Why Does Gravik From Secret Invasion Look So Familiar?

Recently, the long-awaited Secret Invasion series was released. Usually, Marvel Studios adapts characters straight from the pages of comic books, the material of which has accumulated over eight decades.

However, Gravik, Secret Invasion's main antagonist, is completely original and was created exclusively for the series. The role was played by actor Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Kingsley became famous after his role in the play The Riots, based on the play by South African writer Gillian Slovo.

The play assessed the events of 2011, when riots broke out in Britain after the murder of Mark Duggan, suppressed by the police. Ben-Adir's performance was highly praised by critics.

Parallel to his work in the theater, Kingsley was involved in television projects, participating in such series as Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders, Vera and Death in Paradise.

Ben-Adir stood out for his ability to imitate various accents of the British language, and his hoarse voice was suitable for the roles of policemen.

However, the actor himself did not want to become a hostage of a role, as he said in many interviews.

A career that began 10 years ago on the stage led him to world fame in a roundabout way of supporting and minor roles: he appeared in five episodes of Peaky Blinders, had five minutes of screen time in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and then he was entrusted to play the boyfriend of Zoe Kravitz' main character in the TV series High Fidelity.

In 2020, Regina King's One Night in Miami, an adaptation of Kemp Powers' play, premiered. Ben-Adir played the role of black rights activist Malcolm X, a friend of boxer Muhammad Ali.

To fully transform into the character, the actor went on a diet and lost 15 pounds in 10 days.

In 2023, Ben-Adir added two notable works to his filmography – he starred in Secret Invasion and the Greta Gerwig's movie Barbie.

Ben-Adir is currently filming the biopic Bob Marley: One Love, which is scheduled to premiere in 2024.