 | Red Shoe Diaries | Bill | Episode: "Double Dare" |
| 1995 | American Gothic | Rafael Santo | Episode: "A Tree Grows in Trinity" |
| 1995 | Fallen Angels | MacMan | Episode: "Fly Paper" |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Alex Abe | Episode: "Genesis" |
| 1999–2000 | Strange World | Dark-Haired Man | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | Charmed | Darklighter | Episode: "Murphy's Luck" |
| 2003–2004 | Veritas: The Quest | Vincent Siminou | 13 episodes |
| 2004 | Alias | Mr. Zisman | Episode: "Crossings" |
| 2004 | Meltdown | Khalid / Sands | Television film |
| 2005 | 24 - (season 4) | Habib Marwan | 17 episodes |
| 2007 | Shark | Andre Zitofsky | Episode: "Gangster Movies" |
| 2008 | Fire & Ice | King Augustin | Television film |
| 2009 | Chuck | Vincent Smith | 3 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | NCIS | Mossad Officer Amit Hadar | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Psych | J.T. Waring | Episode: "A Very Juliet Episode" |
| 2011 | Young Justice | Kobra | Voice, episode: "Drop-Zone"[8] |
| 2011 | Bones | Jacob Broadsky | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Elementary | Christos Theophilus | Episode: "Heroine" |
| 2014 | Crisis | Jakob Vries | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Grimm | Jonathon Wilde | Episode: "Maréchaussée" |
| 2016 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Armand Smit | Episode: "Iqiniso" |
| 2016 | Cape Town | Robin Van Rees | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Ulaz | Voice, episode: "Shiro's Escape" |
| 2017 | Bosch | Rudy Tafero | 9 episodes |
| 2019 | The Blacklist | Marko Jankowics | Episode: "Marko Jankowics (No. 58)" |
| 2019 | Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan | Jost Van Der Byl | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Ludik | Daan Ludik | 6 episodes[9] |
| 2024 | Plan B | Paul Schmidt | 5 episodes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Boiling Point: Road to Hell | Saul Myers |
| 2007 | Stranglehold | Damon Zakarov |
References
edit- ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 11–17". The Associated Press. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
Actor Arnold Vosloo is 61
- ^ a b Daniel Jacobs (2003). Die Vosloos: Nuttige Landsburgers (1 (2003) ed.). T. Vosloo. pp. 10–234. ISBN 9780620309929.
- ^ Vosloo, Arnold (3 May 2005). "Arnold Vosloo". Charlie Rose (Interview). Interviewed by Charlie Rose. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Interview from May 2020 (YouTube)
- ^ Laetitia Pople: Pacino verstommend - Arnold Vosloo 'New York is stimulerend én neerdrukkend', Beeld-Kalender, 5 May 1992.
- ^ Franklin, Garth (18 February 2008). "Logo, Prez & More "G.I. Joe" Updates". Dark Horizons. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Arnold Vosloo", Charlie Rose.
- ^ a b c d "Arnold Vosloo (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 May 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Thangevelo, Debashine. "Arnold Vosloo helms Netflix's first Afrikaans series 'Ludik'". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
External links
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