Ariyon Bakare

Ariyon Bakare
Born	London, England
Education	Drama centre london
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1990–present
Television	Doctors Good Omens Carnival Row His Dark Materials

Ariyon Bakare (Listen^ⓘ) (born 1971) is an English actor, writer and director. He is known for his extensive work across theatre, television, and film.

In 1998, he became the first Black man to play a lead role in a BBC period drama, portraying Mehuru in the BAFTA-nominated miniseries A Respectable Trade. His performance was described by The Guardian as “powerful and understated… conveying dignity, intellect, and the quiet fury of a man surviving under unimaginable constraint.” Bakare’s portrayal marked a significant moment in British television history. He has since built a prolific career with major roles in Doctors, His Dark Materials, Carnival Row, Thirteen, Karen Pirie, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and Mr Loverman. In 2025, he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Mr Loverman.

Bakare has also directed for television, received development funding from the UK Film Council for his debut feature Kodak Cowboy, and founded the racial justice initiative iC4RE. He is a long-time ambassador for WaterAid and delivered a keynote speech at St James’s Palace in 2025 on global water access and social justice.

Early life and education

Ariyon Bakare was born around 1971, of a Nigerian father. Growing up, he lived all around east London. Due to conflict with his father, Bakare left his family home at the age of 15, and completed his education while homeless for a year. He was close to his stepmother.

Six months after returning home and reconciling with his father, at the age of 17, Bakare moved from London to New York to pursue dance as a career. He trained as dancer at various conservatories, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Two years into his training, he was informed that dancers often retire at a young age. The next day, he gave dance up, and began focusing on acting. He moved back to London at the age of 20, and began studying acting at Drama Centre London.

His first professional job was with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He stated that while performing with the RSC, he also worked on jobs in Scotland, as well as learning scriptwriting and singing soul and opera music.

Career

Film and television

Bakare’s breakout television role came in 1998 when he played Mehuru in A Respectable Trade, a four-part BBC miniseries based on the novel by Philippa Gregory. His portrayal of an enslaved African intellectual navigating 18th-century British society was described by The Guardian as “powerful and understated… conveying dignity, intellect, and the quiet fury of a man surviving under unimaginable constraint.” The role marked the first time a Black man led a BBC period drama.

From 2001 to 2005, he starred as Dr. Ben Kwarme in Doctors, [Ben Kwarme]] in the BBC soap opera Doctors. a role that earned him a Royal Television Society Midlands nomination for Best Actor in 2005.

After leaving Doctors, Bakare returned to direct and write several episodes. He then co-wrote and starred in the Channel 4 drama Stealing Lives. In November 2008, he appeared as a villain in the BBC drama Spooks, and in October 2009, he made an appearance in Casualty.

In 2011, Bakare played a mini-cab driver, Carl Lucas, in the last episode of the sixth series of Law & Order UK, first broadcast in 2012. He appeared in Dancing on the Edge, first broadcast in 2013, as Wesley Holt, a band manager. Bakare later appeared in Doctor Who, in the 2015 episode, "The Woman Who Lived", alongside Maisie Williams. He played the antagonist of the episode, a lion-like creature called Leandro.

He appeared as a Rebel pilot in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In 2019, he began appearing in the BBC TV series His Dark Materials, in the role of Lord Boreal.

In 2022 He played the older version of character Alex Gilrey who is a long term murder suspect in the BBC TV mini series Karen Pirie which was based on the Inspector Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid.

Stage

Bakare's theatre credits include productions at the RSC and the Lyric Hammersmith. He played Florindo in Tim Supple's staging of A Servant to Two Masters at the Young Vic theatre.

He starred opposite Janet Suzman in the British premiere of Dream of the Dog, where he played a South African nattily-clad architect, "Look Smart".

Awards and nominations

For his role in Doctors, Bakare was nominated for Best Actor at the 2004 British Soap Awards.

In 2005, he was nominated for Best Actor at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Midlands Awards for his portrayal of Dr. Ben Kwarme in the BBC series Doctors.

He received a commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for his role as Florindo in A Servant to Two Masters at the Young Vic.

Bakare also received multiple Best Actor awards for his performance in the short film Waiting for Time (2019), including:

• **Best Actor in a Short Film** – Wild Indie Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival (2020)
• **Best Actor** – Overcome Film Festival (2020)
• **Best Actor** – IndieFest Film Awards (2020)
• **Best Actor** – European Cinematography Awards (2020)
• **Best Actor** – Five Continents International Film Festival (2020)

In 2025, Bakare won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Mr Loverman.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	After the Rain	Vusisizwe (Joseph)
1999	The Secret Laughter of Women	Rev. Fola
1999	Dead Bolt Dead	The Thug
2000–2001	Family Affairs	Adrian Scott	Series regular
2001–2005	Doctors	Ben Kwarme	Series regular
2006	Shoot the Messenger	Elroy
2008	The Dark Knight	Guard Commander
2009	Happy Ever Afters	Wilson
2012	Full Firearms	Laslo
2013	Lewis	Carl Drew	Episode “Intelligent Design”
2015	Jupiter Ascending	Greeghan
2015	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell	Stephen Black	7 episodes
2015	Dusha shpiona	Sam
2015	Doctor Who	Leandro	Episode: "The Woman Who Lived"
2016	Thirteen	Chief Superintendent Burridge	4 episodes
2016	Silent Witness	Father Daws	2 episodes
2016	Death in Paradise	Astor Henri	Episode: "Flames of Love"
2016	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	Blue Four
2017	Life	Hugh Derry
2019	Frankie	Ian	Film
2019	Good Omens	Ligur	Miniseries
2019–2020	His Dark Materials	Lord Boreal	Main role
2019–2023	Carnival Row	Darius	Recurring role
2021	Too Close	Dougie Thompson	2 episodes
2022	Crossfire	Paul	2 episodes
2022	Karen Pirie	Alex Gilbie Sr.	Regular role
2022	The Amazing Maurice	Darktan	Voice
2022	Wedding Season	Vince
2022	The Mosquito Coast	Richard	Series regular
2023	Black Ops	Detective Inspector Clinton Blair
2024	Mr Loverman	Morris De La Roux
2025	Doctor Who	The Barber	Episode: "The Story and the Engine"

Stage

Year	Title	Roles	Notes
2023	God of Carnage	Alan	Lyric Theatre

External links

• Ariyon Bakare at IMDb