Paapa Essiedu
Essiedu in 2024
Born	Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu (1990-06-11)11 June 1990 (age 35) Southwark,London, England
Education	Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2012–present
Spouse	Rosa Robson ​ (m. 2023)​

Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu (/ˈpɑːpəˌɛsiˈeɪduː/^[1][2]) (born 11 June 1990) is an English actor. He started his career in 2012 when he joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company, acting in numerous production includingThe Merry Wives of Windsor (2012),Hamlet (2016), andKing Lear (2016).

His screen breakthrough came in 2020 with his role in the BBC'sI May Destroy You, earning nominations for thePrimetime Emmy Award andBritish Academy Television Award. He portrayedGeorge Boleyn in theChannel 5 historical dramaAnne Boleyn in 2021, and had starring roles in theAMC+ action seriesGangs of London (2020–2022), the science fiction seriesThe Lazarus Project (2020–2023), andBlack Mirror:Demon 79 (2023).

Essiedu made his feature film acting debut as a policeman inKenneth Branagh's mystery filmMurder on the Orient Express (2017). He took roles in the horror filmMen (2022), the fantasy filmGenie (2023), and the dramaThe Outrun (2024). He gained acclaim for his stage roles inCaryl Churchill's playA Number (2022), andLucy Prebble's playThe Effect (2023–2024).

Paapa Kwaakye Essiedu^{[citation needed]} was born on 11 June^{[3][better source needed]} 1990^[4] atGuy's Hospital inSouthwark, London, to Ghanaian parents, was brought up inWalthamstow, 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.^[5][6]

Essiedu attendedForest School on a scholarship. Active in sports teams and theatrical productions growing up, he initially wanted to be a doctor.^[7] Essiedu developed an interest inShakespeare, having been encouraged to act by his A level drama teacher at Forest, and was accepted to theGuildhall School of Music and Drama, where he met and worked withMichaela Coel.^[8] His mother died ofbreast cancer while he was at drama school.^[5]

Essiedu joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2012 to play Fenton in Phillip Breen's production ofThe Merry Wives of Windsor. Afterwards, he joined theNational Theatre, playing Burgundy and understudyingEdmund inSam Mendes' production ofKing Lear. WhenSam Troughton lost his voice during a performance, Essiedu stepped in and played the role to critical acclaim.^[9] He appeared inOutside 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 theRoyal Shakespeare Company productions ofHamlet as the titular role andKing 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 inKing Lear was reported to convey a chilling contempt and cynicism.^[10] Essiedu voiced Tunde in theBBC Radio 3 dramaAs Innocent As You Can Get (2016) by Rex Obano,^[11] and in theBBC Radio 4 dramaWide Open Spaces the same year, in which he played the role of a man determined to overcome hisagoraphobia in order to keep his promise to visit his daughter's grave on the first anniversary of her death.^[12]

Essiedu began his television career with roles as Demetrius inRussell T Davies' television film adaptation ofA Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Otto in the period dramaThe Miniaturist (2017), Nate Akindele in theChannel 4'sKiri (2018), and Ed Washburn in the BBC One dramaPress (2018). He made his feature film debut in a small role as a policeman inKenneth Branagh'sMurder on the Orient Express (2017) an adaptation of theAgatha Christienovel of the same name.^[13]

In 2019 he acted in the Danai Gurira playThe Convert starring alongsideLetitia Wright at theYoung Vic.Time Out praised both actors' performances.^[14]

From 2020 to 2022, Essiedu starred as Alex Dumani in the crime dramaGangs of London onSky Atlantic.^{[citation needed]} In 2020, Essiedu portrayed Kwame in theBBC One seriesI May Destroy You alongsideMichaela Coel.^[8] For the latter, Essiedu received critical acclaim, a number of notable nominations, including for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actor. The cast won Best Ensemble at the36th Independent Spirit Awards.^{[citation needed]}

Essiedu then playedGeorge Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford in the three-parterAnne Boleyn starringJodie Turner-Smith forChannel 5 in 2021.^[15]

In 2022, Essiedu returned to the theatre, playing three separate roles in theCaryl Churchill playA Number atThe Old Vic, withLennie James. Nick Curtis ofThe Evening Standard praised his performance writing, "Paapa Essiedu gives a tour de force performance" adding "He's subtly, devastatingly different in speech, stance and attitude".^[16] That same year Essiedu began starring in theSky Max science fiction time loop seriesThe Lazarus Project for which he received aBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actor nomination.^[17] He also appeared inAlex Garland'sfolk horror filmMen (2022)^{[citation needed]} and joined the cast of mystery thriller seriesThe Capture on BBC One for its second series as Isaac Turner,Security Minister.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, he acted in theBlack Mirror episodeDemon 79 alongsideAnjana Vasan. Jack King ofGQ cited it as "the best Black Mirror episode in years", writing of "Essiedu's chameleonic acting abilities... not only showing himself to be one hell of a talent but one with exciting range."^[18]

He returned to the stage starring oppositeTaylor Russell in theJamie Lloyd directed revival of theLucy Prebble playThe Effect at theNational Theatre in 2023 and atThe Shed in 2024.^[19][20] He acted oppositeSaoirse Ronan in the filmThe Outrun, which premiered at the2024 Sundance Film Festival.^[21][22][23]

Essiedu will portraySeverus Snape in theHBO television adaptation of theHarry Potter series.^[24]

Essiedu is married to actress and comedianRosa Robson;^[25] they had been in a relationship for eight years as of 2024.^[26][5]

• List of British actors

• Paapa Essiedu atIMDb

• 1990 births
• Living people
• 21st-century English male actors
• Actors from the London Borough of Southwark
• Actors from the London Borough of Waltham Forest
• Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Black British male actors
• English male Shakespearean actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English people of Ghanaian descent
• Male actors from London
• People educated at Forest School, Walthamstow
• People from Southwark
• People from Walthamstow

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