Top British Asian Actors

1. Ben Kingsley

Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor, of Gujarati Indian descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary (Goodman), was an English actress. Ben began to act in stage plays during ...

2. Naveen Andrews

Actor | The English Patient

Born Naveen William Sidney Andrews in London on January 17, 1969. His parents were both Indian immigrants from Kerala, India. In high school, he auditioned for drama school and was accepted at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Two of his classmates were Ewan McGregor and David Thewlis. ...

3. Dev Patel

Actor | Slumdog Millionaire

Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Anita, a caregiver, and Raj Patel, who works in IT. His parents, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, are both of Gujarati Indian descent. His first role was in the UK TV series Skins (2007). His breakout role was in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (...

4. Parminder Nagra

Actress | Bend It Like Beckham

Parminder Nagra was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Bend It Like Beckham (2002), ER (1994) and The Blacklist (2013). She was previously married to James Stenson.

5. Archie Panjabi

Actress | San Andreas

Archie is an Emmy Award winning British actress best known for her role as Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife, for which she was nominated for an Emmy three times in a row and went on to to be honored with a Golden Globe Nomination. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed East Is East ...

6. Sanjeev Bhaskar

Actor | Yesterday

Sanjeev Bhaskar was born on October 31, 1963 in Ealing, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Yesterday (2019), The Kumars at No. 42 (2001) and Absolutely Anything (2015). He has been married to Meera Syal since January 21, 2005. They have one child.

7. Meera Syal

Actress | Yesterday

Meera Syal was born on June 27, 1961 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Yesterday (2019), Beautiful Thing (1996) and Absolutely Anything (2015). She has been married to Sanjeev Bhaskar since January 21, 2005. They have one child. She was previously...

8. Burt Kwouk

Actor | The Return of the Pink Panther

Burt Kwouk was a British actor, who was best known for his role as Cato in the Pink Panther films, and for playing Mr Ling in the third James Bond film, Goldfinger.

Kwouk was born in Warrington, but was brought up in Shanghai. He made his film debut in the 1957 film Windom's Way. In Goldfinger (1964...

9. Jimi Mistry

Actor | RocknRolla

Jimi Mistry was born in 1973 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for RocknRolla (2008), 2012 (2009) and Blood Diamond (2006). He has been married to Flavia Cacace since December 28, 2013. He was previously married to Meg Leonard.

10. Nitin Ganatra

Actor | Bride & Prejudice

Nitin Ganatra was born on February 21, 1968 in Kenya. He is an actor and writer, known for Bride & Prejudice (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and EastEnders (1985). He has been married to Meera Thakrar since July 17, 2004. They have two children.

11. Nina Wadia

Actress | EastEnders

Born in Chingford Essex United Kingdom, and not India as published, the actor is English of Parsi ancestry not an Indian citizen. She subsequently moved at age 9 . The family later returned to the UK where she completed her education.with her parents to Hong Kong while it was still under British ...

12. Shelley Conn

Actress | Gen V

Shelley Conn is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Dean Indira Shetty in Amazon's No.1 show, Gen V (2023), as Beelzebub in Good Omens 2 (2023), and as Lady Mary Sharma in the hugely successful Netflix series, Bridgerton (2022). Other notable appearances include Isabella ...

13. Katie Leung

Actress | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Katie Leung began her career when she was cast as Cho Chang in the Warner Brothers feature film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a role she subsequently reprised for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part II). Alongside her acting career, Katie ...

14. Kulvinder Ghir

Actor | Blinded by the Light

Kulvinder Ghir's diversity in the entertainment industry has seen him perform on TV, film and theatre. His transition into comedy wasn't easy. As a young man, worried how his parents would react to his passion, he would secretly go off to comedy clubs to perform. Conquering tough audiences gave him...

15. Navin Chowdhry

Actor | Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

Navin Chowdhry was born and raised in Bristol, England. He made his professional debut aged 15 in John Schlesinger's critically-acclaimed film Madame Sousatzka (1988), starring alongside Shirley MacLaine and Peggy Ashcroft.

Several films followed co-starring with actors such as Peter O'Toole and ...

16. Roshan Seth

Actor | Gandhi

A native of New Delhi, India, British character actor of theater and film Roshan Seth honed the skills he learned at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in British repertory theater. His first break came in Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which toured in 1972. Seth ...

17. Togo Igawa

Actor | National Achievement Day

Togo Igawa is an actor/director living in England. In 1968 he joined the Theatre Centre 68 (precursor of the Black Tent Theatre), and went on to tour throughout Japan, performing in more than 120 cities. In 1983 he moved to England. In 1986, the opening season for the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon...

18. Riz Ahmed

Actor | Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed (born 1 December 1982), also known by his stage name Riz MC and birth name Rizwan Ahmed, is a British Pakistani actor, rapper, and activist. As an actor, he has won one Emmy Award, out of two Emmy nominations, and was also nominated for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and three...

19. Art Malik

Actor | The Living Daylights

He was born in Pakistan, the youngest son of an eye surgeon who moved to London to join Moorfields Eye Hospital. Art determined early on that he was English and never learned to speak Urdu or Hindi. He studied at Guildhall Drama School and while there got a part as a Buddist monk in a Peter Hall ...

20. Jessica Henwick

Actress | The Royal Hotel

Jessica Yu Li Henwick is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Colleen Wing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making her debut in the Netflix television series Iron...

21. Raza Jaffrey

Actor | Homeland

Raza Jaffrey was born on May 28, 1975 in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Homeland (2011), Code Black (2015) and The Rhythm Section (2020). He has been married to Lara Pulver since December 27, 2014. They have two children. He was previously married to Miranda Raison.

22. Adeel Akhtar

Actor | Four Lions

Adeel was born in London on 18th September 1980 to a Pakistani father and a Kenyan mother and attended Cheltenham College throughout the 1990s. His father was keen for him to become a lawyer and he obtained a law degree but was more interested in acting and studied at the Actors' Studio in New York...

23. Indira Varma

Actress | Bride & Prejudice

Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress. Her film debut and first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series The Canterbury Tales, Rome, Luther, Human Target, and Game of Thrones (as Ellaria Sand). In September 2016, she ...

24. Ace Bhatti

Actor | Bohemian Rhapsody

Ace Bhatti was born on September 13, 1969 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007) and EastEnders (1985).

25. Saeed Jaffrey

Actor | The Man Who Would Be King

Saeed Jaffrey was born in Maler Kotla, Punjab, India. He was born on the 8th of January 1929. He attended University of Allahabad where he completed his post-graduate degree in history. He also attended the Staff Training Institute of All India Radio. He started his career in drama, as the founder ...

26. Benedict Wong

Actor | Annihilation

Benedict Wong is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's Marco Polo (2014-2016), Bruce Ng in The Martian (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Doctor Strange (2016). Wong was born on 3 July 1971 in Eccles, Greater Manchester, the son of Hong Kong ...

27. David Yip

Actor | A View to a Kill

Born in Liverpool, one of eight children. David's father was a Chinese seaman from the Canton area of southern China, and his mother was from Liverpool. He trained at E15 Acting School, London in 1973 and since then worked in Film, Television, Theatre, Radio and other voice work both in the UK and ...

28. Ramon Tikaram

Actor | Jupiter Ascending

Ramon Tikaram was born on May 16, 1967 in Singapore. He is an actor, known for Jupiter Ascending (2015), Vampire Academy (2014) and Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996).

29. Mina Anwar

Actress | The Thin Blue Line

Mina Anwar was born on September 20, 1969 in Church, Lancashire, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for The Thin Blue Line (1995), House of Anubis (2011) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007).

30. Adil Ray

Actor | Citizen Khan

Adil Ray OBE is best known as the star and creator of the hit BBC1 sitcom Citizen Khan. After five series, the show has become one of Britain's much-loved sitcoms. In 2016 the show hit the road with a Citizen Khan tour and the publication of a book - Citizen Khan's Guide to Britain. Adil is ...

31. Pik Sen Lim

Actress | Mind Your Language

Pik-Sen Lim was born to Chinese parents in Penang, Malaysia. She came to London at the age of sixteen to learn drama. Her big break came in 1964 when she appeared in the long-running hospital drama series Emergency-Ward 10 (1957) where she was cast as the first Chinese nurse on British television. ...

32. Harish Patel

Actor | Run Fatboy Run

Harish Patel was born on July 5, 1953 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He is an actor, known for Run Fatboy Run (2007), Eternals (2021) and Andaz Apna Apna (1994).

33. Shobu Kapoor

Actress | Lady Parts

Shobu Kapoor was born and grew up in India. She moved to the UK in 1988 and started her professional career. After training at Drama Studio London, she performed in many theatre productions over the course of a few years. Her first TV appearance was 'Family Pride' for Channel 4, where her initial ...

34. Laila Rouass

Actress | Conan the Barbarian

Laila Rouass was born in London to Moroccan/Indian parents. Laila studied in Britain but decided to drop her studies and travel in India for a few months. A few months turned into six years. Whilst living in Bombay, she worked for MTV, BBC, and TNT. Her step into movies came when she was spotted by...

35. Sarita Choudhury

Actress | Lady in the Water

After her debut film Mississippi Masala (1991) became an art house hit, Sarita Choudhury was determined not to "go Hollywood," focusing her acting energies on independent film instead.

Raised in Jamaica, Mexico, and Italy, the half-Indian, half-English Choudhury studied economics at Queens ...

36. Ric Young

Actor | Seven Years in Tibet

Ric Young was born in June 1944 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is an actor and writer, known for Seven Years in Tibet (1997), The Transporter (2002) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

37. Paul Bhattacharjee

Actor | Casino Royale

Paul Bhattacharjee was born on May 4, 1960 in Harrow, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Casino Royale (2006), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and Dirty Pretty Things (2002). He died on July 12, 2013 in Splash Point Cliffs, Seaford, East Sussex, England, UK.

38. Tom Wu

Actor | Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes

Tom Wu was born on May 15, 1972 in Hong Kong, China. He is an actor, known for Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes (2015), The Gentlemen (2019) and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019).

39. Gemma Chan

Actress | The Creator

Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is a British film, television, and theatre actress and former fashion model. She played Charlotte in season four of the Showtime and ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2007); Ruth in Channel 4's Fresh Meat (2011); Mia Bennett in Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars...

40. Ray Panthaki

Actor | Boiling Point

BAFTA Breakthrough Brit Ray Panthaki was born in London, England. He is an Actor, Producer, Writer & Director known for Boiling Point (2022) Away (2020) Colette (2018) Official Secrets (2019) Convenience (2015) 28 Days Later... (2002) Ali G Indahouse (2002) Kidulthood (2006). In 2021 he was ...

41. Arsher Ali

Actor | Funny Woman

Born in Nottingham, England, Arsher Avesta Ali hails from a South Asian background. His father was a welder at the world-famous Raleigh Bike factory in Nottingham and the family ran a chauffeur business.

After finishing secondary school, he decided to become a sports journalist but needed an extra ...

42. Ameet Chana

Actor | Bend It Like Beckham

Born in Epsom, Surrey, Ameet Chana has lived in various places during his life, including Reading, Berks, Cheam in Surrey, Croydon, and has lived in Harrow, Middlesex for the past 15 years with his parents and sister. He attended Gayton High school before moving on to Elm Park College where he ...

43. Ajay Chhabra

Actor | Tom and Jerry

Ajay Chhabra was born on November 28, 1970 in Greenwich, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Tom and Jerry (2021), Bellbottom (2021) and Lucky Man (2016).

44. Christina Chong

Actress | Johnny English Reborn

Christina Chong is an international television and film actress who stars in the CBS series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" as series regular 'La'an Noonien-Singh,' alongside Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn. The series expanded on the iconic franchise, with six new crew members on the USS Enterprise...

45. Shobna Gulati

Actress | Coronation Street

Shobna Gulati is a British actress, writer, and dancer. Gulati is a soap star best known for playing Anita in Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies and Sunita Alahan in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street from 2001 to 2006, a role to which she returned at the end of 2009 and departed again in 2013...

46. Naoko Mori

Actress | Everest

Born in Nagoya, Naoko moved with her parents to New York aged four before returning to Japan and then, when she was twelve, locating to London. Naoko began to take singing lessons and at the age of 17 was cast in the lead as Kim in the West End musical 'Miss Saigon' opposite John Barrowman, with ...

47. Anjali Jay

Actress | Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Anjali Jay is an actor and writer. She was also a dancer and choreographer, having trained in Indian classical dance and modern, contemporary styles. She is Indian, British and Canadian.

Anjali has had an extensive theatre career, having performed amongst others, with The Royal Shakespeare Company, ...

48. Ayesha Dharker

Actress | Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Ayesha Dharker was born in 1977 in Bombay, India. She is an actress, known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), The Father (2020) and Outsourced (2006).

49. Bhasker Patel

Actor | Thunderbirds

Bhasker Patel was born on February 7, 1956 in Kampala, Uganda. He is an actor, known for Thunderbirds (2004), Anuvahood (2011) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

50. Preeya Kalidas

Actress | Four Lions

Preeya Kalidas is an Actor and Singer.

Preeya originated the leading role of Priya in AR Rahman's/Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Bombay Dreams in London's West End. She has played leading roles in a number of musicals in London's West End including The Narrator in the revival of Joseph and his ...