# Amit Shah (actor)

Amit Kaushik Shah (born 26 April 1981) is a British actor who was BAFTA nominated for his role as Faisal Bhatti in the AMC/BBC hit third series of Happy Valley. He is known for his roles in the ITV series Mr Bates vs The Post Office (2024) and the Channel 4 comedy-drama Crashing (2016). His films include Pain Hustlers (2023), Final Score (2018), and The Courier (2019).

## Early life

Amit Shah was born in Enfield, England. Shah's parents were originally from Kenya, and his grandparents from Gujarat, India. His father is an accountant, and his mother is a health-food shop manager. Shah was cast as the lead in a school play at the age of 16. He read drama at Staffordshire University and then went on to train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in West London. In 2003 he was given permission by the principal to graduate early so that he could begin rehearsals for Bombay Dreams, a West-End musical produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

## Acting career

In 2006, Shah was offered a part in The Royal Hunt of the Sun at the National Theatre; the same part that Derek Jacobi played in the original production in 1964. He stayed on at the National Theatre to perform three plays, including The Alchemist directed by Nicholas Hytner, for which he was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award. He also portrayed a principal role in The Man of Mode, alongside Tom Hardy, Rory Kinnear and Hayley Atwell.
Shah has starred in a variety of television shows since 2006. His most notable roles include Sunny in BBC One's Hospital People, Fred in Channel 4's Crashing, Torque in The Witcher for Netflix, and Faisal Bhatti in Happy Valley.
Shah's first major part in a feature film was in 2014 for The Hundred-Foot Journey in which he starred alongside Helen Mirren and Om Puri. He has since been cast in Johnny English Strikes Again, Ordinary Love, and Last Christmas.

## Filmography
### Film

Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Notes |
| 2006 | Like Minds | Raj Mehta | Gregory J. Read | |
| 2008 | The Blue Tower | Neran | Smita Bhide | |
| 2009 | 13 Semester | Aswin | Frieder Wittich | |
| 2010 | It's a Wonderful Afterlife | Speed Dating Man 6 | Gurinder Chadha | |
| 2010 | The Infidel | Rashid Nasir | Josh Appignanesi | |
| 2011 | Lost Paradise | Javad | Waleed Akhtar | |
| 2011 | Looking For Neil | Neil | Georgi Banks-Davis | |
| 2012 | The Facility | Arif | Ian Clark | |
| 2013 | All Stars | Teacher | Ben Gregor | |
| 2014 | Cut | The Director | Billy Mullaney | |
| 2014 | The Hundred-Foot Journey | Mansur | Lasse Hallström | |
| 2014 | The Listener | Jeremy | Michael Gilhooly | |
| 2015 | Howl | Matthew | Paul Hyett | |
| 2016 | The Break-up of Dave | Dave | Billy Mullaney | |
| 2017 | Breathe | Dr. Khan | Andy Serkis | |
| 2017 | To Wendy Who Kicked Me When I Said I Love You | Sidd | Dan Castella | |
| 2018 | Final Score | Faisal | Scott Mann | |
| 2018 | Johnny English Strikes Again | Samir | David Kerr | |
| 2018 | The Orgy | John | Sam Baron | |
| 2019 | Parasomniac | Errol | Oliver Hill | |
| 2019 | Quiet Carriage | Derek | Ben S. Hyland | |
| 2019 | Ordinary Love | Steve | Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn | |
| 2019 | End-O | Dr.Mann | Alice Seabright | |
| 2019 | Last Christmas | Andy | Paul Feig | |
| 2019 | The Courier | Nick Murch | Zackary Adler | |
| 2022 | Klokkenluider | Ewan | Neil Maskell | |
| TBA | The Man In The Hat † | The Measurer | John-Paul Davidson, Stephen Warbeck | Post-production |
| TBA | Chocolate Cake † | Frazer | Jeremy Wooding | Pre-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | The Afternoon Play | Nigel | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Life Begins | Mobile Phone Salesman | 1 episode |
| 2007 | Lead Balloon | Adam | 1 episode |
| 2008 | The Palace | Kulvinder 'Vinny' Ganatra | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | Honest | Reza Chadhuri | 6 episodes |
| 2009 | Benidorm | Vikram | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Casualty | Jake Milns | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Ingenious | Genius | TV movie |
| 2010 | Hustle | Ashur Olmert | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Whites | Axel | 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Black Mirror | Jack | Episode: "The National Anthem" |
| 2012 | White Van Man | Simon | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Fresh Meat | Sauron | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Jo | Dr. Amir | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Bluestone 42 | Captain Parekh | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Lilyhammer | Viswanathan | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | The Smoke | Nick Chandhrakla | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Silent Witness | Dr. Rhavi Dhillon | Episode: "Protection" (2 parts) |
| 2015 | Asylum | Oliver | 1 episode |
| 2015 | W1A | Sadiq Iqbal | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Jekyll & Hyde | Brannigan | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | Crashing | Fred | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | Stag | Mex | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Midsomer Murders | Shray Varma | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Hospital People | Sunny | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Count Arthur Strong | Karl | 1 episode |
| 2017 | The Other One | Marcus | 1 episode |
| 2016–2017 | The Rebel | Jeremy | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | History of Them | Vikram Johar | TV movie |
| 2018 | Bliss | Rafiq | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Doctor Who | Rahul | Episode: "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" |
| 2018 | The Midnight Gang | Dr. Luppers | TV movie |
| 2019 | His Dark Materials | Dr. Rendal | 1 episode |
| 2019 | The Witcher | Torque | 1 episode |
| 2020 | The Other One | Marcus | |
| 2021 | The Long Call | Ed Raveley | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Happy Valley | Faisal Bhatti | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | Death in Paradise | Sunil Singh Kirmani | 1 episode |
| 2023 | The Windsors | Rishi Sunak | Episode: Coronation special |
| 2024 | Mr Bates vs The Post Office | Jas Singh | |
| 2024 | Vera | Mr. Shah | 1 episode 1301 ’Fast Love’ |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Director |
| 2003 | Bombay Dreams | Cast | Apollo Victoria Theatre | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
| 2006 | The Royal Hunt of The Sun | Cast | Royal National Theatre | Trevor Nunn |
| 2007 | The Alchemist | Abel Drugger | Royal National Theatre | Nicholas Hytner |
| 2011 | King Lear | Oswald | Royal National Theatre | Robin Lough |
| 2012 | The Comedy of Errors | Angelo | Royal National Theatre | Dominic Cooke |
| 2023 | "Never Have I Ever" | Kas | Chichester Festival Theatre | |