Career
He co-wrote and directed a six-part miniseries adaptation of Lawrence Hill"s bestselling novel The Book of Negroes (2015), starring Aunjanue Ellis, Cuba Gooding Junior., Lou Gossett Junior., Ben Chaplin, Jane Alexander and Lyriq Bent that aired to wide acclaim and a record-breaking 1.7 million Canadian viewers in January 2015 on Canadian Broadcasting Company in Canada. lieutenant went on to premiere in February 2015 in the United States, drawing landmark ratings for Black Entertainment Television (Black Entertainment ) His previous feature, the boxing drama Poor Boy"s Game, stars Danny Glover and Rossif Sutherland. The film world-premiered at the 2007 Berlin International Festival, Panorama Special Section, and was presented as a Special Selection at the 2007 Toronto International Festival.
In a review for Variety, critic Leslie Felperin writes “…Poor Boy’s Game may representative best work so far, blending seamlessly his preoccupation with race, fluid identities, and complex sexuality.” Virgo’s Lie with Maine caused a stir at the 2005 Toronto International Festival for its artistically daring portrayal of explicit sexual themes.
Starring Lauren Lee Smith and Eric Balfour, Lie With Maine had its European premiere at the 2006 Berlin International Festival, Panorama Section. lieutenant has been distributed internationally in over 30 territories, and sold to Showtime in the United States. Born in Jamaica, Virgo immigrated to Canada at the age of 11.
Virgo has also received acclaim for his work in short film and television He has directed two episodes of for Home Box Office, and The L Word and Soul Food for Showtime.
His other films include Rude, which world premiered at the Cannes Festival, The Planet of Junior Brown, which earned Virgo an Emmy nomination, and Love Come Down.
Since 2010, Virgo has also presented a series of intimate annual talks to celebrate Black History Month in Toronto with such notable guests as Lee Daniels, Norman Jewison, Spike Lee, Pam Grier, John Singleton, and Chris Tucker.