Eriq Ebouaney

The French-born actor of Cameroonian parentage takes the title role in Raoul Peck's Lumumba (2000). His performance supplies the charisma and urgency needed to follow Patrice Lumumba through Congolese independence and its violent aftermath. Choose it for a substantial political lead, with public speaking and private pressure sharing the frame. The film is a dramatisation with a clear historical viewpoint, rather than a neutral substitute for a history of the Congo.