Danny Sapani (born 15 November 1970) is a British actor who works in British, American and Indian films.[1] He is best known for appearing in Little Britain, Misfits, Doctor Who, Penny Dreadful, The Crown, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Singam II and Black Panther.
Danny Sapani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 November 1970 (age 54) London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
Early life
editSapani was born in London, England, one of six children of immigrant Ghanaian parents. He was raised in Hackney, and first pursued his interest in acting at the Weekend Arts College in Kentish Town.[2] He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama.[3]
Career
editSapani appeared in Danny Boyle's film Trance. His stage credits include August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone and Radio Golf, Errol John's Caribbean classic Moon on a Rainbow Shawl and The National Theatre production of Euripides' Medea. He has also acted in the 2013 Indian action film, Singam II as drug lord Michael Kong.[4]
In 2021, Sapani played alongside Adrian Lester in the streamed version of Lolita Chakrabarti's Hymn from the Almeida theatre in London. Their performances were described as "captivating, delicately picking out the nuances of two men who are simultaneously complete and broken".[5]
Sapani's TV roles include appearances on Misfits, Ultimate Force and Blackout, while his television guest appearances include Judge John Deed and the Doctor Who episode "A Good Man Goes to War." as Colonel Manton. For the first two seasons, Sapani played the role of Sembene in Showtime's Penny Dreadful.[6]
On 19 August 2019, Deadline reported that Sapani would be joining the cast of the BBC America and AMC series Killing Eve.[7]
Sapani will also be starring in the American espionage thriller, The Amateur, set for debut in 2025.[8]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Tip of My Tongue | Dave's mate | Short film |
| Hotel | AJ | ||
| 2002 | Pissboy | Carl | Short film |
| Anansi | Adolph | ||
| 2003 | Song for a Raggy Boy | Preston | |
| 2008 | The Oxford Murders | Scott | |
| 2009 | Perfect | Ike | Short film |
| Bucco Blanco | Zak | Short film | |
| 2010 | The Last Jazz Musician | Van Hellier | Short film |
| 2011 | Mercenaries | Ambassador | |
| 2012 | Hard Boiled Sweets | Leroy | |
| Tezz | David | Indian film | |
| Parking Wars | Imam | Short film | |
| 2013 | Trance | Nate | |
| Singam II | Danny Sapani / Michael Kong | Indian Tamil film | |
| 2016 | The Siege of Jadotville | Moise Tshombe | |
| 2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Medical Frigate Captain | |
| 2018 | Black Panther | M'Kathu | |
| Tharakaasura | Kalinga | Indian film; Nominated – Filmibeat Award for Best Villain – Kannada | |
| 2021 | Ear for Eye | TBA | |
| 2022 | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | M'Kathu | |
| 2023 | Sumotherhood | Leo DeMarco | |
| 2024 | The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare | Kambili Kalu |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Bill | Leon Davies | Episode: "Getting Through" |
| 1993 | Between the Lines | Steve Coogan | Episode: "Crack Up" |
| 1997 | Casualty | Walker Bennett | Episode: "Treasure" |
| Richard II | Bagot | Television movie | |
| 1998 | Trial & Retribution | Nicky Burton | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Fish | Peter Cookson | 6 episodes |
| 2001 | Holby City | Craig Sefton | Episode: "Family Ties" |
| Judge John Deed | Johnny Latymer | Episode: "Appropriate Response" | |
| 2002–03 | Ultimate Force | Cpl. Ricky Mann | 12 episodes |
| 2003 | Serious and Organized | D.I. Dennis Clifton | 6 episodes |
| In Deep | Davies | 2 episodes | |
| 2005 | Holby City | Kumi Griffin | Episode: "Tuesday's Child" |
| Little Britain | Derek | Episode: "#3.2" | |
| 2006 | Blue Murder | Gavin Busby | Episode: "In Deep" |
| 2007 | The Bill | Oscar Daniels | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | Place of Execution | Keith Slocombe | 3 episodes |
| 2009–11 | Misfits | Tony Morecombe | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | Garrow's Law | Gustavus Vassa | Episode: "#2.1" |
| 2011 | Doctor Who | Colonel Manton | Episode: "A Good Man Goes to War" |
| Casualty | Paul Caffrey | Episode: "Mea Culpa" | |
| The Jury | DI Scott | Episode: "#2.2" | |
| Shirley | Bobo | Television movie | |
| Documental | Buzzy | Television movie | |
| 2012 | Blackout | Detective Griffin | 2 episodes |
| The Fear | Wes | 4 episodes | |
| 2014–15 | Penny Dreadful | Sembene | 18 episodes |
| 2015 | The Bastard Executioner | Berber the Moor | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Chewing Gum | Marlon | Episode: "Road Trip" |
| Broken | Daniel Martin | 2 episodes | |
| 2017–19 | Harlots | William North | 22 episodes |
| 2017 | The Crown | Dr. Kwame Nkrumah | Episode: "Dear Mrs. Kennedy" |
| 2018 | Black Earth Rising | Simon Nyamoya | 8 episodes |
| 2019 | MotherFatherSon | Jahan Zakari | 6 episodes |
| Traitors | Richard | 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | Killing Eve | Jamie | 7 episodes |
| 2022–24 | Halo | Captain Jacob Keyes | 10 episodes |
| 2023 | The Diplomat | Colin Sutherland | 6 episodes |
References
edit- ^ Danny Sapani Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Dannysapani.com. Retrieved on 6 July 2013.
- ^ Spridonova, Kristina (5 April 2012). "Interview with Danny Sapani". Flavour Magazine.
- ^ "Where Are They Now?" (PDF). Central School of Speech and Drama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
- ^ "'Singam 2' latest teaser". The Times of India. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ "★★★★ Review: Hymn at London's Almeida Theatre – 'captivating and nuanced'". The Stage. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Obenson, Tambay A. (29 April 2014). "Danny Sapani Plays 'Sembene' – A "Mysterious" Man From The "Dark Continent" In Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful'". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
- ^ Petski, Denise (19 August 2019). "'Killing Eve': Harriet Walter & Danny Sapani Join Cast As Production Begins on Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ The Amateur (2025) | Action, Thriller. Retrieved 16 November 2024 – via m.imdb.com.