British actor (born 1980)
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
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
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
Film
Television
Stage
Accolades
References
^ 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
External links
Awards for Adeel Akhtar
1955–1975 1976–2000 2001–present