Abubakar Salim
Born (1993-01-07) 7 January 1993 (age 31)
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Alma materLAMDA
Years active2009–present

Abubakar Salim (born 7 January 1993) is a British actor. For his work on Assassin's Creed Origins, he was nominated for a British Academy Games Award and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit.[1][2] On television, he is known for his roles in the Sky One series Jamestown (2018–2019) and the HBO Max series Raised by Wolves (2020–2022).

Early life and education

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Salim is a first-generation Briton of Kenyan descent. His father was a software engineer for Xerox, and his mother a carer. He began his acting career at age 16 when he joined the National Youth Theatre after his first audition. He subsequently received a scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA),[3] graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.

Career

Salim made his professional stage debut as Osric in Prince of Denmark at the National Theatre in 2010.[4] This was followed in 2011 by his television debut in a series 2 episode of the ITV legal serial The Jury.

Upon graduating from LAMDA in 2014, Salim had small roles in the Fox limited series 24: Live Another Day and the Canal+ comedy-drama Spotless. He returned to the stage in 2015 with roles in Sense of an Ending at Theatre503[5] and Teddy Ferrara at the Donmar Warehouse.[6] In 2016, he went on the Cheek by Jowl tour of The Winter's Tale[7] and appeared in Labyrinth at Hampstead Theatre.[8][9]

Salim voiced Bayek in the 2017 video game Assassin's Creed Origins,[10] for which he earned a British Academy Games Award nomination.[3] Salim is also the founder and CEO of Surgent Studios (formerly called Silver Rain Games). A self-described fan of video games, Salim noted that his work for Origins gave him a better insight into the development process for video games, which eventually inspired him to pursue a career in video game development and establish his own studio.[11] The studio's debut project, a 2D side-scrolling platform game titled Tales of Kenzera: Zau, is set to be released by EA Originals in April 2024.[12]

In 2018, Salim landed his first major television role when he joined the cast of the Sky One historical drama Jamestown for its second series as Pedro.[10] He also appeared in the BBC One drama Informer and the third series of Fortitude on Sky Atlantic. From 2020 to 2022, Salim starred as Father in the HBO Max science fiction series Raised by Wolves.[13][10]

In April 2023, it was announced that Salim had been cast as Alyn of Hull in the second season of House of the Dragon.[14]

Filmography

Television and film

Year Title Role Notes
2011 The Jury Sadam 1 episode
2014 24: Live Another Day Secret Service Agent 3 episodes
2015 Spotless Charlie 2 episodes
2016 Agatha Raisin Jonah MacGillivray Episode: "The Potted Gardener"
Black Mirror Guard Episode: "Nosedive"
2017 Strike Jonah Agyeman Episode: "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 3"
2018 Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! Kwaku / Various Voice role
2018–2019 Jamestown Pedro 16 episodes[10]
2018 Informer Yousef Hassan 3 episodes
Fortitude Boyd Mulvihill 3 episodes
2020–2022 Raised by Wolves Father 18 episodes[15]
2023 The Legend of Vox Machina Zanror Voice role, 4 episodes[16]
2023 Napoleon Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Film role
2024 House of the Dragon Alyn of Hull Season 2

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Assassin's Creed Origins Bayek of Siwa [10]
2018 World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth Rokhan
2019 The Bradwell Conspiracy Guide
2020 Assassin's Creed Valhalla Bayek of Siwa
2022 Diablo Immortal
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Other English version
The Diofield Chronicle Chappleman
World of Warcraft: Dragonflight Rokhan
2023 Diablo IV Additional Voices
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical Eros [17]
2024 Tales of Kenzera: Zau Zau

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Prince of Denmark Osric National Theatre, London
2015 Sense of an Ending Paul Theatre503, London
Teddy Ferrara Police Officer Donmar Warehouse, London
2016 The Winter's Tale Camillo Tour
Labyrinth Trent / Javier Hampstead Theatre, London

References

  1. ^ "What Remains of Edith Finch wins Bafta's top games award". BBC. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Breakthrough Brits 2019". BAFTA. October 30, 2019. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Abubakar Salim". BAFTA. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "Prince of Denmark - Closed: 26 October 2010". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Sense of an Ending". Time Out London. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  6. ^ Peterson, Tyler (2 September 2015). "Full Cast Announced for TEDDY FERRARA at Donmar Warehouse". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Abubakar Salim". BBA Shakespeare. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  8. ^ Swain, Marianka (26 July 2016). "Cast Announced for Beth Steel's LABYRINTH at Hampstead Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  9. ^ "A cup of tea with... Labyrinth's Abubakar Salim". Hampstead Theatre. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Regalbuto, Benny (September 13, 2020). "Why Father from Raised By Wolves looks and sounds so familiar". Looper. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  11. ^ James Batchelor (27 March 2020). "From character to creator: Why actor Abubakar Salim is trying his hand at development". Gameindustry. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  12. ^ Phillips, Tom (December 8, 2023). "Tales of Kenzera: Zau is a side-scrolling platformer, and a tribute to a lost father". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Collis, Clark (September 30, 2020). "Raised by Wolves star Abubakar Salim says season 1 finale is a 'mindblower'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  14. ^ Moreau, Jordan (24 April 2023). "'House of the Dragon' Casts Alys Rivers and Three More Characters". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  15. ^ Hale, Mike (September 2, 2020). "'Raised by Wolves' Review: Ridley Scott Among the Androids". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "All voice actors in The Legend of Vox Machina season 2". Dexerto. Archived from the original on 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
  17. ^ Jackson, Zach (13 April 2023). "Aussie-Made Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical Is Hitting The Stage In August". Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.

External links

Authority control databases: Artists
Categories