Background and career
Sharlto Copley (born 27 November 1973) is a South African actor. His acting credits include lead roles in the Academy Award-nominated science fiction film District 9; the 2010 adaptation of The A-Team; the science fiction film Elysium; the science fiction horror film Europa Report; the 2014 dark fantasy adventure film Maleficent; and the 2022 thriller Beast. He also played the title character in the 2015 science fiction film Chappie, played Jimmy in the 2015 science fiction action film Hardcore Henry, and starred in two seasons as Christian Walker of the TV series Powers (2015-16). In 2025 he played Leo Bonhart in season 4 of the Netflix TV series The Witcher.
Sharlto Copley was born in Pretoria, Transvaal province, (now Gauteng) South Africa. He attended St. Andrew's Preparatory School in Makhanda and then Redhill School in Morningside, Johannesburg. His father, Bruce Copley, was formerly a university professor. His brother, Donovan, was the lead singer of the Cape Town band Hot Water.
Soon after leaving high school, Copley met Neill Blomkamp, who is six years younger. Copley allowed Blomkamp to use computers at his production company to help the company pitch various projects and allow Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design. In Blomkamp's District 9 (2009), Copley played the lead role of Wikus van der Merwe, an Afrikaner bureaucrat assigned to move a race of extraterrestrial creatures stranded on Earth. In the film, the aliens, popularly and derogatorily referred to as "prawns", must be moved from District 9, a military-guarded slum in Johannesburg, South Africa, to an internment camp outside the city. Copley improvised all of his dialogue. At the 2009 IGN Summer Movie awards, Copley won Favorite Hero and Best Performance. In 2010, Copley produced, wrote, and directed an insert for the South African Film and Television Awards called "Wikus and Charlize", featuring fellow South African star Charlize Theron. The clip features Copley as Wikus attempting to track down Charlize Theron in Hollywood to help him present the Award for Best Afrikaans Pop album. Copley then starred alongside Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the feature film adaptation of The A-Team, which was produced by Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. Copley used a Southern American dialect for his portrayal of A-Team member H. M. Murdock, and employed other dialects, including Scottish, English, Australian and Swahili, as part of the character's rapid-fire style. Dwight Schultz, who played Murdock in the original TV series, praised Copley's performance and said Copley was the only actor he knew of who was "true to his character." Copley guest-co-hosted WWE Raw on 7 June 2010, along with his A-Team co-stars Cooper and Jackson. In 2013, Copley played fictional astronaut James Corrigan in Europa Report, the story of a crew of international astronauts sent on a private mission to Jupiter's fourth moon. The same year, Copley portrayed the villain Agent Kruger in Elysium, a science fiction film written and directed by Blomkamp, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. Copley played villain Adrian Pryce in Spike Lee's Oldboy, a remake of the 2003 South Korean film of the same name. He also starred opposite Angelina Jolie in the 2014 Disney film Maleficent and played King Stefan, Princess Aurora's father. He also provided the voice, reference work, and interaction with the cast as Chappie, the titular character of the 2015 film Chappie, also directed by Neill Blomkamp. In 2015, Copley was announced to star as Christian Walker in the superhero TV series Powers. He later provided the voiceover for the e-tron GT concept promotional video by Audi Sport GmbH. Also in 2015, Copley played the supporting character Jimmy in the film Hardcore Henry. In March 2018, Copley starred in the crime comedy film Gringo as Mitch Rusk. Copley portrayed the titular character of a biographical film about Ted Kaczynski titled Ted K in 2021. In 2022, he starred in the American thriller Beast, and guest-starred in the TV series Russian Doll. In 2024, he guest-starred in season 12 of Curb your Enthusiasm, and in 2025, he played Leo Bonhart in season 4 of the Netflix TV series The Witcher.
Copley started dating actress and model Tanit Phoenix in January 2012. They wed on 15 February 2016, in Cape Town, and later had a daughter. Copley filed for divorce in June 2023, after the couple had lived apart since 30 October 2021.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
