Hiran Abeysekera

Hiran Abeysekera
Born1985 (age 38–39)[citation needed]
Sri Lanka
EducationRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active2011–present

Hiran Abeysekera is a Sri Lankan actor. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the stage adaptation of Life of Pi.[1] On television, he is known for his roles in Russell T Davies' A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) and the tween dance series Find Me in Paris (2018–2019).

Early life and education

Abeysekera was born in Colombo and grew up during the Civil War.[2] His father was a garage owner and his mother taught English.[3] Abeysekera was educated at Nalanda College Colombo.[4]

When he was 18, Abeysekera lost his friend in a tsunami. He had begun studying to become a doctor, but decided to pursue his passion of theatre because "life can end at any second".[2] Having obtained a diploma from the Lanka Children's and Youth Theatre Foundation, he played the lead role in a British Council production of Peter Shaffer's Equus in 2007.[5][3] This enabled him to audition for drama schools in the UK, following which he secured a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[3][6] He graduated in 2011.[3]

Career

Abeysekera made his professional stage debut with the English Touring Theatre in 2011, playing Valere in Tartuffe.[7] In 2012 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon and was cast as Bartholomew in The Taming of the Shrew. In 2015, he played Peter Pan on the London stage.[8]

In 2016, he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company and played Puck in a film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was screened by the BBC.[9][10] He played Posthumus in their stage production of Cymbeline at the Barbican Theatre London,[11] and Horatio in Hamlet.[12][better source needed]

In 2018, Abeysekera began appearing in the Hulu series Find Me in Paris, portraying the role of Dash Khan until 2019.[13] He played Pi Patel in the 2019 premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti's adaption of Life of Pi at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, for which he won a UK Theatre Award.[14] In the same year, he was cast in the part of Leonardo da Vinci in the new play Botticelli in the Fire staged by the Hampstead Theatre, London. He then played Sunil Sharma in the play Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the Royal National Theatre.[citation needed]

In 2021, Abeysekera returned to the role of Pi Patel when Life of Pi transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. In 2022, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play for his performance.[15] He reprised his role once again for the show's 2023 New York run at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, marking his Broadway debut. He received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Lion in the Tent Aamir Short film
2019 Supervized Celestro
TBA The Magic Faraway Tree Angry Pixie Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck Television film
2018 Holby City Tyler Saba 2 episodes
2018–19 Find Me in Paris Dash Khan 27 episodes[12][better source needed]
2022 The Good Karma Hospital Prakash Dhatt 1 episode[12][better source needed]

Stage

Year Work Role Company Notes
2011 Tartuffe Valere UK tour
Rats Tales Wood cutter/Prince/Troll baby Royal Exchange, Manchester [16]
2012 The Taming of the Shrew Bartholomew Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon [17]
2013 You In Mid Air Theo Oakden The Circus Space / RADA [16]
2014 BBC Proms 22: War Horse Ensemble National Theatre / Royal Albert Hall, London [16]
2015 Peter Pan Peter Pan Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London [18]
2016 Cymbeline Posthumus Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London [19]
Hamlet Horatio Royal Shakespeare Company [19]
2018 The Prisoner Mavuso Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris [16]
2019 Life of Pi Pi Patel Crucible Theatre, Sheffield [20]
Akhrot Edinburgh Fringe Festival [21]
Botticelli in the Fire Leonardo da Vinci Hampstead Theatre, London [22]
Behind the Beautiful Forevers Sunil Sharma National Theatre, London [23]
2020 Tempest Wood cutter / Prince / Troll baby Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris [16]
2021 Life of Pi Pi Patel Wyndham's Theatre, London [24]
2023 Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York
The Father and the Assassin Nathuram Godse National Theatre, London [25]

Audio

Year Work Role Venue Notes
2013 Broken Paradise Reader BBC Radio [16]
2017 Tuman Bay Barakat BBC Radio 4 [16]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2011 Ian Charleson Awards Tartuffe Nominated [26]
2019 UK Theatre Awards Best Performance in a Play Life of Pi Won [27]
2022 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor Won [28][29]

References

  1. ^ "Hiran Abeysekera wins best actor at Olivier Awards". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Tran, Diep (4 May 2023). "Raised in War-Torn Sri Lanka, Hiran Abeysekera Has Had a Wild Journey to Life of Pi on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Fox, Killian (21 March 2021). "Lockdown one year on: Hiran Abeysekera on how Covid nixed his West End debut". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. ^ Seneviratne, Vidushi (4 November 2007). "The making of Alan". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. ^ "A new scene for Hiran". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 20 July 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Student & Graduate Profiles". RADA. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Hiran Abeysekera makes professional debut with ETT". ETT. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  8. ^ Kate Stanbury (21 May 2015). "In his words: Peter Pan's Hiran Abeysekera". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Latest Press Releases: Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  10. ^ "BBC One announces stellar line up for Shakespeare's classic A Midsummer Night's Dream". BBC. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Cymbeline review – the RSC's bizarre romance comes straight from the heart". The Guardian. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "Hiran Abeysekera". IMDb. ImDb Inc. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Dash Khan from Find Me In Paris". Nickelodeon. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  14. ^ The Life of Hiran
  15. ^ Yossman, K. J. (8 March 2022). "Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley and Emma Corrin Nominated for Olivier Awards 2022". Variety. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Profile Hiran Abeysekera Spotlight". www.spotlight.com. Spotlight, London. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  17. ^ "The Taming of the Shrew (2012): Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Shakespeare Theatre | BBA Shakespeare". bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk. University of Warwick. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  18. ^ "In his words: Peter Pan's Hiran Abeysekera". Official London Theatre. Society of London Theatre (SOLT). Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Hiran Abeysekera BBA Shakespeare". bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk. University of Warwick. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Review: Life of Pi (Sheffield Crucible) | WhatsOnStage". WhatsOnStage. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  21. ^ "International Climate Crisis Plays". Royal Court Theatre. August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Botticelli in the Fire review – audacious Renaissance romp". the Guardian. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Full Play - Behind the Beautiful Forevers". National Theatre at Home. Royal National Theatre. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  24. ^ Curtis, Nick (3 December 2021). "Life of Pi review: Dream-like fable makes for a dazzling show". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  25. ^ Pearmain, Natallia (18 August 2023). "The Father and the Assassin: Anupama Chandrasekhar, Indhu Rubasingham, Hiran Abeysekara and Paul Bazely ahead of opening night at the National Theatre". The Upcoming. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Ian Charleson Awards 2011". westendtheatre.com. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  27. ^ "UK Theatre Awards 2019". UK Theatre Association. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Oliviers 2022: Cabaret and Life of Pi sweep theatre awards". BBC News. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Olivier Awards 2022". Olivier Awards. Society of London Theatre (SOLT). Retrieved 11 April 2022.