Before David Oyelowo became a critically acclaimed actor and the man who brought Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to life on screen, he was a shy kid who came back from Nigeria struggling to find his place in British life. Then Jill Foster, a theatre studies teacher at his Sixth Form College, saw something in him he hadn't yet seen in himself. In this deeply personal and unguarded conversation, the award winning actor sits down with David Begnaud to share the story of the teacher who changed everything when she cornered him outside a London tube station and said the words he'll never forget: I think you could do acting professionally. And I want to help you with that.

David opens up about growing up between two worlds, living in Lagos, Nigeria from ages six to thirteen with a father who bore tribal marks and came from a royal family. He talks about what it felt like to experience life as a black man who was not a minority, and how those formative years gave him an identity so secure that no one could take it away. He shares the story of returning to the UK, discovering acting because he had a crush on his pastor's daughter, and meeting Jill Foster, the teacher who didn't just encourage him, she built him a ladder. She introduced him to the National Youth Music Theatre, helped him apply for funding through the Prince's Trust, coached him through drama school auditions, and gave him access to a world he didn't even know existed.


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Chapters ☀️

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Intro: The Teacher Who Saw a King
• 00:01:44 Meeting Jill Foster: The Theatre Teacher Who Changed Everything
• 00:06:11 The Tube Station Moment: I Think You Could Do This Professionally
• 00:09:45 Jessica: The Wife Who Said I've Got You, I've Got Us
• 00:12:31 Playing Henry VI: When a Black King Became a Threat to the Status Quo
• 00:24:01 The God Whisper: I'm Going to Play Dr. King
• 00:30:17 Shooting Selma While His Mother Lay Dying
• 00:33:11 The 2 AM Call: Losing His Father on Day One of Newborn
• 00:40:55 Lagos, Nigeria: Where the Minority Mentality Was Boiled Out of Him
• 00:55:01 Newborn: Seven Years in Solitary and the Power of Love

ABOUT THIS PODCAST:
The Person Who Believed In Me is hosted by David Begnaud, founder and CEO of Do Good Crew and often called "America's storyteller." In each episode, David sits down with world-class guests to ask one simple question: Who believed in you before the world did? Big names. Honest stories. Relatable takeaways. Different paths — same question.

David is also a CBS News contributor and host of the weekly segment Beg Knows America, which airs every Monday morning.

Host: David Begnaud

Guest: David Oyelowo

Executive Producer: Olivier Delfosse

Associate Producer: Jonah Johnson

Booker: Sully Bloch

Director of Photography: Foster Parks

Live Production Technician: Joseph Gabay & Will Whitley (Statik Creative)

Director of Social: Mariah Maull

Theme Music: Slipstream

Post-Production: Longwave Digital

CONNECT WITH US:

The Person Who Believed In Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/believedpodcast