# Jovan Adepo
**Jovan Adepo** (born 1988) is a British-American actor known for his roles as Michael Murphy in the HBO drama *The Leftovers*, Cory Maxson in the film adaptation of [August Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/august-wilson)'s *Fences* (2016), and Will Reeves, the masked hero Hooded Justice, in HBO's *Watchmen* (2019), a performance that earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) • [2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jovan-adepo-46229.php) • [3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jovan-adepo)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England, UK[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/bio/) |
| Background | British mother from London and African-American father from Chattanooga, TN; raised in Waldorf, Maryland[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) |
| Education | B.A. in political science and philosophy, Bowie State University, 2011[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) |
| Breakthrough | Supporting role as Michael Murphy on *The Leftovers* (HBO, 2015–17)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) |
| Film debut | *Fences* (2016) as Cory Maxson, opposite Denzel Washington and Viola Davis[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) |
| Emmy nomination | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, 2020, for *Watchmen* as Officer Will Reeves / Hooded Justice[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jovan-adepo) |
| Recent lead roles | Saul Durand in *3 Body Problem* (Netflix, 2024) and Major Leroy Hanlon in *It: Welcome to Derry* (HBO Max, 2025)[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/) |
## Early life and path to acting
Adepo was born in Upper Heyford, a village in [Oxfordshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxfordshire), England, to a British mother from London and an African-American father from [Chattanooga, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/chattanooga-tennessee), and was raised in Waldorf, Maryland.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) His mother is of Nigerian origin, and his grandfather, Patrick Fatai Adepo, was a well-known public official in [West Africa](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-africa) who served under former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/bio/)
**Football came first.** At Bowie State University in Maryland, Adepo made the roster as a running back but saw little playing time. "I was good enough to make the team, not good enough to get significant playing time," he told *Esquire*; in his junior year he decided he needed another direction.[6](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a65615911/jovan-adepo-stephen-king-it-interview-2025/) After earning his B.A. in political science and philosophy in 2011, he moved to Los Angeles hoping to become a writer.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/)
Acting entered by accident. He booked occasional commercial jobs to pay the bills, took acting classes, and studied under Dianne Hull at the [Actors Studio](https://www.edgepedia.org/actors-studio) before deciding to pursue the craft.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) A formative connection came through church: a churchgoer from Maryland introduced him to her sister, the actress [Viola Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/viola-davis), who became his mentor and advised him to study plays, including [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://www.edgepedia.org/suzan-lori-parks)'s *Topdog/Underdog* and August Wilson's *Fences*.[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jovan-adepo-46229.php) • [6](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a65615911/jovan-adepo-stephen-king-it-interview-2025/) His first Screen Actors Guild job was *The Leftovers*; before that he had come close on many auditions without booking a role.[7](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/jovan-adepo-faces-of-2017)
## Breakthrough: The Leftovers and Fences
Adepo's first major role was Michael Murphy in the HBO supernatural mystery drama *The Leftovers*, beginning in 2015.[2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jovan-adepo-46229.php) The next year he made a guest appearance on *NCIS: Los Angeles* and made his film debut in *Fences*, [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington)'s Oscar-nominated screen adaptation of August Wilson's play, playing Cory Maxson, the son of Washington's Troy and Davis's Rose.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) • [8](https://time.com/4604956/fences-review-denzel-washington/) The role brought him nominations for a [Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild-award-for-outstanding-performance-by-a-cast-in-a-motion-pict) and Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance.[9](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm5381254/awards/)
He followed with a supporting role in [Darren Aronofsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/darren-aronofsky)'s *mother!* (2017) and his first lead film role, as paratrooper Private Edward Boyce in the J.J. Abrams-produced World War II drama *Overlord* (2018).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/) • [2](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jovan-adepo-46229.php)
## Television work and the Emmy nomination
In 2019 Adepo appeared in several high-profile projects: as adult Antron McCray in Netflix's *When They See Us*, as Marcus in the second season of *Jack Ryan*, as Danny Shaw in *Sorry for Your Loss*, and as Lionel Jefferson in the live special *Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons'*.[10](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-732993/filmografia/) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/) He also played Larry Underwood in Paramount+'s 2020 adaptation of [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s *The Stand*.[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/)
His performance as Officer Will Reeves, the young Hooded Justice, in HBO's *Watchmen* (2019) earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie at the 2020 [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards).[3](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jovan-adepo)
## Film and recent work
In [Damien Chazelle](https://www.edgepedia.org/damien-chazelle)'s *Babylon* (2022), Adepo played Sidney Palmer, a Black jazz trumpeter in the silent-to-sound transition era; he learned the trumpet for the role, and a scene in which Sidney is made to wear blackface to appease racist audiences became one of his most noted performances.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/bio/) • [6](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a65615911/jovan-adepo-stephen-king-it-interview-2025/) He also appeared as Benji in *His Three Daughters* (2023), which holds his highest Rotten Tomatoes audience-and-critic profile at 97 percent, and as Jack McKenzie in *To Catch a Killer* (2023).[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jovan_adepo)
On television he plays Saul Durand, a physicist drawn into an alien-invasion storyline, in Netflix's *3 Body Problem* (2024), based on [Liu Cixin](https://www.edgepedia.org/liu-cixin)'s *Remembrance of Earth's Past* novels, and Major Leroy Hanlon, a [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war) veteran pilot assigned to an Air Force base in 1960s Maine, in the Stephen King prequel series *It: Welcome to Derry* (HBO Max, 2025).[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/) • [13](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60280227/jovan-adepo-3-body-problem-saul-durand-interview/) He is set to appear as Elpenor in Christopher Nolan's *The Odyssey* (2026).[5](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/)
## References
1. [Jovan Adepo – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jovan-adepo/)
2. [Jovan Adepo Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/jovan-adepo-46229.php)
3. [Jovan Adepo – Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jovan-adepo)
4. [Jovan Adepo – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/bio/)
5. [Your Guide to the Cast of 'It: Welcome to Derry', Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/it-welcome-to-derry-cast/)
6. [Jovan Adepo on Trading Football for Acting, '3 Body Problem,' and Joining Stephen King's 'IT' Franchise, Esquire](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a65615911/jovan-adepo-stephen-king-it-interview-2025/)
7. [The Scene Stealer, Interview Magazine](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/jovan-adepo-faces-of-2017)
8. [Review: Fences, Time](https://time.com/4604956/fences-review-denzel-washington/)
9. [Jovan Adepo – Récompenses, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/name/nm5381254/awards/)
10. [Jovan Adepo – Filmografía, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-732993/filmografia/)
11. [Jovan Adepo, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5381254/)
12. [Jovan Adepo Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jovan_adepo)
13. [Jovan Adepo on '3 Body Problem,' Saul's Wallfacer Future, More, Esquire](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60280227/jovan-adepo-3-body-problem-saul-durand-interview/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames A to Ba*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license