Adeel Akhtar
Adeel Akhtar | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | 18 September 1980
Education | Oxford Brookes University (BA) New School (MFA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2002–present |
Adeel Akhtar (born 18 September 1980) is a British actor. In 2017, he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his role in Murdered by My Father. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role on Channel 4's Utopia, as well as a British Academy Film Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Ali & Ava. Akhtar received critical acclaim for his performance in BBC One's Sherwood, receiving the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is a two-time nominee for Outstanding Supporting Performance at the Children's and Family Emmy Awards for his role in Sweet Tooth, winning in 2023.
Early life
[edit]Akhtar was born in London, to a Pakistani father and a Indo-Kenyan mother. He was educated at Cheltenham College[1] Junior School from 1991 to 1994 and then moved to Cheltenham College in Newick House from 1994 to 1999. He completed a degree in law from Oxford Brookes University in 2002 but decided to follow his passion and change to acting, training at the Actors Studio Drama School, then within The New School, in New York.[2]
Career
[edit]Akhtar's first major role was as the bumbling Muslim extremist Faisal in Chris Morris's film Four Lions.[3] Other comedic performances include Gupta in The Angelos Epithemiou Show,[4] Maroush in The Dictator[4] and Smee in Joe Wright 's Pan.[5]
Akhtar has also won acclaim for his dramatic performances: in 2015, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his 2014 role as Wilson Wilson on Channel 4's Utopia.[6] He played shopkeeper Ahmed alongside Toby Jones in the BBC mini-series Capital,[7] and DS Ira King in the BBC's River.[8] Reviewing River in The Daily Telegraph, Michael Hogan wrote, "This series was beautifully written by Abi Morgan, stylishly directed, and most of all, superbly acted. The quieter, less showy supporting players also shone. Not just stalwarts [...] but fresher faces: Adeel Akhtar as River's endlessly patient sidekick and Georgina Rich as his psychiatrist".[9]
In 2016, Akhtar appeared as Shahzad in the BBC one-off drama Murdered by My Father. He won the 2017 BAFTA award for Lead Actor for this role,[10] the first non-white actor to do so. In 2017 he also took part in the American romantic comedy film The Big Sick, playing the role of the protagonist's brother, Naveed.[11] He appeared as Rob Singhal in the acclaimed BBC miniseries based on John le Carré's The Night Manager.[12] In 2019, Akhtar appeared as Billy in the BBC Three series, Back to Life, written by Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon, returning in 2021 for the second series.[13]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Traitor | Hamzi | |
2010 | Four Lions | Faisal | |
Side by Side | Isaac | Short film | |
Stranger Things | Mani | ||
2012 | The Dictator | Maroush | |
2013 | Jadoo | Vinod | |
Convenience | Shaan | ||
The Cost of Living | Jimmy | Short films | |
Keeping Up with the Joneses | Jerry | ||
2014 | War Book | Mo | |
2015 | Pan | Smee | |
2016 | The Big Return of Ray Lamere | Ray | Short film |
2017 | The Big Sick | Naveed | |
Hampstead | Wiggin | ||
Victoria & Abdul | Mohammed Bakhsh | ||
2018 | Swimming with Men | Kurt | |
The Therapist | Adam | Short film | |
2019 | Murder Mystery | Maharajah Vikram Govindan | |
The Show | Carpenter | ||
2020 | The Nest | Steve | |
Enola Holmes | Inspector Lestrade | ||
2021 | Ali & Ava | Ali | Nominated - British Academy Film Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
Everybody's Talking About Jamie | Iman Masood | ||
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Dan Rider | ||
Robin Robin | Dad Mouse (voice) | Short film | |
2022 | Save the Cinema | Mayor Tom | |
Enola Holmes 2 | Inspector Lestrade | ||
2023 | Murder Mystery 2 | The Maharajah | [14] |
F.O.G | Sanjay | Short films | |
The Puppet Asylum | The Narrator | ||
The Walk | Amar |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Let's Roll: The Story of Flight 93 | Hijacker Saeed Al Ghamdi | Television film |
2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Hazim | Episode: "Dollhouse" |
Conviction | Dr. Darpan Banerjee | Episode: "Downhill" | |
2010 | Angelos Epithemiou's Moving On | Gupta | 5 episodes |
2011 | Coming Up | Hasan | Episode: "Hooked" |
Comedy Showcase | Gupta | Episode: "The Angelos Neil Epithemou Show" | |
2013 | Trollied | Ray | Series 3; 13 episodes |
The Tunnel | Anwar Rashid | Episode #1.7 | |
Coming Up | Baz | Episode: "Doughnuts" | |
2013–2014 | The Job Lot | George Dhot | 9 episodes |
Utopia | Wilson Wilson | 11 episodes Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor[15] | |
2015 | River | Detective Sergeant Ira King | Mini-series. 6 episodes |
Capital [7] | Ahmed Kamal | 3 episodes | |
2016 | The Night Manager [16] | Rob Singhal | 5 episodes |
Murdered by My Father | Shahzad | Television film Won – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor | |
Flowers | Doctor | Episode #1.4 | |
The Circuit | Gabe | Television films | |
The Last Dragonslayer | Mr. Brittles | ||
2017 | Unforgotten | Hassan Mahmoud | Series 2; 6 episodes |
Apple Tree Yard | Jaspreet | Mini-series. 2 episodes | |
2017–2018 | Ghosted | Barry Shaw | Main cast. 16 episodes |
2018 | Fairy Job | Magical Ahmed | Mini-series. 3 episodes |
Counterpart | Casper | 2 episodes | |
2018–2019 | Les Misérables | Monsieur Thénardier | 6 episodes |
2019–2021 | Back to Life | Billy | 11 episodes |
2019–2022 | Killing Eve | Martin | 5 episodes |
2021–2024 | Sweet Tooth | Aditya Singh | Main role. 23 episodes Nominated – Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance (2022) Won - Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance (2023) |
2022 | Sherwood | Andy Fisher | Main cast. 5 episodes Won – British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor |
2024 | Fool Me Once | DS Sami Kierce | Mini-series. Main cast. 8 episodes[17] |
Showtrial | Sam Malik | Series 2 |
Stage
[edit]- 2008: Zero as The Colonel (Theatre Absolute)
- 2008: In My Name as Zaeem (Old Red Lion & Trafalgar Studios)
- 2009: Wuthering Heights as Yusuf (Tamasha Theatre Company)
- 2010: Satyagraha (Ensemble) (Improbable theatre)
- 2011–2012: Hamlet as Guildenstern and Francisco (Young Vic Theatre)
- 2024: The Cherry Orchard as Lopakhin (Donmar Warehouse)
Accolades
[edit]Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
British Academy Television Awards | 2017 | Best Actor | Murdered by My Father | Won | [18] |
Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Supporting Performance | Sweet Tooth | Nominated | [19] |
British Academy Film Awards | 2022 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Ali & Ava | Nominated | [20] |
British Academy Television Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Actor | Sherwood | Won | [21] |
Children's and Family Emmy Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Supporting Performance | Sweet Tooth | Won | [22] |
References
[edit]- ^ Harris, Andrew (January 2012). "From Terrorist to the Prince of Denmark". Floreat Cheltonia (5): 35. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Fisher, Alice; John, Emma; Shaitly, Shahesta (11 May 2014). "Dominic West, Adeel Akhtar, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Buchan, Jodie Whittaker, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Simon Bird: Bafta TV awards 2014". The Observer. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (6 May 2010). "Review: Four Lions". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Adeel Akhtar". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Ford, Rebecca (24 April 2014). "Amanda Seyfried Joins Warner Bros.' Peter Pan Adaptation". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Who should win best supporting actor at the TV Baftas 2015?". Radio Times. 6 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Capital | Episode 1". BBC iPlayer. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "River | Episode 1". BBC iPlayer. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (17 November 2015). "River, episode six, review: 'one of the year's best home-grown TV dramas'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2022.(subscription required)
- ^ "Bafta TV Awards 2017: All the winners and nominees". BBC News. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Bafta TV awards: Adeel Akhtar is first non-white best actor winner". BBC News. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "The Night Manager". BBC iPlayer. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Morris, Lauren (1 September 2021). "Back to Life season 3: Release date rumours, cast, plot and news around BBC Three comedy-drama's return". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (24 January 2022). "Jodie Turner-Smith, Mark Strong Join Netflix's 'Murder Mystery 2'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (8 April 2015). "BAFTA TV Awards: Benedict Cumberbatch Gets Third Nomination for 'Sherlock'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Gill, James (18 May 2017). "Meet the cast of The Night Manager". The Radio Times. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Netflix Adapting Harlan Coben's 'Fool Me Once' With Star Michelle Keegan". The Wrap. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ "Bafta TV awards 2017: Full list of winners". The Guardian. 14 May 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ Matt Webb, Mitovich (1 November 2022). "Emmys: Mysterious Benedict Society, Sneakerella, Heartstopper, Sweet Tooth Lead Children's & Family Nominees". TVLine. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "WILL SMITH - LEADING ACTOR". www.bafta.org. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ TV, Guardian (14 May 2023). "Bafta TV awards 2023: the full list of winners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ Coates, Tyler. "Children's & Family Emmy Awards: Disney Dominates Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
Further reading
[edit]- Greenstreet, Rosanna (19 May 2018). "Adeel Akhtar: 'My wife says I'm a tired, older version of Riz Ahmed'". The Guardian.
External links
[edit]- Adeel Akhtar at IMDb
- Adeel Akhtar on Stages of Half Moon
- 1980 births
- Living people
- English male film actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- English people of Pakistani descent
- Actors Studio alumni
- 21st-century English male actors
- Male actors from London
- English people of Kenyan descent
- British actors of Pakistani descent
- People educated at Cheltenham College
- Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners
- Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners