Darwin Shaw is an English stage, film and television actor. Formerly a medical doctor he retrained as an actor at LAMDA in 2004 after studying theatre in New York City.
Early life
Shaw, the eldest of two boys, was born in Brampton, Cumbria, England, where his grandfather was the local vicar (a relation of Orde Wingate). Shaw grew up in Leeds where his mother was a social worker and nurse and his father worked as a special needs teacher and race relations advisor for the BBC. He attended King's College London where he graduated as a medical doctor.
Career
Shaw's first job after graduating from LAMDA was in Deborah Warner's production of Julius Caesar at the Barbican Theatre with a cast which included Ralph Fiennes, Fiona Shaw and Simon Russell Beale. His first feature film role was as Fisher, James Bond's first kill, in the opening of 2006's Casino Royale that introduced Daniel Craig as the new 007, and was directed by Martin Campbell.
He played the jilted fiancée of Bollywood star Lisa Ray in the independent film I Can't Think Straight.
Shaw played Asoka in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time released May 2010 in an action role protecting Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) and the dagger of time from Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney production directed by Mike Newell. Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina lead the accomplished cast which includes Ronald Pickup, Richard Coyle and Toby Kebbell.
He worked for Pixar in spring, 2010, on the film John Carter of Mars with an ensemble cast which includes Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, Taylor Kitsch and Dominic West directed by Oscar winner Andrew Stanton and in the following year in opening scene of Prometheus directed by Ridley Scott as one of the Elder Engineers.
In other media, Shaw has appeared in the IMAX production, Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs with William Hope and Nassar Memazia and in two television movies, Messiah: The Rapture with Marc Warren and Saddam's Tribe with Stanley Townsend and Daniel Mays. Other television appearances include Call the Midwife as Zakir, Trigger Point with Josh Dallas, Endeavour (TV series) as Prince Nabil and as Augustino in the second series of *The Borgias (2011 TV series) for Showtime (TV channel) with Sean Harris. He made is debut for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2011 playing Will Scarlet in the premiere of the critically acclaimed The Heart of Robin Hood directed by Gisli Ó¦rn Gardarsson of Vesturport, an Icelandic theatre company known for their use of ariel acrobatic skills, in this case corde lisse.
Shaw appeared as Saint Peter in the television mini-series, The Bible, produced by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, which is based on the Bible. It aired on The History Channel in 2013.
He has performed two plays by Obie award winning playwright Naomi Wallace.
His first film role was as Adam in a 2002 addition to 1979's Jesus which, according to The New York Times, ..."is likely the most-watched motion picture of all time".
Shaw has modelled for the photographer David Bailey, and Shaw's character of Asoka from the film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has been reproduced as a LEGO figure.
Shaw has made two films with Samantha Whittaker for their production company, Silent Kisses.
He was awarded the gold medal in Advanced Stage Combat by the British Academy of Dramatic Combat.
Filmography
Film
- Jesus/The Jesus Film (New Version) (2002) as Adam
- Casino Royale (2006) as Fisher
- I Can't Think Straight (2008) as Hani
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) as Asoka
- Vamperifica (2011) as Raven
- John Carter of Mars (2012) as Matai (Officer)
- Prometheus Elder Engineer (deleted scenes)
- Son of God as Saint Peter
- Dry (2014) as Dr Alex
Television
- London's Burning (1 episodes, 2002)
- Mummy Autopsy (1 episode, 2005) as Inca Priest
- Wire in the Blood (1 episode, 2006) as Ahmed Khan
- Saddam's Tribe: Bound by Blood (2007)
- Holby City (1 episode, 2007) as Mohammed Sheik
- Messiah: The Rapture (2008) as Khalid Al Faluni
- Call the Midwife (2012) as Zakir
- The Borgias (1 episode, 2012) as Augustino
- The Bible as Saint Peter
- Endeavour as Crown Prince Nabil
- Atlantis as Prince Therus
- The Red Tent as Benia
- Marco Polo as Sabbah
References
External links
- Darwin Shaw at the Internet Movie Database
- Darwin Shaw image gallery with biographical profile and list of works at Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency
- The Bible â€" History Channel (official website)
