Sharlto Copley: Career, Age, Where He Lives

Sharlto Copley is a South African producer, actor, and director who 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 playing the roles of Wikus van der Merwe in the Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9, Howling Mad Murdock in the 2010 adaptation of “The A-Team”, Agent M. Kruger in the science fiction film “Elysium” and King Stefan in the dark fantasy adventure film “Maleficent”.

Is Sharlto Copley single?

We just have to start with this point just to clear the air.

Sharlto Copley left the bachelors wing in 2016 when he married Tanit Phoenix. Tanit is a model and an actress from South Africa known for her appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2003.

They dated each other for several years and then in early 2015 while they were on the island of Hawaii, Sharlto proposed to marry her. The duo has a son.

Sharlto Copley: Age

Sharlto Copley was born in Johannesburg South Africa to Linda Stocks and Bruce Copley on November 27, 1973. His father was a University professor. His brother Donovan Copley is the lead vocalist of the Cape Town band “Hot Water”.

Sharlto Copley attended St.Andrews preparatory school Redhill before proceeding to Vancouver film school.

Sharlto Copley: Career

Sharlto Copley ran a visual effects house, a TV studio, and a talent agency in his native South Africa, becoming a TV executive and channel programmer at the age of 24. Growing up, he was always passionate about 3D animation and visual effects.

After leaving the Vancouver Film School, Sharlto worked as a visual effects artist for a Canadian post-production company, and would later head up the visual effects for the controversial new age documentary, “What the Bleep Do We Know!?.

Acting was the last thing on his mind, but he was encouraged by his friend and director Neil Blomkamp to give acting a try. Sharlto took his advice and starred in the short movie “Yellow” where he played the role of a “Soldier”. That year he also appeared in the short movie “Alive in Joburg”.

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And when some test footage found its way into the hands of filmmaking legend and “District 9” producer Peter Jackson. Sharlto’s acting career properly started.

Sharlto then appeared in the show “The A-Team” after his debut on “District”. According to him, he has always loved the show when he was little but his parents never permitted him to watch it he would leave a tape recorder behind the TV set, record the show’s audio and listen to it later. All while his parents thought he was asleep.

More on his career

Later, Sharlto starred alongside Matt Damon in the sci-fi epic called Elysium. The character, Kruger was based on the lives of actual black-ops operatives, who were forced to live behind enemy lines until activated to carry out their orders.

While he played the bad guy for a change, he took a page out of the method acting book and gave Matt a prank of a lifetime.

“I had made his trailer look like Kruger and his henchmen had been living in the trailer for a week,” Copley told Entertainment Weekly.

“There were bloodied limbs in the shower and the sink. There was blood on the sheets. I had left all my dirty clothes from the movie, my underwear, smelly socks, in his bed. There was porn in the DVD player. You know, just trash, everywhere.”

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He has done so many works on TV most notably collaboration with Neil Blomkamp whom he met in his native South Africa. Neil Blomkamp is the South African director behind the movies “Elysium” and “District 9”.

Many give much credit to Neil as the mastermind behind Sharlto’s Hollywood breakthrough, however, it was actually Sharlto who mentored him, having met him at the age of 16.

Copley also collaborated with Neil Blomkamp for the third time in the sci-fi comedy “Chappie”. His last notable work on TV came in 2018 when he featured in the crime-comedy film “Gringo” with others stars like Amanda Seyfried and David Oyelowo.

Where he lives

Sharlto Copley started from South Africa before making it to Hollywood. In fact, he gives so much credit to his South African roots.

Currently, the actor resides in Los Angeles. Where else do most actors who have jobs in Hollywood live? Copley may not be like most actors but this is what he shares with others and no one is complaining. He isn’t.

Image Source: Den of Geeks