# Sacha Dhawan

Sacha Dhawan (/dəˈwɑːn/) (born 1 May 1984) is a British actor. He began his career in the ITV series Out of Sight (1997–1998), The Last Train (1999), and Weirdsister College (2001–2002). He originated the role of Akthar in the play The History Boys (2004–2006) and reprised his role in its film adaptation (2006).
Dhawan has since played Paul Jatri in the BBC One comedy-drama Last Tango in Halifax (2012), Waris Hussein in the BBC Two docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time (2013), Davos in the Marvel series Iron Fist (2017–2018), Count Orlo in The Great (2020–2023) on Hulu, and The Master in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2020–2022).

## Early life and education

Dhawan was born on 1 May 1984 in Bramhall, Stockport to Indian parents from Jalandhar, Punjab, India.
Dhawan trained at the Laine-Johnson Theatre School in Manchester, and started acting at the age of twelve. He attended the Roman Catholic school Aquinas College in Stockport.

## Career
### Television and film

Dhawan has appeared in a number of television shows in the United Kingdom. He had recurring roles in Weirdsister College, in which he played Azmat Madaridi, and series two and three of the children's TV series Out of Sight. He appeared in the miniseries The Last Train (1999), and has guest starred in episodes on EastEnders, Altogether Now, and City Central. He also appeared in 2008 ITV drama, Wired, as Ben Chandrakar, alongside Jodie Whittaker and Laurence Fox. He was part of an ensemble cast on the NBC sitcom Outsourced, which aired during the 2010–2011 season. In November 2013, Dhawan portrayed director Waris Hussein in An Adventure in Space and Time, a BBC Two biographical television film on the creation of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration. He also appeared as Paul Jatri, a 22-year-old man involved with a woman twice his age, in the first series of BBC One's Last Tango in Halifax. He plays the part of Davos in the Netflix series Iron Fist in both the seasons. He starred as Sathnam Sanghera in the critically acclaimed The Boy with the Topknot, shown on BBC 2 in 2017. He appeared in four episodes of the twelfth series of Doctor Who as the latest incarnation of the renegade Time Lord known as the Master, acting opposite Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. He reprised the role in the 2022 special The Power of the Doctor, Whittaker's last episode. From 2020 to 2023, he played the role of Count Orlo, advisor to Catherine the Great, in comedy-drama TV series The Great.
Dhawan was cast as the title character in the BBC crime drama Virdee, adapted from the novels by A A Dhand. He was later replaced in the role by Staz Nair.

### Theatre

Dhawan originated the role of Akthar in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys. After playing Akthar in the original stage production he reprised the role in the Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong productions, and radio and film versions of the play.
In July 2018, Dhawan reunited with History Boys playwright Alan Bennett and co-star Samuel Barnett for Bennett's new play Allelujah! at the Bridge Theatre.

## Personal life

Dhawan was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2006.
Dhawan is in a relationship with actress Anjli Mohindra.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | |
| 2010 | Splintered | Sam | |
| 2012 | Girl Shaped Love Drug | Him | |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Neville Landless | Miniseries |
| 2013 | After Earth | Hesper Pilot | |
| 2015 | The Lady in the Van | Doctor at Gloucester Crescent | |
| 2018 | National Theatre Live: Allelujah! | Dr. Valentine | |
| 2023 | The Glassworker | Vincent Oliver | Voice |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997–1998 | Out of Sight | Ali Pantajali | Main role; 20 episodes |
| 1998 | City Central | Tony | Episode: "Picking Up the Pieces" |
| 1999 | The Last Train | Leo Nixon | Main role; 6 episodes |
| 2001–2002 | Weirdsister College | Azmat Madari | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 2003 | EastEnders: Perfectly Frank | DC Wayne Atkins | TV movie |
| 2006 | Bradford Riots | Karim | TV movie |
| 2008 | Wired | Ben | 3 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | Chuggington | Eddie | Voice; 38 episodes |
| 2009 | Paradox | Jaz Roy | Series 1, episode 4 |
| 2010 | The Deep | Vincent | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Five Days | Khalil Akram | 4 episodes |
| 2010–2011 | Outsourced | Manmeet | Main role; 22 episodes |
| 2012 | Last Tango in Halifax | Paul Jatri | 6 episodes |
| 2012 | Being Human | Pete | Episode: "Hold the Front Page" |
| 2012 | Welcome to India | Narrator | TV documentary |
| 2013 | The Tractate Middoth | William Garrett | Television film |
| 2013 | An Adventure in Space and Time | Waris Hussein | Television film |
| 2014 | Utopia | Paul | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | 24: Live Another Day | Naveed Shabazz | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | In the Flesh | Amir | Series 2, episode 3 |
| 2014 | Line of Duty | Manish Prasad | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Mr Selfridge | Jimmy Dillon | Main role; 9 episodes |
| 2014–2016 | In the Club | Dev Sidhwa | Main role; 12 episodes |
| 2015 | No Offence | Majid Hassan | Series 1, episode 3 |
| 2015 | Bugsplat! | Mohammed Mohammed | Television film |
| 2015 | Not Safe for Work | Danny | 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Interceptor | Astin Ray | Episode 3 |
| 2017 | Sherlock | Ajay | Episode: "The Six Thatchers" |
| 2017 | The Boy with the Topknot | Sathnam Sanghera | BBC Two |
| 2017–2018 | Marvel's Iron Fist | Davos | Main role; 15 episodes |
| 2020 | Dracula | Dr. Sharma | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Thunderbirds Are Go | Stew | Voice; episode: "Upside Down" |
| 2020–2022 | Doctor Who | The Master | 5 episodes |
| 2020–2023 | The Great | Count Orlo | Main role |
| 2021 | The Prince | Teddy / Dinesh | Voice; 12 episodes |
| 2022 | Suspect | Jaisal | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Wolf | Honey | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | Summer Camp Island | Miracle Rabbit | Voice; episode: "Miracle Rabbit" |

### Audio drama

| Year | Title | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Doctor Who: Dark Eyes 3 | Episode: "The Reviled" | Jaldam / Vaughan | |
| 2016 | Doctor Who: Classic Doctors, New Monsters 1 | Episode: "Fallen Angels" | Joel Finch | |
| 2017 | Torchwood: Aliens Among Us Part 2 | Episode: "Zero Hour" | Hasan | |
| 2018 | Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures | Episode: "Ghost Walk" | Matthew | |
| 2021 | First Action Bureau: Series 1 | First Action Bureau: Series 1 | Benjamin Saal | |
| 2025 | Call Me Master | Inner Demons | The Master | |
| 2025 | Call Me Master | Title (TBA) | The Master | Due for release later this year |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Gray Matter | Malik | Voice |
| 2012 | Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes | Durrig | Voice |
| 2014 | Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series | Gryff Whitehill | Voice |
| 2017 | Mass Effect: Andromeda | Additional voices | Voice |
| 2017 | Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 | Steel Serpent | Voice |
| 2018 | Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age | Prince Faris, additional voices | Voice (English version) |
| 2024 | Dragon Age: The Veilguard | Elek Tavor | |

### Radio and theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Chocky | Matthew Gore | Radio play, BBC Radio 4 |
| 2001 | East is East | Sajid | Live theatre, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester |
| 2002 | The Witches | Boy | Live theatre, Haymarket Theatre, Leicester |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, Sydney Theatre, Sydney |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, St. James Theatre, Wellington |
| 2004–2006 | The History Boys | Akthar | Live theatre, Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Hong Kong |
| 2007 | The Prospect | Hanif | Radio play, BBC Radio 4 |
| 2007 | Pretend You Have Big Buildings | Danny | Live theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester |
| 2007 | Borstal Boy | | Live theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| 2008 | Pornography | | Live theatre, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh |
| 2009 | England People Very Nice | Norfolk Danny/Carlo/Aaron/Mushi | Olivier Theatre, National Theatre |
| 2018 | Allelujah! by Alan Bennett | Dr. Valentine | Live theatre, Bridge Theatre |
| 2022 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Firewall by James Swallow | Charlie Cole | Radio drama, BBC Radio 4 |