Alex Lanipekun

Alex Lanipekun
Lanipekun on set of Being Human
Born	Alexander Olaseni James Lanipekun London, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor/Writer
Years active	2001–present

Alex Lanipekun (born 7 April 1981) is a British actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but left early to join the cast of the BBC drama Spooks as journalist-cum-spy Ben Kaplan, the role for which he is best known.

Lanipekun was born in London, during the Brixton Riots. His father is Nigerian and his mother is of half Italian and half English descent. When he was four, his parents separated and he moved from Brixton to Finsbury Park. An only child, he was raised in North London by his single mother, a secondary school music teacher. He attended Crowland Junior School, St Aidan's Primary School and then Rokesly Junior School, before attaining a financial scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Horsham, West Sussex. He then attended Westminster College. Lanipekun has A-Levels in English, Psychology, History, Drama and Religious Studies. He then obtained a Grant to study for a BSc in Anthropology at University College London. After University, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as a Grant Student. He was assisted financially by many Arts Charities and Foundations, including The Actors' Charitable Trust. Lanipekun has a younger brother and sister who live with his father and stepmother in South London.

At age thirteen, Alex auditioned for the National Youth Music Theatre, and became a member, subsequently playing the part of Leroy The Boxer in the musical adaptation of the film Bugsy Malone. At seventeen, he auditioned for the National Youth Theatre, and gained a place. It was then that he first seriously considered acting as a career.

Lanipekun was a member of the MOBO-nominated Hip-Hop Collective 'ONE'. Originally consisting of members from three different groups, his own, alongside producer Al Shux, and two others made up of friends from the local Secondary Schools, Highgate Wood and St David's and St Katherine's. The group was made up of 12 MC's and Producers, including rappers Pyrelli, Artcha, Sway and Mr Ti2bs. ONE released their only album, Onederful World, in 2001. They set up their own label to coincide with its release and Lanipekun secured distribution through the label CARGO. ONE were nominated for a MOBO Award after reaching the final of the Unsung Competition for independent artists and although not the final winners, the group's profile had been raised within the music industry and they began to get airplay on major British radio stations.