| Prasanna Puwanarajah | |
| Birth Place: | Ipswich, Suffolk, England |
| Alma Mater: | New College, Oxford |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 2006–present |
Prasanna Puwanarajah (ta|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]
, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Sarah Jane Adventures | Car Salesman | Episode: "The Mark of the Berserker: Part 2" |
| 2012 | Coming Up | Writer, episode: "Spoof or Die" | |
| 2012–2014 | Silk | Dr Malik | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Critical | Ramakrishna Chandramohan | Main role |
| The Vote | Tom Baird | Television film | |
| New Tricks | Sanjeev Da Silva | Episode: "Prodigal Sons" | |
| You, Me and the Apocalypse | Rajesh McNeil | Miniseries; main role | |
| 2016 | Cold Feet | Sam Harvey | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Doctor Foster | James Mohan | Series 2 (4 episodes)[6] [7] |
| 2018 | Patrick Melrose | Johnny Hall | Miniseries[8] |
| 2018–2019 | Defending the Guilty | Ashley Jeevaratnam | Main role |
| 2019 | Mum | Kumar | Episode: "Monday" |
| World on Fire | Major Taylor | 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | Unprecedented Real Time Theatre from a State of Isolation | Writer; 1 episode | |
| 2021 | Line of Duty | Haran Nadaraja | Series 6 |
| Three Families | David Fortress | Part 2 | |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | Dan | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | The Crown | Martin Bashir | Supporting role (Season 5) |
| 2023 | Payback | DC Jibran Khan | |
| 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] | |