Malachi Kirby

Malachi Kirby (born September 20, 1989) is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 Roots remake and the Black Mirror episode "Men Against Fire". He won a BAFTA for his performance in Small Axe: Mangrove. Kirby plays the lead role of Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow in the Victorian drama series A Thousand Blows.

Early life Kirby grew up an only child on the Patmore Estate in Battersea. His father died when he was 6. His parents were born in London where his grandparents had arrived from Jamaica. The cast of Roots were invited to take DNA tests, and Kirby's results came up as mostly West African with some South Asian and a small amount of European. He stated he hopes to do more specific research.

Kirby attended Salesian College, Battersea. Originally into literature, he discovered acting in year nine through a course at the Battersea Arts Centre. He studied at Richmond upon Thames College and was admitted to Identity School of Acting in 2007. He also appeared in a number of television shows and films, including a stint on EastEnders and the lead in the television film My Murder. He was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow in 2013.

In 2016, Kirby starred as Kunta Kinte in the American miniseries Roots, a remake of the 1977 miniseries of the same name. His performance was well received by critics. That October, Kirby starred in an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror entitled "Men Against Fire", directed by Jakob Verbruggen.

He won the Rising Star and Male TV Performance awards at the 2016 and 2017 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards respectively. For Roots; he also received nominations at the 2017 Black Reel Awards and NAACP Image Awards.

Kirby went on to star as Michael Garwick in the 2019 Sky One dystopian drama Curfew and Oliver Harris in the Italian series Devils. He penned his first play Level Up, which premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2019.

Kirby landed the role of Darcus Howe in the "Mangrove" instalment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology, which premiered in 2020. It was the first time he got to play an explicitly Caribbean character. For his performance, he won the 2021 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In September 2021, it was announced Kirby would star opposite Delroy Lindo as both of Mr Nancy's sons Charlie and Spider in the Amazon Prime adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys.

In 2025, Kirby played the lead role of Hezekiah Moscow in Steven Knight's (creator of Peaky Blinders) British drama series A Thousand Blows, about organised crime and illegal bare-knuckle boxing in 1880s London. The first series premiered in February 2025, with Kirby reprising the role in a second series (filmed concurrently with the first series) released on 9 January 2026.

Personal life Kirby did not have a religious upbringing, but he turned to religion as an adult, and belongs to a Christian fellowship in East London.

Filmography Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 Molly & Plum Troublemaker Short films 2009 Exhale Chris 2012 My Brother the Devil J-Boy Checkpoint Socrates Short film Offender Harry 2013 Jonah Juma Short film Gone Too Far! Yemi 2014 The Last Showing Clive Kajaki Snoop 2015 Dough Shaun 2016 Fallen Roland Sparks 2019 A Place for You and Me Short film 2021 Boiling Point Tony 2023 Wicked Little LettersBill 2026 Project Hail Mary Martin Dubois

Television Year Title Role Notes 2008 Casualty Group Leader Episode: "Interventions" Silent Witness Tic-Toc 2 episodes 2009 The Bill Michael Clark Episode: "Back to School" 2011 Doctors Tony Coe Episode: "Decent People" 2012 My Murder Danny McLean Television film 2013 Way to Go Nkanta 2 episodes Lawless Tyler Repton Television film 2014 EastEnders Wayne Ladlow 8 episodes BBC Comedy Feeds DJ Dee Danger Episode: "Vodka Diaries" 2015 Doctor Who Gastron Episode: "Hell Bent" Jekyll and Hyde Spring Heeled Jack Burton Miniseries; 2 episodes 2016 Roots Kunta Kinte Miniseries Black Mirror Stripe Episode: "Men Against Fire" 2016 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards Rising Star Jekyll & Hyde, Dough 2017 Male Performance in TV Roots 2017 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series 2017 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special 2021 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actor Small Axe