The identity of an unknown man who appeared in the iconic 2014 “Oscar selfie” remained a mystery for many years. Now, we finally know who he is.
The man seen on the far right of the photo, which also features celebrities such as Bradley Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence, is Junior Nyong’o, the brother of actress Lupita Nyong’o.
Lupita brought her younger brother as her date to the Oscar ceremony that year, and he managed to sneak into the selfie organized by Ellen and take part in a moment that “broke the internet” when he was just 20 years old.
In addition to blocking Angelina Jolie’s face in the photo, Junior became known for taking numerous selfies with names such as Benedict Cumberbatch, John Travolta and Gabrielle Union on the same night.
“I think this is definitely his win. He got the most famous selfie in the world. I’m happy to have made that possible,” Lupita told E!News that night, after taking home the statuette for her role in 12 Years a Slave.
At the time, Junior was a freshman at Stetson University. He graduated in Theatre Arts, earned an MFA in Acting from UC San Diego, and became a stage actor, musician and DJ.
He starred in major stage productions such as Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear, as well as a staged reading of Richard III, all works written by William Shakespeare.
In 2023, the actor stepped away from stage productions to take part in a Showmax Original animation. In the series, he voiced Twende, a pangolin motorcycle taxi driver who didn’t take life too seriously in the fictional city of Milima in East Africa.
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Photos: Fair use / Instagram @juniornyongo. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
