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. alongside producer
Al Shux. The group was made up of 12 MC's and Producers, including rapper
Sway. ONE released their only album,
Onederful World, in 2001. 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. At this time, Lanipekun was also working as a freelance journalist. Originally joining the Sony Street Team under
DJ Semtex, he was given the opportunity to write for their promotional website and eventually for their magazine. He wrote reviews, and
advertorials, as well as interviewing many of the Urban Division's roster of Artists. Lanipekun began freelancing more widely and was hired as the Entertainment Editor for
Alexander Amosu's online magazine 'ICON'. In 2008, Lanipekun also played Eric the Red in Wig Out! at the
Royal Court Theatre, by Tarrell McCraney, directed by
Dominic Cooke. but Charles Spencer of the
Telegraph gave the play 5 stars, highlighting the central performances of Pryce and
Anne Reid, as well as the young leads, Lanipekun and
Holliday Grainger. In Autumn 2010, Lanipekun returned to the stage, taking on the character of Laertes in
Nicholas Hytner's production of
Hamlet at the National Theatre. The Telegraph, highlighted Lanipekun's portrayal of Laertes, and the Spectator described his performance as "outstanding". The production was also nominated for Evening Standard and Olivier Awards. In 2013, Lanipekun played Steve in Comedy Central's new show
Big Bad World, alongside
Blake Harrison,
Caroline Quentin and
James Fleet. The series broke previous records for Comedy Central's viewing figures. He also returned to theatre, in Geraldine Alexander's play
Amygdala, performing for the first time since 2011 on stage at
The Print Room in
Notting Hill. The reviews were generally positive, with
Kate Bassett from
The Times writing "Here's hoping that British theatregoers see more of Lanipekun, who is both magnetic and mercurial, switching in a flash between real tenderness and explosive rage". Between 2014 and 2015, he also played the role of Hank Wonham in series 4 and 5 of
Homeland. Lanipekun played role of DC Sean Armitage alongside
Kenneth Cranham in the BBC Radio 4 show
The Interrogation, written by
Roy Williams and directed by Mary Peate and
Jessica Dromgoole. The show ran for 8 series, and was named one of the best audio dramas of the 21st Century, by a panel of academics and radio experts. Since 2017, Lanipekun has played Nil in the
PlayStation video game "
Horizon Zero Dawn". Nil is on a mission to kill all bandits and calls upon Aloy's help to do so. He reprised his role in its sequel
Horizon Forbidden West, in 2022. In 2018, he was part of the great ensemble cast, put together to tell the epic story of Homer's Iliad in
Troy: Fall of a City, playing the role of Pandarus. The show was produced by
Netflix/
BBC. In 2019, he joined the
Sky Atlantic show
Riviera for Season 2, playing the role of Raafi Al-Qadar. The show was Sky's most successful original series, with an audience of 2.3 million an episode, and more than 20 million downloads and views total. From 2021 to 2023, he played Tycho in the
Sky Atlantic series
Domina, alongside
Kasia Smutniack,
Matthew McNulty, and
Claire Forlani. Lanipekun also joined the cast of
The Rising, starring
Clara Rugaard. In 2023 he played the role of Hugo Kupka in
Final Fantasy XVI, developed and published by
Square Enix. ==Filmography==