Abraham Attah

“Beasts of No Nation” Star Finds Home at Cheshire Academy

Abraham Attah ’21 is a humble student. He won’t mention that he’s the only freshman who made the Cheshire Academy boys’ varsity soccer team last fall, or that he earned straight As last year in eighth grade. And he certainly won’t bring up that he’s an award-winning actor either.

Attah glides around campus on his skateboard boasting a radiant smile that never seems to leave his face. His friends describe him as a jokester. He loves math and talking about soccer.

“I want to be a normal student,” he said. “I like it like that.”

One would be hard-pressed to guess Attah is also the star of the award-winning film “Beasts of No Nation,” a 2015 Netflix original about a child soldier’s life during a civil war in a West African country. The film won more than 30 awards. He also played the role of Peter Parker’s classmate, Abe, in last year’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” movie.

His modesty stems from his life before acting. Attah, who grew up in Accra, Ghana’s capital, doesn’t forget where he came from. His appreciation and gratitude – for the key players who helped jumpstart his acting career, those who watch his movies and those who helped him enroll at a prestigious school like Cheshire Academy – is genuine.

“A kid like me who grew up where I grew up,” he said, “you don’t think about being in a place like this. I feel very lucky.”

In “Beasts of No Nation,” Attah, who appears opposite Idris Elba, plays a young war refugee named Agu. Commandant (Elba), a warlord, takes Attah’s character in as a timid child and shapes him into a fearless soldier. Attah won the “Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor” at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. His performance also earned him “Best Male Lead” at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and he tied for “Breakthrough Performance” by the National Board of Review.

Abraham Attah in a scene from "Beasts of No Nation"

While landing a starring role in an award-winning movie is impressive, the fact that Attah’s only previous acting experience came in church plays at a young age makes his story even more incredible.

“The first time I watched it I cried,” he said. “To see I did this and I did well, it was crazy.”

Casting director Harrison Nesbit spent five weeks in Ghana neighborhoods and schools, and on soccer pitches searching for a boy to cast as Agu. He remembers seeing a group playing soccer and one boy was smaller and younger than all the others. That was Attah. He piqued Nesbit’s attention. The casting director asked the kids if they were interested in auditioning for a movie. Attah declined at first, but when he saw his friends showing interest he decided to follow. Nesbit asked each to perform a special talent they had. Attah chose to rap and he impressed Nesbit, who then invited him to an open call audition. After a series of tryouts, Attah was chosen from a pool of thousands of actors.

“Abraham worked so hard,” Nesbit recalled. “I remember he was up before everyone else studying lines. It’s not easy to shoot almost every day, for long hours, for over a month. It’s wearing on adults and he was 13 when he was doing this. There was an immense amount of pressure on his shoulders with this role.”

Attah never had aspirations of being an actor. He wanted to be a rapper. Instead, he found himself on red carpets, promoting the film around the world in places like New York City, Venice and Paris and meeting and working with countless celebrities. Attah’s Instagram account has 131,000 followers. Fans stop him for autographs and pictures.

When on set for “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Attah decided to introduce himself to fellow cast member Zendaya. He was shy about approaching the 21-year-old singer and actress. When they finally met, Attah went to shake her hand but she gave him a big hug instead and told Attah she enjoyed “Beasts of No Nation.”

“She was famous and she saw my work,” said Attah with one of his beaming smiles.

Attah is also an ambassador for Free SHS, a government project which funds senior high schools in Ghana. He’s just completed his second year at Cheshire Academy where the school’s diversity is what he loves most. Education is his main focus right now, but he wants to continue to improve his acting skills. Attah has some projects in the works, so stay tuned.

“He’s very hard working,” said Sandra Chang, Attah’s manager. “On the surface he’s like any normal kid. Because of his family and where he comes from, he has a very unique work ethic. We talk about what a blessed opportunity he has, and being mindful to work hard to make the most of that.”