Nate Parker

Nate Parker, born on November 18, 1979, is an American actor and filmmaker, notable for his appearances in several acclaimed movies including Beyond the Lights, Red Tails, The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters, Arbitrage, Non-Stop, Felon, and Pride. Parker's directorial debut came with the feature film, The Birth of a Nation, in which he also starred. The film made history at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival when Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the distribution rights for $17.5 million, breaking the record for the highest acquisition at the festival. However, the film did not find much success in a wide release due to resurfaced rape allegations against Parker. Parker was born in Norfolk, Virginia, to a 17-year-old single mother. At 14, after facing issues at home, he moved to Virginia Beach to live with his maternal uncle. He was encouraged to join the high school wrestling team, which he excelled in, and later received a wrestling scholarship to Penn State University. Parker's acting career took off when he was discovered by a talent manager at an event in Dallas. Since then, he has been involved in numerous film projects, both as an actor, and more recently as a director.