Charlie Karumi

Charlie Karumi was born Charles Karumi Maina in Nairobi, Kenya and grew up in the neighborhood of Uthiru on the outskirts of the city. Charlie's love for the stage began in his teens when he attended Alliance High School in Kikuyu, Kenya, where he joined the school's drama club 'The Dramatics Society', landing roles in 2 of the club's Nationals award-winning plays. In 2009, he joined Strathmore University pursuing a bachelor's degree in Business Information Technology (BBIT) but continued his theatrical pursuits by joining renown Kenyan repertoire theater group Phoenix Players where he trained and starred in several of the company's plays. Karumi's professional on-screen career kicked off while in university, landing his first paying role on Kenyan TV Series 'Changes'. With that training, he began his career in earnest booking roles on several Kenyan television and film productions such as Higher Learning (2010), Lies That Bind, Nairobi Half Life (2012), Noose of Gold and _"Rush" (2013)_ qv. In 2014, he starred alongside Mumbi Maina, Brian Ogola, Lizz Njagah and Sarah Hassan on Maisha Magic East Drama Jane and Abel. In 2015 he starred alongside Gerald Langiri on comedy _Fundi-Mentals (2015)_ qv, a role that saw him clinch the 2015 Kalasha Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2015, Karumi ventured into TV hosting, taking part in the KTN The Presenter Season 2 talent search finishing in the final 10. A year later, he successfully auditioned for and took part in TLC's Africa wide talent search, TLC's Next Great Presenter. He emerged 2nd Runners Up after a successful campaign that saw him reach the final stage of the competition. In 2016, he ventured back onto the silver screen landing the role of Issa Ossman on award winning short _Watu Wote (2017)_ qv. In 2017, he hosted entertainment magazine show Arena 254 on K24 before booking a role in South Africa on Danish Broadcasting Corporation TV Series _"Liberty" (2018)_ qv, a screen adaptation of Jakob Ejersbo's book by the same name.