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Paapa Essiedu
Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu (/ˈpɑːpə ˌɛsiˈeɪduː/; born 11 June 1990) is a British actor. He started his career in 2012 when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, acting in numerous production including The Merry Wives of Windsor (2012), Hamlet (2016), and King Lear (2016). He has won an Independent Spirit Award and a Laurence Olivier Award and has been nominated for numerous other accolades such as a nominations for a British Academy Television Award, a Dorian Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
His screen breakthrough came in 2020 with his role in BBC One's I May Destroy You, earning nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and British Academy Television Award. He portrayed George Boleyn in the Channel 5 historical drama Anne Boleyn in 2021, and had starring roles in the AMC+ action series Gangs of London (2020–2022), the science fiction series The Lazarus Project (2020–2023), and Black Mirror: Demon 79 (2023).
Essiedu made his feature film acting debut as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh's mystery film Murder on the Orient Express (2017). He took roles in the horror film Men (2022), the fantasy film Genie (2023), and the drama The Outrun (2024). He gained acclaim for his stage roles in Caryl Churchill's play A Number (2022), and Lucy Prebble's play The Effect (2023–2024).
Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu[citation needed] was born on 11 June[better source needed] 1990 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, London, to Ghanaian parents, was brought up in Walthamstow, East London by his mother, a fashion and design teacher. His father Tony had returned to Ghana, where Essiedu has a half-brother and sister, and died when Essiedu was 14 years old.
Essiedu attended Forest School on a scholarship. Active in sports teams and theatrical productions growing up, he initially wanted to be a doctor. Essiedu developed an interest in Shakespeare, having been encouraged to act by his A level drama teacher at Forest, and was accepted to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met and worked with Michaela Coel. His mother died of breast cancer while he was at drama school.
Essiedu joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2012 to play Fenton in Phillip Breen's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Afterwards, he joined the National Theatre, playing Burgundy and understudying Edmund in Sam Mendes' production of King Lear. When Sam Troughton lost his voice during a performance, Essiedu stepped in and played the role to critical acclaim. He appeared in Outside on the Street (Pleasance Theatre), Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory), You For Me For You (Royal Court).[citation needed]
In 2016, Essiedu starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet as the titular role and King Lear as Edmund. The judges described Essiedu's Hamlet as one the audience listened to "completely still", observing Essiedu's performance could turn on a sixpence – sweet, playful and flirtatious one minute, and fiercely intelligent the next. "Like all great actors", a judge commented, he "made all the lines his own". His Edmund in King Lear was reported to convey a chilling contempt and cynicism. Essiedu voiced Tunde in the BBC Radio 3 drama As Innocent As You Can Get (2016) by Rex Obano, and in the BBC Radio 4 drama Wide Open Spaces the same year, in which he played the role of a man determined to overcome his agoraphobia in order to keep his promise to visit his daughter's grave on the first anniversary of her death.
Essiedu began his television career with roles as Demetrius in Russell T Davies' television film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Otto in the period drama The Miniaturist (2017), Nate Akindele in the Channel 4's Kiri (2018), and Ed Washburn in the BBC One drama Press (2018). He made his feature film debut in a small role as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017) an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.
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Paapa Essiedu
Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu (/ˈpɑːpə ˌɛsiˈeɪduː/; born 11 June 1990) is a British actor. He started his career in 2012 when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, acting in numerous production including The Merry Wives of Windsor (2012), Hamlet (2016), and King Lear (2016). He has won an Independent Spirit Award and a Laurence Olivier Award and has been nominated for numerous other accolades such as a nominations for a British Academy Television Award, a Dorian Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
His screen breakthrough came in 2020 with his role in BBC One's I May Destroy You, earning nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and British Academy Television Award. He portrayed George Boleyn in the Channel 5 historical drama Anne Boleyn in 2021, and had starring roles in the AMC+ action series Gangs of London (2020–2022), the science fiction series The Lazarus Project (2020–2023), and Black Mirror: Demon 79 (2023).
Essiedu made his feature film acting debut as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh's mystery film Murder on the Orient Express (2017). He took roles in the horror film Men (2022), the fantasy film Genie (2023), and the drama The Outrun (2024). He gained acclaim for his stage roles in Caryl Churchill's play A Number (2022), and Lucy Prebble's play The Effect (2023–2024).
Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu[citation needed] was born on 11 June[better source needed] 1990 at Guy's Hospital in Southwark, London, to Ghanaian parents, was brought up in Walthamstow, East London by his mother, a fashion and design teacher. His father Tony had returned to Ghana, where Essiedu has a half-brother and sister, and died when Essiedu was 14 years old.
Essiedu attended Forest School on a scholarship. Active in sports teams and theatrical productions growing up, he initially wanted to be a doctor. Essiedu developed an interest in Shakespeare, having been encouraged to act by his A level drama teacher at Forest, and was accepted to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met and worked with Michaela Coel. His mother died of breast cancer while he was at drama school.
Essiedu joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2012 to play Fenton in Phillip Breen's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Afterwards, he joined the National Theatre, playing Burgundy and understudying Edmund in Sam Mendes' production of King Lear. When Sam Troughton lost his voice during a performance, Essiedu stepped in and played the role to critical acclaim. He appeared in Outside on the Street (Pleasance Theatre), Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory), You For Me For You (Royal Court).[citation needed]
In 2016, Essiedu starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet as the titular role and King Lear as Edmund. The judges described Essiedu's Hamlet as one the audience listened to "completely still", observing Essiedu's performance could turn on a sixpence – sweet, playful and flirtatious one minute, and fiercely intelligent the next. "Like all great actors", a judge commented, he "made all the lines his own". His Edmund in King Lear was reported to convey a chilling contempt and cynicism. Essiedu voiced Tunde in the BBC Radio 3 drama As Innocent As You Can Get (2016) by Rex Obano, and in the BBC Radio 4 drama Wide Open Spaces the same year, in which he played the role of a man determined to overcome his agoraphobia in order to keep his promise to visit his daughter's grave on the first anniversary of her death.
Essiedu began his television career with roles as Demetrius in Russell T Davies' television film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Otto in the period drama The Miniaturist (2017), Nate Akindele in the Channel 4's Kiri (2018), and Ed Washburn in the BBC One drama Press (2018). He made his feature film debut in a small role as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017) an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.