Dwight Ewell
Born
Dwight Edward Ewell

(1968-01-17) January 17, 1968
Williamston, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationState University of New York, Purchase (BFA)
OccupationActor
Years active1991-present

Dwight Edward Ewell, also known as Mustafa Obafemi[lower-alpha 1] (born 1968) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as Chasing Amy, Amateur, Party Girl and The Guru.[1][2]

Career

Ewell was born in Williamston, North Carolina to teenage parents. His father fought in Vietnam and served six years in the United States military while Dwight's mother took care of Dwight and his younger sister. Unhappy in her marriage, at 21 years old, Dwight's mom took the children up North where she felt that she could begin pursuing her career as a singer. The three moved several times before ending up in the rough Stella Wright Housing Projects on Prince Street, in Newark, New Jersey. Dwight and his sister attended the Louise A. Spencer Elementary School in Newark in the mid-1970s. In later years, Dwight was enrolled in The Gifted and Talented Program in the same school. It was there that his interest in the arts was nurtured. At the age of 9, he began writing plays that the teachers would allow him to direct and the students to perform. At the age of 13, Ewell auditioned for and was accepted into Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. In 1986, he graduated, and in the fall of that year he attended the State University of New York's Theater Arts and Film Divisions Acting Program for four years.[3]

Ewell has worked extensively in independent and art house films. Ewell is best known for his performance in Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy starring Ben Affleck, where he plays the role of "Hooper X", an African American writer of black militant comic books, who is secretly homosexual but employs the public persona of a violent militant who denounces the Star Wars trilogy as racist.[4][5][6]

Ewell has collaborated with director Hal Hartley on short- and feature-length films; including Amateur[7] and Flirt.[8][9][10]

He has also worked with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer twice, in the films Party Girl and The Guru.

Ewell has worked with film producer Christine Vachon twice, on the films Stonewall and Kiss Me, Guido.

Ewell has not appeared in a film since 2011. Following his last film role, he was performing as a stage actor in the Los Angeles area prior to suffering an unspecified injury in 2013.[11] He subsequently worked at commercial movie theaters in Los Angeles, before expressing an intention to resume his film career in 2023. Almost nothing is known about Ewell's private life besides what was released by his publicists in the 1990s. He has no interviews on record, and despite frequently playing gay characters in film, his real-life sexual identity is unknown.

Filmography

GenreYearTitleRole EpisodesNotes
Short film1992Cowboy JesusDisciple #28 minutes; New York University student film
Short film1992Heavy Blow23 minutes; Columbia University student film
Short film1993FlirtDwight23 minutes; directed by Hal Hartley
Film1994AmateurBoy Squatter
Short film1994NYC 3/949 minutes; directed by Hal Hartley
Film1994Someone Else's AmericaVideo-man
Film1995FlirtDwight
Film1995Party GirlHe-He-Hello Trio
Film1995StonewallHelen Wheels
Short film1997Anton, MailmanBartendar
TV series1997Brooklyn SouthBystander"Love Hurts"
Film1997Chasing AmyHooper X
Film1997Kiss Me, GuidoUsher
Film1997Niagara, NiagaraToy Store Manager
Commercial1998Budweiser(principal performer)directed by Spike Lee
Film1999The Debtors
Film1999DogmaKane, Gang Leader
Film1999Hey, JoelBaby Shiv
Film1999Man of the CenturyRichard Lancaster
Film1999On the RunRasta
Film1999The PavilionRobert Owa
Film1999The Waiting GameJoe
Film2000EndsvilleShawn Walker
Film2000The InternGustave
Film2000PunksHill
Film2001Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackHooper LaMont
Film2002The GuruPeaches
Film2002WheelmenTerry
Short film2003A mi amor mi dulceDom Doos Po Phool (DomDoos Poefool)23 minutes
Film2004PagansMax Stone
Short film20072 Fast 2 FurryCorvette Guy
Film2007Fighting WordsLeopold
TV series200990210Mr. Irving / Health Teacher"Zero Tolerance"
"To New Beginnings!"
TV series2009Adult Film: A Hollywood TaleHal Calloway
TV series2009TwentysixmilesDill Truman Fontaine"Pilot"recurring
Film2009Yes To VictoryNorman
Film2010Eagles in the Chicken CoopHal Calloway
TV series2010MediumThe Florist"Allison Rolen Got Married"
Film2010Street PoetLeopold
Film2011Here's the KickerNorman
  1. ↑ In 2023, Ewell opened several social media accounts under the name "Mustafa Obafemi" and expressed a desire to distance himself from his former name, but it is not clear if his SAG or legal name has actually been changed.

References

  1. ↑ "Dwight Ewell Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. (content from AllRovi)
  2. ↑ "Odd Couples". The Advocate. Here. Sep 28, 1999. p. 54.
  3. ↑ "Acting: About the Program". SUNY Purchase. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Janet Maslin (April 4, 1997). "Movie Review - Chasing Amy (1997)". New York Times.
  5. ↑ Mark J. Huisman (Apr 1, 1997). "When Opposites Attack". The Advocate.
  6. ↑ Roger Ebert (April 18, 1997). ""Chasing Amy" (movie review)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  7. ↑ Caryn James (September 29, 1994). "Movie Review: Amateur (1994) - FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; The Nun, the Amnesiac, the Prostitute and the Thugs". New York Times.
  8. ↑ Stephen Holden (October 6, 1995). "Movie Review - Flirt (1995) FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW;Looking for Love in 3 Different Places". New York Times.
  9. ↑ Kevin Thomas (August 23, 1996). "A Rich Look at Romance in Triplicate". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ↑ Roger Ebert (November 8, 1996). "Movie Review - Flirt". Chicago Sun-Times.
  11. ↑ Stimac, Elias. "As You Like It". Backstage. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
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