Gbenga Akinnagbe Net Worth

What Is Gbenga Akinnagbe’s Net Worth?

Gbenga Akinnagbe is an American actor, writer, director, and producer who has a net worth of $1 million. Gbenga Akinnagbe made his on-screen debut as Chris Partlow on the critically-acclaimed HBO series “The Wire,” which he starred on from 2004 to 2008. Akinnagbe appeared in 30 episodes of the show. He has also played Yinka on “Barbershop” (2005), Erik Ritter on “24: Live Another Day” (2014), Larry Brown on “The Deuce” (2017–2018), and Julian Carson on “The Old Man” (2022–2024), and he has had recurring roles on “The Good Wife” (2010–2015), “Nurse Jackie” (2011–2012), “Damages” (2012), “Graceland” (2013), “The Following” (2015), “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” (2021–2023), and “Power Book II: Ghost” (2023). Gbenga has appeared in films such as “The Savages” (2007), “The Taking of Pelham 123” (2009), “Edge of Darkness” (2010), “Independence Day: Resurgence” (2016), “Detroit” (2017), and “The Sun Is Also a Star” (2019), and he directed the 2019 film “DC Noir.” Akinnagbe wrote an episode of the 2012 anthology series “The Unknown,” and he has produced the films “Newlyweeds” (2013), “Children of the Wind” (2013), “Home” (2013), “We Stand Alone” (2014), and “Knucklehead” (2015). He made his Broadway debut as Tom Robinson in a 2018 production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Gbenga also launched the Brooklyn furniture business Enitan.

Early Life

Gbenga Akinnagbe was born Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe on December 12, 1978, in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, with Yoruba Nigerian parents and five siblings. Gbenga was the first member of his family to be born in the U.S. Akinnagbe attended Rockville’s Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School, and he earned a wrestling scholarship to Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University. In 2000, he graduated from Bucknell with a degree in English and Political Science. Rapper Wale is Gbenga’s cousin.

Career

From 2004 to 2008, Akinnagbe played Chris Partlow on the HBO series “The Wire.” He had a recurring role during the third and fourth seasons and was promoted to the main cast for season five. “The Wire” has been ranked in the top 10 on lists of the 100 greatest TV shows by “Rolling Stone,” “The Guardian,” “Empire,” “Variety,” the BBC, and the Writers Guild of America. In 2005, Gbenga starred as Yinka on the Showtime series “Barbershop” and appeared in the short film “They’re Made Out of Meat.” Next, he guest-starred on “Conviction” (2006), “Numb3rs” (2007), “Cold Case” (2008), “Fringe” (2009), “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2009), and “Dark Blue” (2009). Akinnagbe’s first feature film was 2007’s “The Savages,” which starred Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman. He then co-starred with Denzel Washington and John Travolta in “The Taking of Pelham 123” (2009) and with Mel Gibson in “Edge of Darkness” (2010) and appeared in the films “Lottery Ticket” (2010), “Overnight” (2012), “Home” (2013), “Render to Caesar” (2014), “Fort Bliss” (2014), “Mall” (2014), “Phantom Halo” (2014), “Knucklehead” (2015), “Detroit” (2017), “All the Devil’s Men” (2018), and “The Sun Is Also a Star” (2019). Akinnagbe also played Agent Travis in 2016’s “Independence Day: Resurgence,” which grossed $389.7 million at the box office.

(Photo by Matthew Eisman/Getty Images)

Gbenga had recurring roles as Pastor Isaiah Easton on the CBS drama “The Good Wife” from 2010 to 2015, as Kelly Slater on Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” from 2011 to 2012, as Walid Cooper on the Audience Network’s “Damages” in 2012, as Jeremiah Bello on the USA Network’s “Graceland” in 2013, and as Tom Reyes on the Fox crime thriller “The Following” in 2015. Around this time, he guest-starred on “Blue Bloods” (2011), “Chase” (2011), “A Gifted Man” (2011), “The Unknown” (2012), “Elementary” (2012), “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2012; 2014), “Madam Secretary” (2016), and “Mercy Street” (2017). Akinnagbe played Erik Ritter on Fox’s “24: Live Another Day” in 2014 and Larry Brown on HBO’s “The Deuce” from 2017 to 2018, then he guest-starred on “Evil” (2020), “FBI: Most Wanted” (2021), “Modern Love” (2021), “The Blacklist” (2022), and “Genius” (2024). He appeared in the films “16 Bars” (2020), “Passing” (2021), “Asphalt City” (2023), “Fast Charlie” (2023), “Rob Peace” (2024), and “The Thicket” (2024), and he had recurring roles as Mark on the Hulu series “Wu-Tang: An American Saga” (2021–2023) and Ron Samuel Jenkins on the Starz crime drama “Power Book II: Ghost” (2023). From 2022 to 2024, he played Julian Carson on FX’s “The Old Man.” Gbenga has also performed in stage productions of “The Oedipus Plays” (2001), “Romeo and Juliet” (2002), “Cyrano de Bergerac” (2002), “Henry V” (2003), “The Controversy of Valladolid” (2005), “Modern Missionary” (2006), “A View From 151st Street” (2007), “Lower Ninth” (2008), “A Thin Place” (2010), “The Rainmaker” (2013), “Fulfillment” (2015), and “To Kill a Mockingbird” (2018).

Personal Life

“The New York Times” has published two articles by Gbenga. One was about a trip he took to climb the Himalayas in Nepal, and the other detailed medical procedures he underwent to correct his flat feet. In 2020, he filed a criminal complaint against journalist Lola Adesioye, accusing her of grabbing his buttocks on two separate occasions. In May 2021, Adesioye was arrested and jailed for just over a day, and she was charged with harassment, forcible touching, and sexual abuse. Adesioye’s attorney described the allegations as “a blatant, brazen lie,” and the case was dismissed in October 2021.

Awards

In 2015, “Knucklehead” earned Akinnagbe an Industry Choice Award for Feature at the Dances With Films festival, an Audience Award at the American Black Film Festival, and a Jury’s Choice Award for Best Feature Length Film at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.