British actor
Prasanna Puwanarajah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981 (age 43–44) Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Prasanna Puwanarajah (Tamil: பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is a British actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor.
Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Tamil Sri Lankan parents from Sri Lanka, his mother a psychiatrist and his father a dentist. He spent his early childhood on Churchill Avenue in Ipswich before the family moved to Hampshire when he was four. He participated in school plays and spent a season with the National Youth Theatre, but thought of acting as more of a hobby than a career choice at the time.[1]
He trained in Medicine at New College, Oxford.[2] After working as a junior doctor in reconstructive surgery for over three years, Puwanarajah decided to take a year out. It was during this time he decided to become a full-time actor, describing it as "more of a strong pull towards something else" than a "push away from" his medical career.[3]
As of 2019[update], Puwanarajah was living in north-west London.[4]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Stoning of Soraya M. | Guard | |
| 2009 | Clamp and Grind | — | Director, writer, producer; short film |
| 2010 | London Assurance | Servant | National Theatre Live |
| Hamlet | Guildenstern | ||
| 2011 | The Half-Light | — | Director, writer; short film |
| 2012 | Boy | — | Director; short film |
| Southbank Centre Goes Bollywood | Graham | Short film | |
| 2013 | Möbius | Saïd | |
| Diana | Martin Bashir | ||
| 2015 | The Gunman | Doctor | |
| 2016 | The Complete Walk: Richard III | First Murderer | Short film |
| The Baby Shower | Eric | Short film | |
| 2020 | Dara | Talib | National Theatre Live |
| 2023 | Malcolm | Joe | |
| TBA | Ballywalter | — | Director[5] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Romeo & Juliet | Escalus | Battersea Arts Centre, London |
| 2008 | Something I Wrote in a Hurry | — | Director; Tabard Theatre, London |
| 2009 | On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco | — | Director; New End Theatre, London |
| Thyestes | Messenger | Arcola Theatre, London | |
| Twelfth Night | Priest | Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon / Duke of York's Theatre, London | |
| Amadeus | North Wall Theatre, Oxford | ||
| 2010 | London Assurance | Servant | Royal National Theatre, London |
| Hamlet | Guildenstern | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| The Wages of Thin | — | Director; Old Red Lion Theatre, London | |
| 2011 | Emperor and Galilean | Medon / Oribasius | Royal National Theatre, London[9] |
| 2011 | Nightwatchman | Writer Part of Double Feature at the Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2013 | Moth | — | Directed; HighTide Festival, Aldeburgh / Bush Theatre, London[10] |
| 2013–2014 | Henry V | Montjoy | Noël Coward Theatre, London[11] |
| 2014 | Peddling | — | Director; HighTide Festival, Aldeburgh / Arcola Theatre, London / 59E59 Theaters, New York |
| Dara | Talib | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | The Iliad and The Odyssey | Almeida Theatre, London | |
| Macbeth | Banquo | Young Vic, London | |
| 2017–2018 | The Reluctant Fundamentalist | — | Director; Yard Theatre, London[12] |
| 2018 | Absolute Hell | Nigel Childs | Royal National Theatre, London[13][14] |
| 2019 | Venice Preserv'd | — | Director; Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon[15][16] |