Akinyele Leaves Innovative Artists for ColorCreative
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Josiah Akinyele departed Innovative Artists after 17 years as a talent agent, joining ColorCreative as a manager reporting to President Talitha Watkins.
- ColorCreative, the management and production company co-founded by Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, and Talitha Watkins, also promoted Wyatt Allen to manager working across film, TV, digital creators, touring and intellectual property.
- Akinyele's client roster includes Perry Mattfeld (Chad Powers, 99ers), Cam Gigandet (Hunting Wives), Kevin Carroll (Window's Bay), Yetide (American Gods), Julie Ann Emery (Better Call Saul, Preacher), Shane Paul McGhie (The Last Shift), Michael Hyatt (Snowfall), and Toby Onwumere (Matrix Revolutions, Sense8) — all actors he previously repped as an agent.
- Akinyele started in Innovative's mailroom after internships with producer Marty Adelstein and exec Michael Thorn, and was promoted to agent in 2012, initially signing actors straight out of drama school programs.
- Akinyele, born in Champaign, IL, to Nigerian parents, grew up in Nigeria before returning to the US to attend George Washington University, and told Deadline: "I am excited for this new chapter in my life."
- ColorCreative was launched with a stated mission to champion innovative and inclusive entertainment, positioning the Akinyele hire as a roster-expansion move for the company.
Why it matters: ColorCreative just absorbed a 17-year veteran agent whose client list spans actors from 'Better Call Saul,' 'Snowfall,' and 'American Gods' — deepening its bench at a company built by Issa Rae, Deniese Davis, and Talitha Watkins. Innovative Artists simultaneously loses a senior rep and the commissions tied to his roughly dozen clients moving with him, making this both a talent acquisition and a competitive defection in the agent-management space.
