Atlanta actor Dayo Okeniyi lands dream job with Apple TV’s ‘Dark Matter’

Leighton faces off against Jason Dessen, played with likable Average Joe energy by Joel Edgerton, and his supportive wife, Daniela (Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly.)

The techie version of Leighton, he said, is “Neil deGrasse Tyson with Tyler Perry’s money and Diddy’s charisma minus the allegations.”

His character in all versions, he said, has an addictive personality who is drawn to extremes — be it wealth, drugs, a godlike spiritual presence or protecting “the box,” which offers the quantum gateway for people to enter the multiverse.

“This is the best job ever,” Okeniyi said. “You can never get bored. Who am I playing today? I wanted to have specificity about being both African and African American, and the producers gave me that freedom.”

Credit: APPLE TV+

Credit: APPLE TV+

Okeniyi is a Nigerian immigrant who came to Indiana at age 15 in 2003 with his mother, Elizabeth, a literature professor from Kenya. His dad, Ezekiel, was a Nigerian customs officer. “My family wanted us to get an American education,” he said.

He actually visited Atlanta four years earlier as a young child to see his older sister attending what was then called DeKalb Community College. “We didn’t have malls in Nigeria,” he said. “I remember going to Lenox (Square) mall and being in awe. It was so big. And I tried McDonald’s for the first time. I was blown away by endless refills of your drink. And you could take as many ketchup packets as you wanted!”

Though Okeniyi liked theater as a child, he opted for a more practical degree in visual communications design at Anderson University, where his parents met in the 1980s. He even had a design job offer in Nigeria, but he wanted to go to Hollywood. His parents told him to give it a year.

During an acting class he took taught by Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development,” “Transparent”), respected casting director Matthew Barry provided an open call for new talent.

Okeniyi jumped at the opportunity and Barry saw his nascent talent. He recommended agent Kanica Suy, who signed Okeniyi and helped him land auditions on shows like “CSI” and “Glee.” But things were slow. He considered applying to be a Genius Bar technician at a local Apple store when he auditioned for “The Hunger Games.”

Much to his surprise, he landed a key role as Thresh, a strong male tribute and respected rival to hero Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence). “A month later, I’m in North Carolina and Vanity Fair is shooting on set,” he said. “It was like getting shot out of a rocket.”

Credit: Courtesy of Lion

Credit: Courtesy of Lion

That Nigerian design job never happened. “Instead,” he said, “I got a crash course not just on the craft of acting but the business of Hollywood.”

Okeniyi soon nabbed movie roles sharing scenes with Justin Timberlake (“Runner Runner”) and Jason Clarke (“Terminator Genisys”). He also shot two films in Georgia: “The Spectacular Now” with Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley in 2012, and a remake of the romantic drama “Endless Love” a year later.

Starting in 2016, for three seasons, Okeniyi got to play a rookie detective working under an ethically gray lieutenant played by his hero Ray Liotta in the NBC police procedural “Shades of Blue.”

“I was a baby under the dragon’s wing,” he said. “Liotta was so method. Once I was having lunch with cast members who his character didn’t like. He came up to me and said, ‘Why are you sitting with them? They can’t be trusted!’”

He said the show’s other lead, Jennifer Lopez, is under-appreciated as an actor. “She never missed a mark or line,” he said. “I learned a lot from her. She was also very kind to everyone on set.”

Credit: APP

Credit: APP

In 2019, he earned his first leading role in the historical drama “Emperor” playing a 19th-century freedom fighter. He recalled prepping to promote the film, which was set to be released in theaters March 27, 2020. He recalled visiting Atlanta, where his parents retired to, earlier that month, excited to promote the movie.

But the COVID-19 pandemic shut society down. As a result, “Emperor” never made it to theaters and largely disappeared.

By 2023, Okeniyi moved to Atlanta from Los Angeles. “Real estate is so much cheaper,” he said. “I first bought a condo in Buckhead. Now I have a townhome in Midtown.”

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

He appreciates how accessible the city feels. “People still feel like people here,” he said. “It’s not an industry town. And I love the airport. I don’t know why people complain about it.”

Okeniyi also lauded the running trails on the Beltline and the Silver Comet Trail. And he loves his church family at Mount Paran Church.

Oddly, he said, since he moved to Atlanta, he has had to find work elsewhere like Chicago, where “Dark Matter” is filmed.

“After working here twice more than a decade ago,” he mused, “I can’t land a job here to save my life.”