Sacha Dhawan (/dəˈwɑːn/[1]) (born 1 May 1984)[2] is an English actor. He began his career in the ITV series Out of Sight (1997–1998), The Last Train (1999), and Weirdsister College (2001–2002). He originated the role of Akthar in the play The History Boys (2004–2006) and reprised his role in its film adaptation (2006).
Sacha Dhawan | |
|---|---|
 Dhawan on the set of The Boy with the Topknot | |
| Born | 1 May 1984 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Known for | The Master |
| Partner | Anjli Mohindra |
Dhawan has since played Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy-drama Last Tango in Halifax (2012), Waris Hussein in the BBC Two docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), Davos in the Marvel series Iron Fist (2017–2018), Count Orlo in The Great (2020–2023) on Hulu, and The Master in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2020–2022).
Early life and education
editSacha Dhawan was born in Bramhall, Stockport[3] to Indian parents from Jalandhar, Punjab, India.[4][5][6]
Dhawan trained at the Laine-Johnson Theatre School in Manchester, and started acting at the age of twelve. He attended the Roman Catholic school Aquinas College in Stockport.[3]
Career
editTelevision and film
editDhawan has appeared in a number of television shows in the United Kingdom. He had recurring roles in Weirdsister College, in which he played Azmat Madaridi, and series two and three of the children's TV series Out of Sight. He appeared in the miniseries The Last Train (1999), and has guest starred in episodes on EastEnders, Altogether Now, and City Central.[7] He also appeared in 2008 ITV drama, Wired, as Ben Chandrakar, alongside Jodie Whittaker and Laurence Fox. He was part of an ensemble cast on the NBC sitcom Outsourced, which aired during the 2010–2011 season.[8] In November 2013, Dhawan portrayed director Waris Hussein in An Adventure in Space and Time, a BBC Two biographical television film on the creation of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration. He also appeared as Paul Jatri, a 22-year-old man involved with a woman twice his age, in the first series of BBC One's Last Tango in Halifax. He plays the part of Davos in the Netflix series Iron Fist in both the seasons. He starred as Sathnam Sanghera in the critically acclaimed The Boy with the Topknot, shown on BBC 2 in 2017. He appeared in four episodes of the twelfth series of Doctor Who as the latest incarnation of the renegade Time Lord known as the Master, acting opposite Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.[9] He reprised the role in the 2022 special The Power of the Doctor, Whittaker's last episode. From 2020 to 2023, he played the role of Count Orlo, advisor to Catherine the Great, in comedy-drama TV series The Great.
Dhawan was cast as the title character in the BBC crime drama Virdee, adapted from the novels by A A Dhand.[10] He was later replaced in the role by Staz Nair.
Theatre
editDhawan originated the role of Akthar in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys. After playing Akthar in the original stage production he reprised the role in the Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong productions, and radio and film versions of the play.[11][12]
In July 2018, Dhawan reunited with History Boys playwright Alan Bennett and co-star Samuel Barnett for Bennett's new play Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre.
Personal life
editDhawan was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2006.[citation needed]
Dhawan is in a relationship with actress Anjli Mohindra.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | |
| 2010 | Splintered | Sam | |
| 2012 | Girl Shaped Love Drug | Him | |
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Neville Landless | Miniseries | |
| 2013 | After Earth | Hesper Pilot | |
| 2015 | The Lady in the Van | Doctor at Gloucester Crescent | |
| 2018 | National Theatre Live: Allelujah! | Dr. Valentine | |
| 2023 | The Glassworker | Vincent Oliver | Voice |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Out of Sight | Ali Pantajali | Main role; 20 episodes |
| 1998 | City Central | Tony | Episode: "Picking Up the Pieces" |
| 1999 | The Last Train | Leo Nixon | Main role; 6 episodes |
| 2001–2002 | Weirdsister College | Azmat Madari | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 2003 | EastEnders: Perfectly Frank | DC Wayne Atkins | TV movie |
| 2006 | Bradford Riots | Karim | TV movie |
| 2008 | Wired | Ben | 3 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Chuggington | Eddie | Voice; 38 episodes |
| 2009 | Paradox | Jaz Roy | Series 1, episode 4 |
| 2010 | The Deep | Vincent | 5 episodes |
| Five Days | Khalil Akram | 4 episodes | |
| 2010–2011 | Outsourced | Manmeet | Main role; 22 episodes |
| 2012 | Last Tango in Halifax | Paul Jatri | 6 episodes |
| Being Human | Pete | Episode: "Hold the Front Page" | |
| Welcome to India | Narrator | TV documentary[14] | |
| 2013 | The Tractate Middoth | William Garrett | Television film |
| An Adventure in Space and Time | Waris Hussein | Television film | |
| 2014 | Utopia | Paul | 2 episodes |
| 24: Live Another Day | Naveed Shabazz | 4 episodes | |
| In the Flesh | Amir | Series 2, episode 3 | |
| Line of Duty | Manish Prasad | 3 episodes | |
| Mr Selfridge | Jimmy Dillon | Main role; 9 episodes | |
| 2014–2016 | In the Club | Dev Sidhwa | Main role; 12 episodes |
| 2015 | No Offence | Majid Hassan | Series 1, episode 3 |
| Bugsplat! | Mohammed Mohammed | Television film | |
| Not Safe for Work | Danny | 6 episodes | |
| The Interceptor | Astin Ray | Episode 3 | |
| 2017 | Sherlock | Ajay | Episode: "The Six Thatchers" |
| The Boy with the Topknot | Sathnam Sanghera | BBC Two | |
| 2017–2018 | Marvel's Iron Fist | Davos | Main role; 15 episodes |
| 2020 | Dracula | Dr. Sharma | 1 episode |
| Thunderbirds Are Go | Stew | Voice; episode: "Upside Down" | |
| 2020–2022 | Doctor Who | The Master | 5 episodes |
| 2020–2023 | The Great | Count Orlo | Main role |
| 2021 | The Prince | Teddy / Dinesh | Voice; 12 episodes |
| 2022 | Suspect | Jaisal | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Wolf | Honey | 6 episodes |
| Summer Camp Island | Miracle Rabbit | Voice; episode: "Miracle Rabbit" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Gray Matter | Malik | Voice |
| 2012 | Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes | Durrig | |
| 2014 | Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series | Gryff Whitehill | |
| 2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Additional voices | |
| Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 | Steel Serpent | ||
| 2018 | Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age | Prince Faris, additional voices | Voice (English version) |
Radio and theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Chocky | Matthew Gore | Radio play, BBC Radio 4 |
| 2001 | East is East | Sajid | Live theatre, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester |
| 2002 | The Witches | Boy | Live theatre, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London |
| Live theatre, Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway | |||
| Live theatre, Sydney Theatre, Sydney | |||
| Live theatre, St. James Theatre, Wellington | |||
| Live theatre, Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong | |||
| 2007 | The Prospect | Hanif | Radio play, BBC Radio 4 |
| Pretend You Have Big Buildings | Danny | Live theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester | |
| Borstal Boy | Live theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe | ||
| 2008 | Pornography | Live theatre, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh[15] | |
| 2009 | England People Very Nice | Norfolk Danny/Carlo/Aaron/Mushi | Olivier Theatre, National Theatre[16] |
| 2018 | Allelujah! by Alan Bennett | Dr. Valentine | Live theatre, Bridge Theatre |
| 2022 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall by James Swallow | Charlie Cole | Radio drama, BBC Radio 4 |
References
edit- ^ "60 Seconds With... Sacha Dhawan". BAFTA Guru. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Sacha Dhawan Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Sacha's well versed at History". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2006.
- ^ Seale, Jack (30 June 2015). "Sacha Dhawan: 'My generation don't care who plays a part'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ^ Siddiqui, Sabrina (14 October 2010). "From Stage to Stateside: In Conversation with Outsourced's Sacha Dhawan". Divanee.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
I'm from Indian parents, so I go from my own experiences and just be as truthful as possible
- ^ "Interview with Sacha Dhawan (from NBC's Outsourced) – Smita Shares". Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Hatton McEwan Artists (Sacha Dhawan CV)". Archived from the original on 21 October 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
- ^ Tsering, Lisa (21 May 2011). "NBC Cancels 'Outsourced': First TV Show Set in India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ "Doctor Who sees the shock return of a classic foe in opening episode". BBC. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
- ^ "'Happy Valley' Creator Sally Wainwright, Jenna Coleman, Nicôle Lecky, Sacha Dhawan Series Set at BBC". variety.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Internet Broadway Database: Sacha Dhawan Credits on Broadway". Retrieved 10 November 2006.
- ^ "National Theatre : Productions : The History Boys 2004". Retrieved 10 November 2006.
- ^ Osborne, Emma (24 September 2018). "Bodyguard's Anjli Mahindra's life away from the BBC drama uncovered as her famous boyfriend is revealed". OK. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "BBC Two - Welcome to India, Episode 1". Retrieved 18 February 2013.
- ^ Nightingale, Benedict (5 August 2008). "Pornography at the Traverse, Edinburgh". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- ^ "Production of England People Very Nice | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
