'Station 19' Star Boris Kodjoe Overcame Many Difficulties to Get His Acting Career Going in the US

Station 19 star Boris Kodjoe has solidified his position as a versatile actor in the industry. And while he has made it to the big leagues now, he encountered quite a few challenges during his initial years. 

For starters, his flawless American accent makes it almost impossible to distinguish that English is not his first language. 

Opening Up About His Journey

In 2012, Kodjoe sat for an interview with Bet and opened up about the struggles he had been through prior to the fame and glory.

The actor revealed he was raised in a small German town, where he is originally from. At 19, he moved to the US and could not speak English very well. Admittedly, since he had grown up speaking German, getting adjusted to another language was a significant challenge.

To fix that, he started taking acting classes to get rid of his German accent. And that was how he stepped into the world of acting. 

But even then, he found it difficult to pronounce certain English words. And so, when he started his career with Soul Food, actress Nicole Ari Parker (also his wife now) would often help him with his lines. It took him a long time to learn his dialogues on his own and be comfortable delivering them.

Moreover, he considers it a compliment that people do not realize that he is not originally from the US because it shows how hard he has worked on himself. 

When the interviewer asked him about being biracial, he answered that his mother is German and his father was Ghanaian. 

A Look At His Family

Kodjoe belongs to a family of five. His mother, Ursula Kodjoe, is a psychologist and social worker, and his late father, Eric Kodjoe, was a physician from Ghana, West Africa.

The actor seems to be genuinely grateful and appreciative of his parents. For instance, he posted a picture of his mother on Instagram and thanked her for raising him the way she did. 

Recently, he wished his late father a happy birthday on Instagram.

Kodjoe also has two siblings—brother Patrick and sister Nadja. Furthermore, the 47-year-old actor is married to the beautiful Nicole Ari Parker, and the couple has two children together.