John Alieu Carew was born on 5 September 1979 and is a Norwegian actor and former professional footballer who played as a forward.
34 Facts About John Carew
2.
John Carew was capped 91 times and scored 24 goals for the Norway national team.
3.
John Carew was already considered a highly talented youngster and had gained some media attention before he was acquired by Valerenga in 1997, and in the same year Carew was a part of the team that gained promotion to Tippeligaen and won the Norwegian Football Cup.
4.
John Carew was part of the Valencia side that lost on penalties in the 2001 UEFA Champions League Final to Bayern Munich, though he scored his own penalty attempt.
5.
John Carew then moved to Turkey in 2004 to play with Besiktas.
6.
John Carew failed a medical at Fulham in 2002 and West Bromwich Albion had a bid rejected by Valencia.
7.
On 22 January 2007, John Carew signed for Aston Villa in an exchange deal with Lyon for Milan Baros.
8.
John Carew went on to receive the No 10 jersey left vacant by Baros' departure.
9.
John Carew began the season as Villa's first-choice forward and much was expected of him by the Villa fans.
10.
John Carew suffered an injury in the same game and was out of action for six weeks with a hamstring problem.
11.
On 14 August 2008, John Carew signed a 12-month extension to his contract, thus taking him through to 2011 with his current deal.
12.
John Carew was fined two weeks wages by Martin O'Neill for being in a pub near a Birmingham lap dancing club the night before Villa's UEFA cup group stage match with Ajax.
13.
John Carew played his first game after his injury on 31 January 2009 in a goalless draw with Wigan Athletic.
14.
Nevertheless, while being used as a substitute John Carew still managed to score several important goals for Aston Villa.
15.
John Carew spoke out about his limited chances under the new system under manager Gerard Houllier to a Norwegian TV station.
16.
On 27 May 2011, Aston Villa announced that John Carew was one of a number of players released by the club after their contracts expired.
17.
John Carew's arrival was welcomed by the Stoke players including Andy Wilkinson.
18.
John Carew made his debut for City the following day at Fulham where he came on as a substitute.
19.
On 23 May 2012, John Carew was released with five other players including Julien Faubert, Frank Nouble, Papa Bouba Diop, Abdoulaye Faye and Olly Lee.
20.
John Carew went on trial with Serie A team Internazionale in February 2013, but was not offered a contract as Inter were concerned over his fitness.
21.
John Carew played 91 times for Norway, scoring 24 goals, and was part of their Euro 2000 squad.
22.
John Carew made his full international debut on 18 November 1998, and was the first black player to represent Norway.
23.
In 2014, John Carew starred in his first feature film, a Canadian horror called Dead of Winter.
24.
In 2018, John Carew starred in the successful Norwegian TV-series, Heimebane, playing as Michael Ellingsen, an aging star footballer for a local Norwegian club.
25.
In 2019, John Carew played the role of Jungle Warrior in the Disney's dark fantasy adventure film, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil alongside Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
26.
In 2023, John Carew played the role of an early Spotify investor in the TV series The Playlist.
27.
In 2021, John Carew formally requested that the authorities register him as living in Norway; the tax authorities had requested his arrest a short time before that.
28.
John Carew pleaded guilty to acting "grossly negligently" in regards to his taxes, but not with intent to defraud.
29.
On 16 November 2022, John Carew was sentenced to 14 months in prison and a 537,268 Norwegian Kroner fine.
30.
John Carew has a son born in 2004 who lives with his mother in Norway.
31.
John Carew is noted for being a practicing Christian and often makes donations to charity.
32.
John Carew contributes to organizations like Soccer Against Crime, MOT and Ungdom mot Vold and was awarded the Kniksen award as Kniksen of the year in both 2005 and 2007.
33.
Since joining Aston Villa, John Carew is noted for visiting children in hospitals around Birmingham and supporting Villa's initiative to donate from the payroll towards hospital running costs.
34.
In 2012 John Carew was declared bankrupt following a petition by HM Revenue and Customs.