Handle with Care
That duality is the subject of his 2022 documentary, Handle with Care, which explores the actor’s experience with family, identity, and growing up in foster care. “It’s a love letter to both my families—my whole family. I don’t separate them. It’s a film that challenges assumptions about adoption and foster care. It challenges assumptions about Black families as well as transracial families.”
Growing up, Akingbola was able to spend time with both families, reuniting with his Nigerian mother, father, and siblings. He remained fostered—not adopted—a choice made out of mutual respect between his foster mother, Gloria, and birth mother, Eunice.
Having been raised in the care system, Akingbola hopes his story will resonate with families navigating similar experiences. “If the documentary helps one young person feel seen or helps change the perception of foster families, especially transracial ones, then I’ve done something important. At its core, the film is about humanity. I hope it sparks empathy when normally there’s been judgment.”
He added, “I suppose if my documentary was seen by the younger version of myself, I would want that 10-year-old kid to be inspired regardless of his upbringing and know that he could be anything he wanted to be.”
For Akingbola, Handle with Care is about honoring vulnerability and resilience. “It’s about letting people know that vulnerability is a superpower, not a weakness. I think we rarely see Black men talk openly about love, abandonment, or healing. I wanted to create a space for that—not a space that was mine in trauma, but a space that was highlighting resilience in a positive aspect.”
“Not just diversity for diversity’s sake.”
Coming from a multifaceted background, Akingbola is keenly aware of the power of diverse representation on stage, screen, and behind the scenes.
Determined to change the landscape for cast and crew in the UK, he co-founded the Tri-Force Creative Network (TCN) in 2003, building a network of diverse talent across the industry. “When we started TriForce in the early 2000s, there were very few avenues for underrepresented talent to be seen in the UK—let alone nurtured or celebrated. We were always hearing there wasn’t enough diverse talent, but we knew that wasn’t true.” Rather, it was a matter of access, the actor said.
Today, TCN provides real jobs, creating “opportunities, pipelines, and showcases” for its vast talent network—staying true to the “spirit of empowering creatives at every level.” Since its founding, the industry has indeed shifted. He observed, “Yes, the industry’s awareness has grown, and yet I still feel like there’s a long way to go.”
“From the lens of a Black-British actor, the streamers have created much more work for us. I think people are trying to be a bit more mindful about diverse storytelling, how stories are being told, and who’s telling those stories.”
Inspired by fellow British stars like Idris Elba, David Oyelowo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Akingbola moved to the U.S., settling in Los Angeles where he continues to build his body of work, landing his biggest role yet as Geoffrey on Bel-Air, which first aired in 2022.
Beyond Bel-Air
As Bel-Air approaches its highly anticipated final season, Akingbola is already looking ahead. In this next chapter, he’s diving deeper into producing. “After Bel-Air, I’m definitely exercising my producer muscles and trying to continue these layered, different versions of storytelling.”
He’s currently shopping an original scripted drama also titled Handle with Care—“It’s Ozark meets Shameless”—which draws from fictionalized elements of his life growing up in London. Another project in the pipeline is Maurice, a dark comedy about a man who stumbles into the world of underground boxing, triggering a psychological journey as he confronts the quiet traumas looming over his life. The actor is also working on bringing Sorry, I Didn’t Know—his hit comedy panel show about Black history—to American audiences.
No matter the project, Akingbola moves with purpose. Always mindful of where he came from, his story drives him forward—with connection, healing, and uplifting the culture at the heart of it all.
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