Age: 45
male
Akhtar is known for the bumbling Muslim extremist Faisal in Chris Morris's film Four Lions. Other comedic performances include Gupta in The Angelos Epithemiou Show, Maroush in The Dictator and Smee in Joe Wright and Pan. Akhtar has also won acclaim for his dramatic performances: in 2015, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his 2014 role as Wilson Wilson on Channel 4's Utopia. He played shopkeeper Ahmed alongside Toby Jones in the BBC mini-series Capital, and DS Ira King in the BBC's River. Reviewing River in The Daily Telegraph, Michael Hogan wrote, "This series was beautifully written by Abi Morgan, stylishly directed, and most of all, superbly acted. The quieter, less showy supporting players also shone. Not just stalwarts [...] but fresher faces: Adeel Akhtar as River's endlessly patient sidekick and Georgina Rich as his psychiatrist". In 2016 Akhtar appeared as Shahzad in the BBC one-off drama Murdered by My Father. He won the 2017 BAFTA award for Lead Actor for this role, the first non-white actor to do so. He also appeared as Rob Singhal in the acclaimed BBC miniseries based on John le Carré's The Night Manager. Adeel became a patron of Half Moon Theatre in autumn 2016.
In a sprawling, decimated city overrun by nightmarish, virus-infected creatures, *Dying Light* follows Kyle, a former government agent sent in undercover to retrieve critical data from a group of survivors. But when his mission goes awry, he becomes stranded in the heart of the city, forced to navigate a deadly urban landscape full of ruthless gangs, grotesque mutants, and an ever-present threat of darkness. As night falls, the infected grow more dangerous, and Kyle must rely on his survival instincts and reluctant alliances with the survivors to stay alive. Amidst the chaos, Kyle discovers that the virus isn’t just a plague—it’s part of a larger, more sinister conspiracy that could lead to the collapse of the entire world. In his fight to survive, he must balance protecting his newfound allies with uncovering the truth about the origins of the outbreak, all while facing the relentless terrors of a city consumed by infection. As the line between human and monster blurs, the only thing keeping Kyle alive is the fading light of hope.
