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Assad Zaman

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Assad Zaman
Born (1990-05-09) 9 May 1990 (age 34)[1]
Other namesAssad Zaman Choudhury[2]
Alma materManchester School of Theatre
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active2013–present

Assad Zaman (/æˈsæd/ A-ssad;[3] born 9 May 1990) is an English actor. He is known for his stage work and his roles in the BBC thriller Apple Tree Yard (2017), the period drama Hotel Portofino (2022–2023), and the AMC adaptation of Interview with the Vampire (2022–).

Early life

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Assad Zaman was born and grew up in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne.[4] His parents immigrated to England from Bangladesh in the 1980s.[5][6] Zaman trained at the Manchester School of Theatre, graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.[7]

Career

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Zaman made his London stage debut in the 2014 National Theatre production of Behind the Beautiful Forevers.[8] This was followed by his onscreen debut in an episode of Russell T Davies' Cucumber on Channel 4. He went on tour with Ayub Khan Din's play East is East that same year.

In 2017, Zaman played Sathnam in the BBC One adaptation of Apple Tree Yard. He had theatre roles in the stage adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth at the Kiln Theatre in 2018,[9] The Funeral Director on tour,[10][11] A Doll's House at the Lyric in Hammersmith in 2019,[12] and The Winter's Tale in 2020. He also appeared in the Red, White and Blue installment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology. In 2020, Zaman was one of the producers of the Othello Project, a group of Black, Asian, and biracial creatives within the Royal Shakespeare Company. Born in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and initially conceived as an original series of standalone monologues, the project used art to challenge racism by creating a platform for Black and Asian voices and stories.[13][14] Zaman returned to East is East in 2021, this time in a different role. The show ran at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre before transferring to the National Theatre for additional dates.[15] He expanded into writing with the short play "Laundry", which was produced in 2021 as part of Alphabetti Theatre's Listen Up project.[16]

Zaman played series regular Dr Anish Sengupta in the first two seasons of the period drama Hotel Portofino and currently stars as Armand in the AMC series Interview with the Vampire.[17][18] Zaman was not initially aware he was auditioning for the role of Armand, whose true identity is not revealed until the season 1 finale. After a call with showrunner Rolin Jones in which Jones explained the twist (wherein minor character Rashid, one of the household staff, is the vampire Armand in disguise), Zaman underwent several additional rounds of auditions before being cast.[19] Zaman’s "incredible performance" during the show’s second season was highlighted by Ro Rusak of Nerdist in their Best TV and Film Moments of 2024.[20] In June 2024, Zaman's directorial debut, The Fox and the Grapes, screened at Close-Up Cinema in London.[21]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Cucumber Tony Episode 1.6
Behind the Beautiful Forevers Deepak Rai National Theatre Live
2017 Apple Tree Yard Sathnam Episodes 1.1, 1.3, 1.4
2019 Vera Lee Nadella Episode 9.2 ("Cuckoo")
2020 Our Girl Hasan Episode 4.3
Small Axe Asif Episode 1.3 (Red, White and Blue)
The Saint of Southall Rohit Short film
2021 East is East Abdul Khan National Theatre Live
2022–2023 Hotel Portofino Dr Anish Sengupta Series regular
2022–present Interview with the Vampire Armand Main role
2024 The Fox and the Grapes - Director, writer, producer
We Work for the Dead Lot Feature film

Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
2013 Tyne Various Live Theatre, Newcastle
Dark Woods, Deep Snow: A Grimm Tale Luka Northern Stage, Newcastle
2014 Beats North Al Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Behind the Beautiful Forevers Deepak Rai Royal National Theatre, London
2015 East is East Saleem Khan UK tour
2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Demetrius New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
Arms and the Man Sergius Saranoff Watford Palace Theatre, Watford
2017 Salomé Young Syrian Royal Shakespeare Company
Coriolanus Roman Citizen/Volscian Soldier/Roman Senator Royal Shakespeare Company
2018 Julius Caesar Calphurnia/Metellus Cimber/Messala Royal Shakespeare Company's First Encounters series
I Wanna Be Yours Haseeb Paines Plough
White Teeth Millat Iqbal Kiln Theatre, London
2019 The Funeral Director Zeyd UK tour
A Doll's House Kaushik Das Lyric Theatre, London
2020 The Winter's Tale Florizel Royal Shakespeare Company
2021 East is East Abdul Khan Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham; Royal National Theatre, London

References

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  1. ^ "Assad Zaman". FilmFreeway.
  2. ^ "Steerage (24:7 Festival)". WhatsOnStage. 25 July 2011.
  3. ^ Autumn Brown [@SmokieMoonpie] (28 May 2024). "Straight form maitre's mouth: how to pronounce Assad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Laundry by Assad Zaman". Spreaker. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Thank You Mr Speaker by Assad Zaman". Royal Shakespeare Company. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  6. ^ Clarendon, Emma (6 March 2019). "Interview With… Assad Zaman". Love London Love Culture. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Assad Zaman". Manchester School of Theatre. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Assad Zaman". National Theatre. October 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ Stewart, Greg (18 October 2018). "Interview: Assad Zaman on White Teeth at the Kiln Theatre". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ Wild, Stephi (29 January 2019). "Edward Stone, Assad Zaman, Francesca Zoutewelle and More Announced For UK Tour of THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  11. ^ Doyle, Fiona (19 March 2019). "Assad Zaman on his role in 'The Funeral Director'". The Artscape. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Assad Zaman". Lyric Hammersmith. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  13. ^ "The Othello Project: Welcome to the Othello Project". Royal Shakespeare Company. 2020.
  14. ^ "Thank You Mr Speaker by Assad Zaman". Royal Shakespeare Company. 19 October 2020.
  15. ^ "East is East Leaves for National Theatre". Birmingham Rep. 2021.
  16. ^ "Laundry By Assad Zaman". Spreaker from iHeart Radio. February 2021.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (4 March 2022). "Interview with the Vampire: Assad Zaman to Play Rashid in AMC Series Based on Anne Rice's Book". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  18. ^ Marcus, Laura E. (15 November 2022). "Interview With The Vampire Q&A — Assad Zaman's 'Rashid' Is Revealed To Be Much More Than Audiences Expected". AMC. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Post-Finale: "Raging Sea of Vampire Melodrama"". Apple Podcasts. 20 November 2022.
  20. ^ Rusack, Ro (17 December 2024). "Nerdist's Best TV and Movie Moments of 2024". Nerdist. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  21. ^ "The Fox and the Grapes". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
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