Sharlto Copley was born in Pretoria on 27 November 1973. While still in high school, Copley began producing amateur theatre and film. He met his business partner Simon Hansen during his high school years at a Johannesburg private school. After completing high school, Copley and Hansen moved to Cape Town to start a production company. Their first production was Alive in Johannesburg, which was the basis for their 2009 sci-fi film, District 9.
District 9, in which Copley also plays a lead role, earned itself an Oscar nomination and garnered Copley praise for his portrayal of the character Wikus. In 2010 he portrayed the character Murdoch in a film adaptation of the eighties series, the A Team.
