Dennis Mailu Receives Prestigious Charles Jehlinger Award for Excellence in Acting

Kenyan-born actor Dennis Mailu has been awarded the 2021-2022 Charles Jehlinger Award for excellence in acting. The multi-linguistic actor, who now resides in Los Angeles, is the first Kenyan recipient of the prestigious award given by The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

The Charles Jehlinger Award is bestowed upon to students who come closest to personifying Jehlinger’s ideals by exhibiting excellence as a person and an artist who display professionalism towards the craft – stating “a measure of an actor is not found in his or her facility, but in the actor’s stature as a human being.”

Charles Jehlinger was one of the first graduates at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts who went on to become a director of instruction from 1923 until his death in 1952. Jehlinger taught some of Hollywood’s Golden Age elite including Hollywood Walk of Fame recipient Edward G Robinson, Oscar-nominated and multi-Golden Globe winner Rosalind Russel (Auntie Mame, Gypsy), Oscar-winner Grace Kelly (The Country Girl), Oscar-winner Jason Robards (All the Presidents Men) and Golden Globe-winner Kirk Douglas (Lust for Life).

Previous recipients of The Charles Jehlinger Award include Hollywood stars, Robert Redford Grace Kelly, Danny DeVito, Harry Azaria, Spencer Tracey, Kim Cattrall, Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain.

The American Academy of Dramatic Arts was founded in 1884 as the first conservatoire for actors in the English speaking world.

Dennis Mailu is Hollywood’s latest star to graduate from the school.