Okonedo's breakthrough performance came in 2004, when she co-starred in the film "Hotel Rwanda" as Tatiana Rusesabagina, the wife of Rwandan hotel manager and humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed by American actor Don Cheadle. For this role, she became the second Black female Briton to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005. She later received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the miniseries "" (2006) and BAFTA TV Award nominations for the drama series "Criminal Justice" (2009) and the television film "Mrs. Mandela" (2010). Her other film roles include "Æon Flux" (2005), "Skin" (2008), "The Secret Life of Bees" (2008), and "Christopher Robin" (2018).