Akshay Kumar (born 1994) is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the ITV war drama The Halcyon (2017) and the CW series Pandora (2019–2020).
Akshay Kumar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1994 |
| Alma mater | Drama Centre London |
| Years active | 2011–present |
Early life
editKumar was born in the East London Borough of Redbridge. When he was 10, his mother enrolled him in a Saturday stage school.[1] Kumar decided to pursue acting professionally when he performed Shakespeare for the first time at age 15[2] and subsequently joined the National Youth Theatre. He also took up dancing.[3] He trained at the Drama Centre London, and took a pause from his studies when he was cast in Homeland.[4][5]
Career
editIn 2012, Kumar made both his television debut and his feature film debut in an episode of the BBC Two drama White Heat and the film adaptation of The Telemachy respectively.
Upon leaving drama school, Kumar joined the recurring cast of the Showtime thriller series Homeland for its fourth season as Rahim, a Pakistani medical student, which aired in 2014.[6] He then appeared in the second season of the TNT crime drama Legends as Ifti Bulfati, as well as the films Legacy and One Crazy Thing.[7]
In 2017, Kumar had a main television credit as barman Adil Joshi in the ITV World War II drama The Halcyon.[8] He also had small roles in the CTV series The Indian Detective and the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Kumar played FBI agent Ansh Ramachandra in the 2019 crime thriller film Inside Man: Most Wanted with Aml Ameen, Rhea Seehorn, and Roxanne McKee.[9]
After making a guest appearance in the first season of the CW science fiction series Pandora, also in 2019, Kumar joined the main cast as student Jett Annamali for its second season in 2020.[10] He played Ray in the FX on Hulu miniseries Devs and starred in Syndrome at the Tristan Bates Theatre.[11][12] For the latter, he and the rest of the cast were nominated for an Off West End Award.[13] Kumar starred in the 2023 film Double Blind with Millie Brady.[14] That same year, he appeared in the romantic drama film Beautiful Disaster[15] and the ITVX sitcom Count Abdulla.[16]
In 2021, Kumar wrote an article for Backstage on a two-year period of his career when he worked a day job.[17]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Paper Boy | Salim | Short film |
| 2012 | The Telemachy | Imran | |
| 2015 | Legacy | Cam | |
| 2016 | One Crazy Thing | Nikki Veer | |
| 2017 | Unlocked | Technician | |
| 2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Mega-Destroyer First Order Monitor | |
| 2018 | The Agency | Mr Leaves | Short film |
| 2019 | Land's End | Adam | Short film |
| 2019 | Inside Man: Most Wanted | Ansh Ramachandra | |
| 2023 | Beautiful Disaster | Adam | |
| 2023 | Double Blind | Amir |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | White Heat | Aasif | Episode: "The Personal is Political" |
| 2014 | The Suspicions of Mr Whicher | Roshan Jabour | Episode: "Beyond the Pale" |
| 2014 | Homeland | Rahim | 3 episodes (season 4) |
| 2015 | Legends | Ifti Bulfati | 3 episodes (season 2) |
| 2017 | The Halcyon | Adil Joshi | Main role |
| 2017 | The Indian Detective | Aarav Pitale | 3 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | Pandora | Jett Annamali | Guest, season 1 Main role, season 2 |
| 2020 | Devs | Ray | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Death in Paradise | Zach Ogilvy | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Count Abdulla | Rishi | 3 episodes |
References
edit- ^ Calamandrei, Lorenza (2 February 2021). "Akshay Kumar". Nuit Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Fowler, Nikki (17 March 2021). "INTERVIEW: Akshay Kumar Talks 'Pandora' Season Two, Relating to Jett, Social Isolation, and More". Glitter. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Akshay Kumar". Blowout Magazine. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Hayer, Taj (27 January 2021). "SPOTLIGHT: Mr Akshay Kumar". The Rakish Gent. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "My London: Akshay Kumar – Actor". LDN Fashion. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Melissa (13 February 2021). "Exclusive: We chat with Homeland's Akshay Kumar on fitness, his career, and theatre!". Female First. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "Amit Gupta's ONE CRAZY THING starring Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan is NOW AVAILABLE On iTunes, Amazon and Google Play". The Fan Carpet. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Idato, Michael (27 March 2017). "Halcyon days: how to make a period drama, with a modern twist". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "B'wood superstar Akshay Kumar has a namesake actor in London!". The Statesman. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Collis, Clark (11 September 2020). "See first look at season 2 of the CW's sci-fi show Pandora". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Dickens, Zoe (February 2020). "About last night: Inside the Syndrome launch party". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Stewart, Greg (19 February 2020). "Review: Syndrome at Tristan Bates Theatre". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ "2021 Finalists & Nominations". The Offies. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Grater, Tom (15 April 2022). "Millie Brady & Pollyanna McIntosh Starring In Irish Horror-Thriller 'Double Blind' For Epic Pictures". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Young, Liz (21 October 2022). "Beautiful Disaster: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know". MovieWeb. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Akshay Kumar". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ Kumar, Akshay (18 February 2021). "'Pandora' Star Akshay Kumar on Why Actors Should 'Embrace the Day Job'". Backstage. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
External links
edit- Akshay Kumar at IMDb
- Akshay Kumar at United Agents