Adeel Akhtar
Born: 1980-09-18 in London, England, UK
Known For: Acting
Biography
Akhtar is known for the bumbling Muslim extremist Faisal in Chris Morris's film Four Lions. Other comedic performances include Gupta in The Angelos Epithemiou Show, Maroush in The Dictator and Smee in Joe Wright and Pan. 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. He played shopkeeper Ahmed alongside Toby Jones in the BBC mini-series Capital, and DS Ira King in the BBC's River. 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". 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, the first non-white actor to do so. He also appeared as Rob Singhal in the acclaimed BBC miniseries based on John le Carré's The Night Manager. Adeel became a patron of Half Moon Theatre in autumn 2016.
Filmography
2025
- Down Cemetery Road as Hamza
- National Theatre Live: The Estate as Angad Singh
2024
- Fool Me Once as Sami Kierce
- Black Doves as Prime Minister Eaves
2023
- Murder Mystery 2 as The Maharajah
- The Walk as Amar
- The Puppet Asylum as The Narrator
- Dickens: Phantoms and Fiction as Readings
2022
- Enola Holmes 2 as Lestrade
- Save the Cinema as Tom
- Ali & Ava as Ali
- Sherwood as Andy Fisher
2021
- Sweet Tooth as Dr. Aditya Singh
- The Electrical Life of Louis Wain as Dan Rider
- Robin Robin as Dad Mouse (voice)
- Everybody's Talking About Jamie as Iman Masood
- Showtrial as Sam Malik
2020
- Enola Holmes as Lestrade
- The Nest as Steve
2019
- Murder Mystery as The Maharajah
- The Show as Carpenter
- Back to Life as Billy
- Raagni - The Movie as Maulana Wahdi
2018
- Killing Eve as Martin
- Les Misérables as Thénardier
- Swimming with Men as Kurt
2017
- Counterpart as Casper
- Ghosted as Dr. Barry Shaw
- The Big Sick as Naveed Nanjiani
- Victoria & Abdul as Mohammed
- Hampstead as Donald's Lawyer
2016
- The Night Manager as Rob Singhal
- Flowers as Doctor
- Murdered by My Father as Shahzad
- The Last Dragonslayer as Mr. Brittles
- The Circuit as Gabe
2015
- War Book as Mo
- Pan as Sam "Smee" Smiegel
- River as Ira King
- Convenience as Shaan
- Capital as Ahmed
2013
- Jadoo as Vinod
- Stranger Things as Mani
- Utopia as Wilson Wilson
- Keeping Up with the Joneses as Jerry
- The Job Lot as George Dhot
2012
- The Dictator as Maroush
- The Angelos Epithemiou Show as Gupta
2010
- Four Lions as Faisal
2008
- Traitor as Hamzi
2006
- Conviction as Darpan Banerjee
2001
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Hazim