leading man; Chiwetel Ejiofor takes center stage in a dynamic new London production of Othello.

Byline: Adam Green

Earlier this year, when Chiwetel Ejiofor played the faithless Trigorin to Kristin Scott Thomas's Arkadina in the rapturously received Royal Court production of The Seagull, the Guardian's theater critic Michael Billington complained that the 33-year-old London native was "too charismatic." Despite this crippling handicap, Ejiofor has become one of the leading young actors on the London stage and has made a name (however daunting to pronounce) for himself on the big screen, both at home (Dirty Pretty Things) and abroad (American Gangster). Ejiofor's magnetism surplus probably won't hurt him, either, as he gets ready to take on the title role in Shakespeare's Othello, at the Donmar Warehouse, under the direction of its prodigiously mercurial leader, Michael Grandage. Grandage has assembled a decidedly above-par cast around his star, including Jedi Master Ewan McGregor as the Bard's darkest villain, Iago, and the smashing Kelly Reilly, who was nominated for a 2004 Olivier for her performance in the Donmar's After Miss Julie, as the ill-fated Desdemona. But Ejiofor is the main attraction. "As a director, you obviously wouldn't want to put on Othello without an astounding black actor," Grandage says. "Fortunately, there are many in the world right now, and Chiwetel is right there at the ...