Adama Niane, Star of Lupin, Passes Away at 56

Adama is believed to have died on January 29, 2023. The French actor's Lupin co-star Omar Sy announced the sad news on his Twitter account, paying tribute to his deceased colleague.

Omar extended his heartfelt condolences to Adama's friends and family in the post. Also, he described the actor as a man of rare benevolence and prayed for his soul to rest in peace.

Besides Omar, film director Olivier Abbou took to Instagram to pay tribute to Adama. Olivier began the write-up by noting that it was with immense sadness he learned of Adama's passing.

According to the director, the actor was a man whom he had the pleasure of working on the two seasons of Maroni and Fury. Olivier further mentioned that he and Adama were close and stayed by each other's sides for four years.

The director also stated that he and the late actor shared intense human and artistic adventures at the end of the world and in other places like Guyana, St. Pierre, Miquelon, and Lille.

Olivier then went ahead to serenade Adama with praises, describing him as engaged, lit, whole, talented, and powerful. He also admitted that the French actor was his hero, friend, and accomplice before asking him to go in peace.

Adama was born in Paris in August 1966 and began his acting career in theatre during the 1980s, having studied dramatic arts. Throughout his career, Adama gained widespread recognition, appearing in many productions.

Some of such productions include Alex Hugo, Maroni, Sam, Inhuman Resources, Prise au piège, Troubled Waters, La Mante, Felicitá, The Bare Necessity, Gang of the Caribbean, SK1, Baise-moi, etc.

In 2021, Adama's career reached a new height when he appeared as an assassin, and ex-convict Léonard Kone in one of the most successful foreign Netflix hit series Lupin, based on the novels by France's Maurice LeBlanc, who created the character in 1905.

The series retells the classic French story about Arsène Lupin, the world-famous gentleman thief and master of disguise. The concept has been developed across various other film and TV formats over the years, including an animated series.

The series tells the story of Assane Diop, an immigrant from Senegal, who hanged himself in prison out of shame after his employer, Hubert Pellegrini, framed him for stealing a diamond necklace.

Over two decades later, Assane's son, inspired by a book about Arsène Lupin, which he received as a gift from his late father, set out for revenge on the Pellegrini family.

Not long after the series aired, it became one of the most-watched non-English series on the streaming platform. Lupin also became the first French series on Netflix's Top 10 list, hitting the number one spot in countries such as Poland, Brazil, and Spain.

As for Adama’s other roles, his most recent project was the 2022 TV series L'île aux 30 Cercueils (The Island of 30 Coffins), in which he played Yannick Lantry. May his soul rest in peace.