Draft:Ivan Mbakop

  • Comment: Sources are press releases or brief mentions. S0091 (talk) 16:05, 26 September 2025 (UTC)

Ivan Mbakop
Born (1977-10-15) October 15, 1977 (age 48)
Alma materTuskegee University
Occupation(s)Actor, Director, Writer, Engineer, Inventor
Websitewww.mbakop.com

Ivan Mbakop is a Cameroonian actor[1] and director.[2]

Early life

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Ivan Mbakop was born on 15 October in Yaoundé, Cameroon.[3][4]

Career

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Mbakop co-founded a tech company Mbakop LLC with his wife, April Lee Williams. Their firm’s clients included NASA, The Color Spot, and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation. They developed an online software named Webmart, which they sold for a quarter million dollars and secured a utility patent to highlight his innovative contributions.

Mbakop collaborated with Swirl Pictures as Director of Photography for several of Lifetime’s made-for-TV films while acting in Blumhouse’s popular Good Lord Bird series starring Ethan Hawk that aired on Showtime. Later that year, he landed a role as Detective Caudle in Marvel/Disney+ Hawkeye’s series.[5] He also performed as an additional co-star role in Hugh Jackman's Reminiscence and a supporting role in Red Notice,[6] alongside Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson for director Rawson Marshall Thurber. His short film Numb won Best Cinematography at North Hollywood Cinefest and was selected as Best Narrative Short at the Pan-African Film Festival. Numb was picked up by Oyelowo’s streaming platform Mansa TV.[1][7] [8] [9] [10]

In 2024, Mbakop's biggest role of his seven years career, where he played “brash brother Zenzo Tongai (Ivan Mbakop). . . .  [a] scarily hot-headed . . .” character, Judy Berman, notes in her Time article about the Parish show. The show starred some of Hollywood’s hottest actors at the time, including Giancarlo Esposito and Bradley Whitford, among others.

Filmography

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Numb (2023) - Father, Writer, Director, Cinematographer
Hunther (2022) - Gordon York, Writer, Executive Producer, Cinematographer
The Millennial (2022) - Jamin James, Director of Photography
Red Notice (2021) - Tambwe
Reminiscence (2021) - Sunburnt Man
Haven (2021) - Doctor Patino, Executive Producer, Director of Photography
Our Dream Wedding (2021) - Director of Photography
Bricked (2019) - Trevor Sr., Executive Producer, Director of Photography, Supervising Editor
Loop (2018) - Daniel, Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Editor
Victus (2017) - Adriel, Director, Co-Executive Producer, Producer

Television

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Parish (2024) - Zenzo Tongai (6 episodes)

  • A Good Man (May 5, 2024) Season 1, Episode 6
  • Kumba (Apr 28, 2024) Season 1, Episode 5
  • Impipi (Apr 21, 2024) Season 1, Episode 4
  • Sanctuary (Apr 14, 2024) Season 1, Episode 3
  • Blood in the Water (Apr 7, 2024) Season 1, Episode 2
  • Pilot (May 31, 2024) Season 1, Episode 1


Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023) - Willy (1 episode)

  • Part VII (Dec 10, 2023) Season 1, Episode 7


Hawkeye (2021) - Detective Caudle (3 episodes)

  • So This Is Christmas? (Dec 22, 2021) Season 1, Episode 6
  • Ronin (Dec 15, 2021) Season 1, Episode 5
  • Hide and Seek (Nov 24, 2021) Season 1, Episode 2


The Good Lord Bird (2020) - Matthew (1 episode)

  • Last Words (Nov 15, 2020) Season 1, Episode 7


Valor (2017) - The Negotiator (1 episode)

  • Full Battle Rattle (Nov 6, 2017) Season 1, Episode 5


Awards

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2024 PanAfrican Film Festival Nominated, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

2023 8 and HalFilm Awards

  • Won, Best Director for "Numb"
  • Won, Best Narrative Short for "Numb"
  • Won, Best Cinematography for "Numb"

Hollywood Gold Awards

  • Won, Best Cinematography for "Numb"
  • Won, Best Drama for "Numb"
  • Won, Best Indie Short Film for "Numb"
  • Won, Best Short Film Director for “Numb"

North Hollywood Cinefest

  • Won, Best Cinematography Short for “Numb” 
Gold Movie Awards
  • Nominated, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Phoenix Shorts

  • Semi-Finalists, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival

  • Nominated, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Hollywood South Urban Film Festival

  • Won, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Venice Shorts

  • Won, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Hollywood Shortsfest

  • Nominated, Best Narrative Short Film for “Numb”

Black Web Fest X Web Monetization

  • Won

2019 Indie Short Fest

  • Nominated, Best Sound Editing for "Loop"
  • Nominated, Best Action Short for "Loop"
  • Won, Best Editing for "Loop"
  • Nominated, Best Sound Mixing for "Loop"


References

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  1. ^ a b Ritman, Alex (2022-07-29). "Ivan Mbakop, Arica Himmel, Dax Rey Join Giancarlo Esposito in AMC's 'The Driver' Remake (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  2. ^ Festival, Hollywood South Urban Film. "HOLLYWOOD SOUTH URBAN Media, Inc". HOLLYWOOD SOUTH URBAN Media, Inc. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  3. ^ "Mbakop unsure if character survived 'Parish' season finale - Baltimore Sun". digitaledition.baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  4. ^ "Ivan Mbakop Unpacks Zenzo's Rage, Redemption in AMC's 'Parish'". Qg. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  5. ^ Grobar, Matt (2022-09-02). "'The Midway Point', 'Swipe NYC', 'Imani', 'Freedom Hair' Castings; Burbank Film Fest Host & Presenters; Acquisitions By Gravitas, Freestyle, Buffalo 8, Film Arcade, Safier, Terror Films, Giant Pictures; More – Film Briefs". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  6. ^ Rooney, David (2021-11-04). "Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in Netflix's 'Red Notice': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  7. ^ "Ivan Mbakop | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  8. ^ Ivan Mbakop: The Tech Mogul Turned Actor King News Wire. Retrieved 2025-24-09.
  9. ^ USPTOUnited States Patent Office. Retrieved 2025-24-09.
  10. ^ Ivan Mbakop: The Tech Mogul Turned Actor King News Wire. Retrieved 2025-24-09.