Chipo Chung - Biography, Career and Films

Chipo Tariro Chung, born on August 17, 1977, is a talented actress, producer, and activist from Zimbabwe. She now lives in London. Chipo is widely recognized for her roles in several films and TV series. Her most notable roles include Sunshine (2007), In the Loop (2009), and Proof (2005). In the TV series Absentia, Chipo plays a character named Agent Whitman. She also stars in Into the Badlands (2015) as The Master. In the episode "Utopia" (2007), she portrayed Chantho, a character who worked with Derek Jacobi's Master. Additionally, Chipo plays the recurring role of Reth Linn, first appearing in the episode "Preparing to Live."

Early Life

Chung is currently 47 years old. She was born as a refugee in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Rugare Gumbo and Fay Chung. Her given name, Chipo, means "gift" in the Shona language. She spent her first two years in refugee camps in Mozambique with thousands of young people who were escaping the war in then-Rhodesia. 

Chipo was raised in Harare, where she attended Dominican Convent High School and developed her acting with the mixed-race theater company Over the Edge. At eighteen, she moved to the United States, where her mother, Fay Chung, an educationist and former minister of education in Zimbabwe, was working for the United Nations.

Chipo first studied directing at Yale University and then trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating in 2003.

Career

Chung made her stage debut as Ophelia in a production of Hamlet at Nuffield Theatre. Following this, she appeared in The Mayor of Zalamea and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. Subsequently, she performed in Talking to Terrorists at the Royal Court Theatre, The Overwhelming at the Royal National Theatre, and Fallujah, where she portrayed Condoleezza Rice. She also starred in classical plays like Phedre, alongside Helen Mirren, which marked the inaugural National Theatre Live recording.

Chung has had two appearances on Doctor Who. In one episode, she portrayed the Master's assistant, Chantho, in the series 3 episode "Utopia," and in another, she played a character known as the Fortune Teller in series 4’s "Turn Left." Her debut in film was as the voice of Icarus II in Danny Boyle's Sunshine (2007). Additionally, she has made television appearances in dramas such as The Last Enemy and as a reporter in the Sherlock second series episode "The Hounds of Baskerville."

In 2011, Chung had a recurring role in the medieval romance drama series Camelot as Vivian, an indentured servant at King Uther's court who later becomes an attendant and messenger for Morgan le Fay, played by Eva Green. She also appeared in the first season of the Sky Atlantic series Fortitude as Trish Stoddart. Later, she won the role of Mary Magdalene in the TV series A.D. The Bible Continues. This show garnered praise for its international and multiracial casting, attracting 11 million viewers upon its opening in April 2015.

Chung then appeared as the Master in AMC's post-apocalyptic martial arts series Into the Badlands. In 2017, she took on the roles of Portia and Octavius in the Sheffield Theatre production of Julius Caesar. Following this, she starred as the titular character Dido, Queen of Carthage, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's premiere production of Christopher Marlowe's tragedy. Michael Billington praised her performance in The Guardian, noting that she portrayed Dido with a volatile and contradictory nature, reminiscent of Shakespeare's Cleopatra.

In 2021, Chung joined the cast of the HBO/BBC co-production His Dark Materials, portraying the angel Xaphania. She also appears in several Apple TV+ series, including Foundation and Silo. Additionally, it was announced in 2022 that she would play Eleanor Bennett in the Hulu series Black Cake, based on the best-selling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. The series is produced by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films and Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment.

Chung is also an audiobook narrator for various titles on Audible. Notably, she narrated the novel Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo, which was a finalist for the 2022 Booker Prize. She has also narrated books by Petina Gappah and Tsitsi Dangarembgwa.

Chung's contributions to the arts have earned her recognition and accolades. She was named one of the BBC's 100 women in 2014. In 2015, she received a nomination for Best Actress at the Zimbabwe International Women's Awards (ZIWA), and in 2017, she was honored with a Special Recognition Award for her contribution to Media and the Arts at the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards in London.

Charity Works

Chung is actively involved in charitable endeavors. She co-founded SAFE-Kenya, a charity dedicated to using theater for social change in Kenya, with a focus on HIV education and ending clitoridectomy. Additionally, she collaborated with Peace Direct to establish Envision Zimbabwe, a women's trust aimed at promoting consensus-building and peace in Zimbabwe. Chung also serves on the RADA Council and British Equity's International Committee for Artists' Freedom (ICAF).

In December 2019, Chung, along with 42 other cultural figures, signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter emphasized Labour's election manifesto, which prioritizes the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the interests of a few.

In 2020, Chung co-chaired British Equity's Independent Commission on Race Equality. Furthermore, in 2022, she founded the British charity Partnership on Rape Aftercare (PORA), which provides support to the Adult Rape Clinic in Zimbabwe.

Filmography

Films

2005 - Proof

2007 - Sunshine

2009 - In the Loop

2011 - 360

2012 - Labalaba, He'll return

2013 - Red Zone

2014 - Beyond Plain Sight

2018 - Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!

Television

2003 - Absolute Power

2007 - Dalziel and Pascoe

2007 - Holby City

2007-2008 - Doctor Who

2008 - The Last Enemy

2009 - Casualty

2009 - National Theatre Live

2010 - Identity

2011 - Camelot

2012 - Sherlock

2015 - Fortitude

2015 - A.D. The Bible Continues

2015 - From Darkness

2016 - Thirteen

2017 - Absentia

2017-2019 - Into the Badlands

2018 - Thomas & Friends

2021 - Foundation

2022 - His Dark Materials

2023 - Silo

2023 - Black Cake

2024 - Constellation

Video Games

2017 - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice