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WORK TITLE: The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1/13/1991
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: Congolese
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born January 13, 1991, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
EDUCATION:Attended the University of Tulsa.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and actor. Actor in films, including Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Blondy Baruti is an actor, athlete, and writer. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s. Baruti is known for film roles such as that of Huhtar, in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. His additional film and television work includes several pilots for ABC, including a program centered around basketball and the NBA, and a pilot for ITV titled Six Degrees, which would feature Baruti as a series regular and cohost, noted a writer on the Switzer Talent Agency website. He was a prominent athlete and basketball star in his native country, stated a contributor to the Simon & Schuster website. The six-foot, seven-inch Baruti also speaks four languages fluently: Armenian, French, Swahili, and English. Baruti attended the University of Tulsa.
In The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti: My Unlikely Journey from the Congo to Hollywood, written with Joe Layden, Baruti tells the story of how he survived violence and warfare in his childhood and eventually became a rising young actor in Hollywood. At the beginning of the book, Baruti provides some information on his family’s background, then moves through a chronological telling of his personal history. He describes how, as a child, he experienced extreme poverty and the effects of war during the civil war that wracked the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s. The violence became so extreme and the living environment so dangerous in his home village of Goma that Baruti and his family were eventually forced to flee on foot. Afterward, they endured a months-long journey to the Congo capital city of Kinshasa, where they were aided by relatives.
The trauma of the arduous trek to Kinshasa took a toll on the young Baruti, making him shy and inwardly focused. However, the tall and athletically minded young man’s life improved when he discovered basketball. He developed a deep interest in the sport, which also leads to a desire to play professionally in the United States. He devoted himself to both his sports and academic studies until he is finally admitted to a private school in America. There, he believes he will be able to successfully pursue his education while also making further progress toward becoming a professional basketball player.
Even though he achieved one part of his goal, several difficulties jeopardized further progress. A troublemaking cousin made life difficult for him, putting his ability to stay in the U.S. in jeopardy. An unsympathetic coach made his sports practice unpleasant. And the constant pressure of maintaining his visa and dealing with American immigration law caused him great amounts of stress and affected his performance on the basketball court.
However, Baruti maintains a positive attitude despite his troubles, and eventually triumphs. He describes his victories, both in the smaller venues of a college basketball program, and in the larger world as a working actor in Hollywood. He reveals the process that he took toward becoming an actor and discusses his early roles, his work in creating pilot series, and his potentially breakout role in the major film Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Throughout the book, “Baruti’s optimism is so infectious and believable that readers can’t help but root for him,” observed a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. He makes it clear that he did not consider giving up an option, and that he was going to reach his goals no matter what obstacles were in his way.
Kristine Huntley, reviewing The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti in Booklist, commented, “What shines through here is Baruti’s good heart, persistence, and absolute unwillingness to give up on his dreams despite repeated setbacks.” The Kirkus Reviews writer called the book a “moving, genuinely uplifting tale that highlights how resilient the human spirit can be.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Baruti, Blondy, and Joe Layden, The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti: My Unlikely Journey from the Congo to Hollywood (autobiography), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2018.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 1, 2018, Kristine Huntley, review of The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti, p. 42.
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2018, review of The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti.
ONLINE
Simon & Schuster website, http://www.simonandschuster.com/ July 9, 2018), biography of Blondy Baruti.
Switzer Talent Agency website, http://resumes.breakdownexpress.com/ (July 9, 2018), biography of Blondy Baruti.
Blondy Baruti
Blondy Baruti is a former basketball star and an actor. He was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, attended the University of Tulsa, and currently lives in California. Blondy has starred in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as Huhtar, and has filmed several pilots for ABC. The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti is his first book.
BLONDY BARUTI
photos
ResumePrint Resume
FILM
Guardians of the Galaxy II
Supporting
Dir. James Gunn
TELEVISION
Six Degrees (Pilot)
Series Regular/Co-Host
ITV
Untitled NBA Project (Pilot)
Mo Gosego (Co-Lead)
ABC
Representation: Greenlight Management and Production (310) 201-5077 Abrams Artists Agency (310) 859-0625
Physical Characteristics / Measurements
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 225 lbs
Eyes: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Hair Length:
Born in African, D1 college ball player, Quick to learn, Self-motivated, Speak 4 languages, Team player, Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Boxing, Football, Ping Pong, Track & Field, Volleyball, Clowning, Dance Ballroom, Dance Hip Hop, Dance Modern, Dance Rumba, Dance Salsa, Dancer, Impressionist, Modeling, Whistler, African Accent, French Accent, Fluent Armenian, Fluent French, Fluent French Canadian, Fluent Swahili
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Print Marked Items
Baruti, Blondy: THE INCREDIBLE
TRUE STORY OF BLONDY BARUTI
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Baruti, Blondy THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF BLONDY BARUTI Simon & Schuster (Adult
Nonfiction) $26.00 5, 1 ISBN: 978-1-5011-6499-6
An inspiring true story about the power of hope, optimism, and grit in the face of seemingly insurmountable
odds.
In his debut, former college basketball player and actor Baruti candidly chronicles his eventful life, from his
poverty-laced childhood in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo to his unlikely ascent starring in
Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The author begins with some cursory information about his genealogy before
plunging into his family's flight from their home and struggle to survive the horrific violence of civil war,
all before the author was 10 years old. When the violence in the country became somewhat tolerable, his
family settled in Kinshasa, where Baruti developed an obsession with basketball. He secured a scholarship
to a prep school in America, but things went awry due to a self-interested distant cousin in the States,
culture shock, an unsympathetic coach, and the ever looming threat of an invalid visa. Suspense builds as
Baruti chronicles how he navigated the labyrinthine protocol of U.S. immigration law and the effect it had
on his ability to play college basketball in his new home. But that was only one of the many hurdles that
could have dashed his dreams at any moment. All of this drama unfolds in short, snappy chapters, and the
author's voice is friendly, clear, and direct. Much of the book centers on his love of basketball, but one
needn't be a sports fan to enjoy the book. Baruti's optimism is so infectious and believable that readers can't
help but root for him; what may seem like naive optimism masks an intelligent, steadfast, and defiant
unwillingness to give up, no matter the odds. The author suffered countless setbacks on his journey.
Consequently, by the time he makes it to Hollywood and lands a small role in a major film, readers will feel
a palpable sense of triumph.
A moving, genuinely uplifting tale that highlights how resilient the human spirit can be.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Baruti, Blondy: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF BLONDY BARUTI." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar.
2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530650790/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0573a5b0. Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A530650790
6/24/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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The Incredible True Story of Blondy
Baruti: My Unlikely Journey from the
Congo to Hollywood
Kristine Huntley
Booklist.
114.15 (Apr. 1, 2018): p42+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti: My Unlikely Journey from the Congo to Hollywood. By
Blondy Baruti and Joe Layden. May 2018.320p. Simon & Schuster, $26 (9781501164996). 791.4302.
Baruti, an actor who made his mark playing a villain in Guardians of the Galaxy v. 2, chronicles his path to
the silver screen. Baruti was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1990s as a brutal civil
war raged. Eventually, rebels raided Baruti's village, Goma, forcing him and his family to flee on foot and
make a months-long trek to relatives in the capital, Kinshasa. Emotionally scarred by the traumatic journey,
Baruti keeps to himself until he discovers a love of basketball, which ignites a desire to play professionally
in the U.S. Baruti works hard towards his goal and achieves it when he gains admittance to a private school
in America. But a mercenary cousin makes trouble for Baruti, jeopardizing his visa. An injury while in
college dashes Baruti's dreams of playing in the NBA, but he finds a new love in the theater, moves to Los
Angeles after graduation, and books a role in a pilot, thus launching his acting career. What shines through
here is Baruti's good heart, persistence, and absolute unwillingness to give up on his dreams despite
repeated setbacks. His remarkable journey and his courage are inspiring and aspirational. --Kristine Huntley
YA: Baruti's fantastic lesson in persistence in spite of the heartbreak of setbacks will resonate with teens.
KH.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Huntley, Kristine. "The Incredible True Story of Blondy Baruti: My Unlikely Journey from the Congo to
Hollywood." Booklist, 1 Apr. 2018, p. 42+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534956830/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=03e89303.
Accessed 24 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534956830