Mamoudou Athie

Mamoudou Athie was a television actor who was best known for playing a young version of the hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash on the widely acclaimed Netflix biographical drama "The Get Down" (Netflix, 2016-). Ever since he was a little boy, Athie knew he wanted to be an actor. He would often perform for friends and family around his neighborhood, and quickly realized he had a knack for it. When it came time to attend college, Athie was accepted into what was arguably the most prestigious acting school in the country - the Yale School of Drama. He started attending the school in 2010, where he honed his acting chops in a number of school productions. While attending Yale, Athie appeared in everything from Shakespeare's "As You Like It" to Edward Albee's "The Zoo Story." Upon graduating in 2014, Athie set his sights on launching a screen-acting career. He nabbed his first on-screen role in 2015, playing a staffer on the political drama "Madam Secretary" (CBS 2014-). Although the role was minor, it was enough to motivate Athie to continue going on auditions. The following year proved to be his most significant as an actor. In addition to landing a supporting role in the feature comedy "Jean of the Joneses" (2016), he also started appearing as a young version of the hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash on the Netflix musical drama "The Get Down." The series, about the beginnings of hip hop in 1970s New York, premiered on the streaming service in August of 2016, with Baz Luhrman, the famed Australian director of such films as "Moulin Rouge!" (2001) and "The Great Gatsby" (2013), serving as co-creator.