Aja Naomi King Biography

Aja Naomi King (born January 11, 1985) is an American actress. She began her career in guest-starring roles on television, and starred as Cassandra Kopelson in the short-lived CW medical comedy-drama, Emily Owens, M.D. (2012-13).

In 2014, King began starring as Michaela Pratt in the ABC legal drama series, How to Get Away with Murder, for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series nomination in 2015. She also has starred in the independent movies Four (2012) and Reversion (2015), before her breakthrough role as Cherry, the young slave, in the critically acclaimed 2016 biographical film, The Birth of a Nation.

Early life

King was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Walnut, California. She received a BFA in Acting from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MFA from Yale University's School of Drama in 2010. At Yale University, King performed in a number of productions, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, Little Shop of Horrors and Angels in America.

Career

2010-2013

King appeared in several short films in the early period of her career. She made her television debut in 2010 with guest-starring role in the CBS procedural Blue Bloods, and later appeared on Person of Interest, The Blacklist and Deadbeat. She made her feature film debut in the 2011 independent film Damsels in Distress as a minor character. Her big break came in 2012 when she was cast as new surgical intern Cassandra Kopelson and the series primary antagonist, on the CW medical comedy-drama series, Emily Owens, M.D. The series was canceled after a single season in 2013. She later starred in the Amazon Studios comedy pilot The Onion Presents: The News.

In 2013, King co-starred in two independent films. She played Wendell Pierce's character daughter Abigayle in the independent drama Four, released on September 13, 2013. Along with her castmates, she won a Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Performance by Cast for her role in this movie. She also appeared alongside Laverne Cox, Britne Oldford and Franky G in the 36 Saints. In 2014 she had supporting role in the romantic comedy The Rewrite starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei. The movie was filmed in 2013, but had theatrical release in the United States on 2015.

2014-present: Breakthrough

In early 2014, King had a recurring role of Ali Henslee in the ABC medical drama series, Black Box starring Kelly Reilly as title character. The series was canceled after single season. On February, 2014 she was cast as one of the lead characters in the ABC legal thriller How to Get Away with Murder produced by Shonda Rhimes. The series stars Viola Davis as a law professor Annalise Keating. King plays the role of Michaela Pratt, one of the five lead students, alongside Jack Falahee, Alfred Enoch, Matt McGorry and Karla Souza. The series premiered on September 25, 2014 with generally positive reviews from critics and a massive 14 million viewers. King received her first NAACP Image Award nomination for her performance in series.

In 2015, King had her first the leading role, in the science-fiction thriller film Reversion. The film had limited theatrical release on October 9, 2015. Also in 2015, she was cast as female lead in the historical drama film The Birth of a Nation based on the story of the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. The film also stars Nate Parker, Aunjanue Ellis, Gabrielle Union and Armie Hammer. She plays Nat Turner's wife, Cherry. The film premiered in competition at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on , 2016, and has received positive reviews from critics. King's performance as a young slave was also well received. Variety placed her in list of one of the "Biggest Breakthrough Performances" at Sundance, writing in review "King transforms herself from contemporary glamour girl to 19th-century slave in Nate Parker"?s festival smash. A harrowing scene late in the film opposite Parker as Nat Turner reveals a depth and range King has never been asked to deliver in her small screen work, and a potential new star is born." King also listed as a possible contender for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2017.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Gloria Mundi	Dancer	Short film
2010	A Basketball Jones	Sara Walker	Short film
2010	Eve	Celebrity	Short film
2011	Damsels in Distress	Positive Polly
2012	Love Synchs	Selene	Short film
2013	36 Saints	Joan
2013	Four	Abigayle	Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Performance by Cast
2014	The Rewrite	Rosa
2015	Reversion	Sophie Cl
2016	The Birth of a Nation	Cherry Turner

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Blue Bloods	Denise	Episode: "Samaritan"
2012	Person of Interest	Lisa	Episode: "Wolf and Cub"
2012-2013	Emily Owens, M.D.	Cassandra Kopelson	Series regular (13 episodes)
2013	The Blacklist	Elysa Ruben	Episode: "Frederick Barnes"
2014	Deadbeat	N'Cole	Episode: "Out-Of-Body Issues"
2014	Black Box	Ali Henslee	8 episodes
2014-present	How to Get Away with Murder	Michaela Pratt	Series regular Nominated"?NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2015)