Danny Sapani

Last updated

Danny Sapani
Born15 November 1970 (1970-11-15) (age 54)
London, England
OccupationActor
Years active1992–present

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 .

Contents

Early life

Sapani 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

Sapani 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

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001Tip of My TongueDave's mateShort film
Hotel AJ
2002PissboyCarlShort film
Anansi Adolph
2003 Song for a Raggy Boy Preston
2008 The Oxford Murders Scott
2009PerfectIkeShort film
Bucco BlancoZakShort film
2010The Last Jazz MusicianVan HellierShort film
2011 Mercenaries Ambassador
2012 Hard Boiled Sweets Leroy
Tezz DavidIndian film
Parking WarsImamShort 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 KalingaIndian 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

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 The Bill Leon DaviesEpisode: "Getting Through"
1993 Between the Lines Steve CooganEpisode: "Crack Up"
1997 Casualty Walker BennettEpisode: "Treasure"
Richard IIBagotTelevision movie
1998 Trial & Retribution Nicky Burton2 episodes
2000 Fish Peter Cookson6 episodes
2001 Holby City Craig SeftonEpisode: "Family Ties"
Judge John Deed Johnny LatymerEpisode: "Appropriate Response"
2002–03 Ultimate Force Cpl. Ricky Mann12 episodes
2003Serious and OrganizedD.I. Dennis Clifton6 episodes
In Deep Davies2 episodes
2005 Holby City Kumi GriffinEpisode: "Tuesday's Child"
Little BritainDerekEpisode: "#3.2"
2006 Blue Murder Gavin BusbyEpisode: "In Deep"
2007 The Bill Oscar Daniels7 episodes
2008Place of ExecutionKeith Slocombe3 episodes
2009–11 Misfits Tony Morecombe3 episodes
2010 Garrow's Law Gustavus VassaEpisode: "#2.1"
2011 Doctor Who Colonel MantonEpisode: "A Good Man Goes to War"
Casualty Paul CaffreyEpisode: "Mea Culpa"
The Jury DI ScottEpisode: "#2.2"
ShirleyBoboTelevision movie
DocumentalBuzzyTelevision movie
2012 Blackout Detective Griffin2 episodes
The FearWes4 episodes
2014–15 Penny Dreadful Sembene18 episodes
2015 The Bastard Executioner Berber the Moor10 episodes
2017 Chewing Gum MarlonEpisode: "Road Trip"
Broken Daniel Martin2 episodes
2017–19 Harlots William North22 episodes
2017 The Crown Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Episode: "Dear Mrs. Kennedy"
2018 Black Earth Rising Simon Nyamoya8 episodes
2019 MotherFatherSon Jahan Zakari6 episodes
Traitors Richard2 episodes
2020 Killing Eve Jamie7 episodes
2022–24 Halo Captain Jacob Keyes10 episodes
2023 The Diplomat Colin Sutherland6 episodes

Video game

YearTitleRoleNotes
2025 Directive 8020 StaffordVoice

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References

  1. Danny Sapani Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Dannysapani.com. Retrieved on 6 July 2013.
  2. Spridonova, Kristina (5 April 2012). "Interview with Danny Sapani". Flavour Magazine.
  3. "Where Are They Now?" (PDF). Central School of Speech and Drama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  4. "'Singam 2' latest teaser". The Times of India . 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  5. "★★★★ Review: Hymn at London's Almeida Theatre – 'captivating and nuanced'". The Stage. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. The Amateur (2025) | Action, Thriller . Retrieved 16 November 2024 via m.imdb.com.