Prince Amponsah (actor)
Background
Amponsah began his acting career with stage roles at the Shaw Festival in the early 2010s.[2] In November 2012, he was injured in an apartment fire, losing both of his arms near the elbow and spending several weeks in a coma,[3] and went through a year and a half of regular surgery and rehabilitation.[2]
Career
He returned to the stage in the latter half of the 2010s, beginning with a 2016 production of Brandon Crone's play Contempt.[1]
In 2017 he appeared in a production of Salvatore Antonio's Sheets, in a role which called for him to appear on stage in the nude.[4] In the same year he appeared in two third-season episodes of Killjoys as Havigan, the proprietor of a hackmod bar,[5] and starred in Sherren Lee's award-winning short film The Things You Think I'm Thinking.[6]
In 2018, he was profiled in Jamie Miller's short documentary film Prince's Tale,[7] and played a leading role in a production of Judith Thompson's play After the Blackout.[8] In this era he also had guest roles in the television series Frankie Drake Mysteries, The Handmaid's Tale and Private Eyes.
In 2021 he appeared as August, a member of the Traveling Symphony, in the television miniseries Station Eleven,[9] and performed in "Emmett", Syrus Marcus Ware's contribution to the 21 Black Futures project.[10]
In 2022 he had a recurring role as Marvin in the web series Avocado Toast,[11] for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Performance in a Web Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023.[12] His role in the series was hailed as a positive step forward for representation of people with disabilities, as his disability was narratively acknowledged but not dwelled upon as the defining aspect of his character's story.[11]
References
- Brad Wheeler, "Actor Prince Amponsah on returning to the stage after a tragic accident". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 2016.
- Geoffrey Vendeville, "Actor who lost his arms — and nearly his life — in fire reaches new stage". Toronto Star, June 1, 2016.
- Graham Slaughter, "Online and in person, community helps Prince of a friend: 'We're in this to the end,' buddies say as they raise money for man who lost arms in devastating fire". Toronto Star, December 29, 2012.
- Karen Fricker, "Actors, audiences engage with nakedness in two Toronto productions". Toronto Star, March 22, 2017.
- Greg David, "PRODUCTION UNDERWAY ON SEASON 3 OF SPACE€™S MOST-WATCHED ORIGINAL SERIES, KILLJOYS". TV, eh?, February 6, 2017.
- Matthew Sorrento, "Dating and Vulnerability: Sherren Lee and Jesse LaVercombe on The Things You Think I’m Thinking". Film International, April 26, 2018.
- Pat Mullen, "Review: Short Docs ‘Turning Tables’ and ‘Prince’s Tale’". Point of View, May 9, 2018.
- Martin Morrow, "Playwright shifts from physical to emotional disabilities: After the Blackout connects people with inner scars, marking a theatrical transition for Thompson and her theatre company". The Globe and Mail, May 14, 2018.
- Bruce DeMara, "Actor Prince Amponsah talks Station Eleven and the ‘everyday challenge’ of living with trauma". Toronto Star, January 27, 2022.
- Peter Knegt, "10 Canadians who helped make Yellowjackets and Station Eleven the zeitgeist shows of this strange moment". CBC Arts, January 12, 2022.
- Brad Wheeler, "Canadian Screen Award nominee Prince Amponsah is trending like avocado on toast: Amponsah looking beyond his role in the series Avocado Toast to open more opportunities for actors with disabilities". The Globe and Mail, April 13, 2023.
- Eric Volmers, "Calgarians, expats earn Canadian Screen Award nominations". Calgary Herald, February 22, 2023.