John Kani

Bonisile John Kani (born August 30, 1942) is a South African Broadway actor, director and playwright who has won a Tony Award for his performances in The Island and Sizwe Banzi is Dead.

Biography
Kani performed with the acting troupe the Serpent Players (named for the former snake pit at a zoo in which they first performed) in 1965, during which time he contributed to the conception of many plays that were performed, but not published. He later co-wrote two more famous plays: Sizwe Banzi is Dead and This Island.

Since then, Kani has starred in numerous films and television series. Some of the more prominent titles include Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, and Sarafina!.

Significant Roles

 * Sarafina! - School Principal
 * The Ghost and the Darkness - Samuel
 * Marvel Cinematic Universe (Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther) - King T'Chaka
 * The Lion King (2019) - Rafiki

Roles

 * Disney's Dreamers - Old Gotoma
 * Batman: Arkham Origins (2024 film) - Bird

Trivia

 * John Kani is the father of Atandwa Kani.
 * John Kani’s left eye is a glass prosthetic, losing his real eye in a clash with Apartheid police.
 * Kani speaks fluent in the African language Xhosa and for his role in Captain America: Civil War, he taught Chadwick Boseman real phrases of Xhosa to make their interactions more realistic.