Keenan Arrison
Keenan Arrison | |
|---|---|
| Born | Keenan Angelo Arrison 23 February 1981 |
| Alma mater | AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy |
| Occupations | Actor, Director, Voice artist, Singer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Keenan Angelo Arrison (born 23 February 1981) is a South African actor, director, voice artist and singer.[1][2] He is best known for his lead role in the feature film The Heart is a Muscle, South Africa's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, and prominent roles in South African television series such as The Wild, After 9 and Shooting Stars.[3] [4][5]
Personal life
Arrison was born on 23 February 1981 in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a BA degree graduate in Live Performance and Motion Picture from AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy.[6]
Career
In 2006, he wrote and directed two short films: Ongeriewe and Freedom Days, where the former was a Cannes-nominated piece. In 2007, he played the role "Roland" in the SABC1 drama series Divers Down.[7] In the same year, he joined with the e.tv soccer drama Shooting Stars and played the role of "Clinton Arendse",[6] a popular popular with viewers and that he play through the third season in 2010. In 2009, he made film debut with Shirley Adams and played the role "Donovan Adams".[8] Between 2011 and 2012 he appeared in the M-Net soap opera The Wild in the lead role of "Ashwin Fernandez".[9]
In 2013, Keenan had a minor role as "Doctor" in the second season of the SABC1 drama series Skeem Saam. In the same year, he joined with the SABC1 drama series After 9 in its second season in the lead role of "Zane Matthews". The following year, he appeared in three television series: the SABC2 mystery thriller Swartwater as "Vincent," the SABC1 anthology miniseries When We Were Black as "Shaheed Aziz," and the M-Net Edge drama fantasy Dominion as "Brother Paul. [9][6]
In 2016, he took on the supporting role of "James" in the kykNET police procedural Die Byl. Then in 2017, he joined the network's drama serial Sara se Geheim as "Danny" for its first and second seasons. In 2018, he acted in the Hollywood adventure film Tomb Raider.[10][11] In 2019, he appeared in the M-Net miniseries Trackers as "Ibrahim November". In 2020, he acted in the serials: Siende Blind with role "Ricky" and The Riviera with role "Naz Isaacs". In 2021, he joined with the cast of seventeenth season of popular kykNET soap opera Binnelanders.[9][6]
In 2025 took on the lead role of Adam in the Cape Town based drama The Heart is a Muscle. The film premiered and received critical acclaim at the Berlinale in 2025.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Genre | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Ongeriewe | Charlie | Short film | |
| 2006 | Freedom Days | Keenan | Short film | |
| 2007 | Barren | Keenan Barrendse | Short film | |
| 2007 | Divers Down | Roland | TV series | |
| 2007 | Interrogation Room | Davie | TV series | |
| 2009 | Shooting Stars | Clinton Arendse | TV series | |
| 2009 | Shirley Adams | Donovan Adams | Film | |
| 2011 | Skeem | Claude Jnr | Film | |
| 2011 | The Wild | Ashwin Fernandez | TV series | |
| 2013 | SAF3 | Ario Rivera | TV series | |
| 2013 | Skeem Saam | Doctor | TV series | |
| 2013 | After 9 | Zane Matthews | TV series | |
| 2013 | To the Passerby | Blind man | Short film | |
| 2014 | Swartwater | Vincent / Ashwin | TV series | |
| 2014 | When We Were Black | Shaheed Aziz | TV series | |
| 2014 | Dominion | Brother Paul | TV series | |
| 2016 | Die Byl | James | TV series | |
| 2016 | Twee Grade van Moord | Ra'ed Shad | Film | |
| 2017 | Accident | Thomas | Film | [12] |
| 2017 | Sara se Geheim | Danny | TV series | |
| 2018 | Tomb Raider | Mercenary | Film | [13] |
| 2019 | Trackers | Ibrahim November | TV series | |
| 2020 | Siende Blind | Ricky | TV series | |
| 2020 | The Riviera | Naz Isaacs | TV series | |
| 2021 | Binnelanders | Martin | TV series | |
| 2021 | Atlantis | Nazeem | Film | |
| 2025 | The Heart Is a Muscle | Ryan | Crime thriller film | [14] |
References
- ^ "Keenan Arrison". MUBI (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Up-and-Coming Capetonian: Screen and Stage Actor Keenan Arrison". www.capetownmagazine.com. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ admin. "Feature Film: The Heart is a Muscle". Silwerskermfees. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
- ^ "Getting To Know Our Hot #MCM - Keenan Arrison". Online Youth Magazine | Zkhiphani.com. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Keen as anything". Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ a b c d "Keenan Arrison — Stella Talent Actor's Agency in Cape Town". Stella Talent. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Moeilikheid, maar mooi!". Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ Staff Writer (10 April 2017). "Man Crush Monday: We Shoot the Breeze with Sauve Capetonian Keenan Arrison: WomenStuff". Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "Keenan Arrison: TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "SA actor Keenan Arrison: Tomb Raider a breakout role". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Nqcobo, Eliza (29 March 2018). "South African actor Keenan Arrison on his 'Tomb Raider' role". Quick Read Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "ACCIDENT". Forefront Media GmbH. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "Keenan Arrison is die Kaapenaar in Tomb Raider - Smile 90.4FM". smile904.fm. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ "The Heart Is a Muscle". Berlinale. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 30 September 2025.