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Olisa Odele

Olisa Odele
EducationGuildford School of Acting (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active2004-present
TelevisionBig Boys

Olisa Odele is an English actor. He played Yemi on all three series of Channel 4 coming-of-age comedy drama series Big Boys (2022-2025). As a child actor, he previously appeared in forty episodes of My Parents are Aliens (2004-2005).

Career

He early television appearances included forty episodes of My Parents are Aliens. He played Ola Michaela Coel series Chewing Gum on E4. He also appeared in It’s a Sin. In 2019, he appeared in BBC One comedy series Scarborough.[1][2]

He had a main role as Yemi in all three series of Jack Rooke created Channel 4 coming-of-age comedy drama series Big Boys, with his performance described as "regally characteristic".[3][4]

He played Peter in 2024 British comedy series Dead Hot which aired on Amazon Prime Video.[5] He appeared on stage as Isom in the British National Theatre tour of comedy stage play The Hot Wing King in 2024.[6][7]

In February 2025, he could be seen in both series of Daisy May Cooper comedy drama series Am I Being Unreasonable? on BBC One.[8]

Personal life

He is from London and has Nigerian heritage.[9] He trained at the BRIT School and Guildford School of Acting, graduating in 2017.[10][11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2004-2005 My Parents are Aliens C.J. 40 episodes
2016-2017 Chewing Gum Ola 8 episodes
2018 Sick of It Olly 1 episode
2019 Scarborough PC Merrick 4 episodes
2019 Down from London Robin 1 episode
2021 It’s a Sin Cassius 1 episode
2022 Starstruck Damien 1 episode
2022-present Am I Being Unreasonable? Jesus 3 episodes
2022-2025 Big Boys Femi Main cast
2023 Surprised by Oxford Fred
2024 Dead Hot Peter 6 episodes

References

  1. ^ Grimes, Gary (11 Feb 2025). "Olisa Odele talks moving on from Big Boys: 'I gained a lot of body confidence in playing Yemi' (EXCLUSIVE)". Attitude.co.uk. Retrieved 18 Feb 2025.
  2. ^ Chimezie, Amaka (January 12, 2018). "The 8 Best Nigerian Characters Of This Century — In Hollywood Film & TV". Naijalife Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  3. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (14 January 2024). "Big Boys review - so funny I nearly choked". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Samadder, Rhik (8 February 2025). "Big Boys: it's the final season of TV's funniest sitcom – and it's as sharp, wise and filthy as ever". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  5. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (1 March 2024). "Dead Hot review – it's Skins meets Queer As Folk … but way weirder". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  6. ^ Akbar, Arifa (19 July 2024). "The Hot Wing King review – Katori Hall's comedy sizzles with joy". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  7. ^ Gibson, Georgia (22 July 2024). "Juicy, Tender, and Packs a Punch: Reviewing 'The Hot Wing King' at the National Theatre". Strand Magazine. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  8. ^ Hibbs, James (1 March 2024). "Meet the cast of Dead Hot on Prime Video". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Interview with Olisa Odele (Yemi)". Channel 4.com. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  10. ^ "Olisa Odele". National Theatre. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  11. ^ "BA Musical Theatre and BA Acting Graduates of 2017". gsauk.org. Retrieved 18 February 2025.