Adeel Akhtar

• Name — Adeel Akhtar • Birth Name — Adeel Hamayun Akhtar • Born — 18 September 1980 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — Actor • Education — * Cheltenham College • Oxford Brookes University (LLB) • The New School (MFA) • Years Active — 2002–present

Adeel Hamayun Akhtar was born in Hammersmith, London to a Pakistani father and an Indo-Kenyan mother. Akhtar was privately educated at Cheltenham College. He completed a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree at Oxford Brookes University, after which he decided to train in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School, part of The New School in New York City. While travelling to New York to audition for the New School, Akhtar was detained and questioned by the FBI at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a tip-off from security staff at Heathrow Airport in London, who had mistaken him for a suspect on a security watchlist circulated after the September 11 attacks. He says that this experience has informed the acting roles he has chosen.

Akhtar began his acting career performing at the Half Moon Theatre in London. His first major film role was as the bumbling Muslim extremist Faisal in Chris Morris's film Four Lions (2010). Other comedic performances include Gupta in The Angelos Epithemiou Show, as Maroush alongside Sacha Baron Cohen in The Dictator (2012), and Smee in Joe Wright 's Pan (2015). In 2014, Akhtar was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Wilson Wilson on Channel 4's Utopia. He played shopkeeper Ahmed alongside Toby Jones in the BBC mini-series Capital (2015), and DS Ira King in the BBC's River. In 2016, Akhtar appeared as Shahzad in the BBC one-off drama Murdered by My Father, for which he won the 2017 BAFTA award for Lead Actor. He was the first non-white best actor BAFTA winner. In 2017, he took part in an American romantic comedy film, playing the role of the protagonist's brother, Naveed, in The Big Sick (2017), and appeared as Mohammed Bakhsh in Victoria & Abdul (2017). He appeared as Rob Singhal in the BBC miniseries based on John le Carré's The Night Manager. He played Barry Shaw for 2 seasons of Ghosted (2017–2018). 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. He played Inspector Lestrade in the film Enola Holmes (2020). in 2022, he was for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing Ali in Ali & Ava (2021). In 2024, Akhtar appeared as Sam Malik in the second series of BBC drama Showtrial. He played DS Sami Kierce alongside Michelle Keegan in the Netflix series Fool Me Once (2024). In 2025 he starred as Hamza in 8 episodes of Down Cemetery Road.

• 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 • 2015 — River — Detective Sergeant Ira King — Mini-series. 6 episodes • Capital — Ahmed Kamal — 3 episodes • 2016 — The Night Manager — 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 • Showtrial — Sam Malik — Series 2 • Black Doves — Prime Minister Richard Eaves — Co-starring • 2025 — Down Cemetery Road — Hamza — 8 episodes • 2026 — Who Do You Think You Are? — Himself — One episode

• 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) • 2025: The Cherry Orchard as Lopakhin (St. Ann's Warehouse)

In 2016, Akhtar became a patron of the Half Moon Theatre, Whitechapel.

• 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 — Maharajah Vikram Govindan • F.O.G — Sanjay — Short films • The Puppet Asylum — The Narrator • The Walk — Amar • Elsinore