"I wonder what it's like to have 'Howling Mad' Murdock be the most 'normal' role you've ever gotten as an actor..."
Sharlto Copley (born November 27, 1973 in Johannesburg) is a South African actor, producer, and director.
He has produced and co-directed short films which have appeared at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as commercials and music videos. He is perhaps best known for his Star-Making Role as Wikus van der Merwe in the critically acclaimed District 9, and has since gone on to star in blockbuster pictures like The A-Team and Maleficent. He also played Christian Walker in the TV series Powers.
Film Roles
- 2009 District 9 as Wikus van der Merwe
- 2010 The A-Team as Capt. H. M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
- 2013 Europa Report as James Corrigan
- 2013 Open Grave as John
- 2013 Elysium as Agent C.M. Kruger
- 2013 Oldboy as Adrian Pryce
- 2014 Maleficent as King Stefan
- 2015 Chappie as Chappie
- 2016 Hardcore Henry as Jimmy
- 2016 The Hollars as Ron Hollar
- 2017 Free Fire as Vernon
- 2017 Oats Studios short God: Serengeti as God
- 2018 Gringo
- 2020 The Last Days of American Crime as William Sawyer
- 2021 Seal Team as Switch
- 2022 Beast as Martin Battles
- 2024 Boy Kills World
- 2024 Monkey Man as Tiger
- 2025 The Witcher as Leo Bonhart
Television Roles
- 2015-2016 Powers as Christian Walker
Video Game Roles
- 2016 PAYDAY 2 as Jimmy (a tie in for Hardcore Henry)
Tropes relating to his works:
- Acting for Two: In Chappie he also doubles as a policeman calling for an angle grinder.
- Amoral Afrikaner: Not the man himself but he very frequently plays them.
- Fake American: In The A-Team (though Murdock's accent changes as a Running Gag) and Powers.
- Fake Scot: Dons a Scottish accent to play King Stefan in Maleficent, to emphasise Stefan as a peasant in contrast to the English accents among the other royals.
- Production Posse: He stars in all of Neill Blomkamp's films.
- Promoted Fanboy: He was a huge fan of The A-Team before getting to star in the film adaptation.
- Star-Making Role: Playing Wikus in District 9 instantly made him known.
- Throw It In!: He improvised most of his lines during the District 9 documentary scenes.
