Priya Kansara
Born
Priya Uday Kansara

1995/1996
Enfield, Greater London, England
Alma materUniversity College London
Years active2022–present

Priya Uday Kansara (born 1995/1996) is a British actress. After making her debut with appearances the Netflix series Bridgerton and The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (both 2022), she starred in the Nida Manzoor film Polite Society (2023).

Early life

Kansara was born in the North London Borough of Enfield and is of Indian descent.[1] She has a younger brother.[2]

Kansara attended Palmers Green High School in London and Dame Alice Owen's School in Potter's Bar. She graduated from University College London (UCL) in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology.[3] She did acting as a hobby in the meantime. She subsequently worked in healthcare communications for BCW Global, but had ambitions to act.[4] She continued her day job while taking night classes at the Identity School of Acting for three years until March 2021.

Career

Kansara's first audition after leaving her job led her to appear in season two of the period drama Bridgerton for Netflix as Miss Eaton. Shortly afterward she appeared in another Netflix series, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.[5] In the summer of 2022, Kansara was named a Screen International Star of Tomorrow.[6]

Kansara next played the lead role of Ria Khan in the British action comedy film Polite Society from Nida Manzoor.[7][8][9][10] Following the premiere of Polite Society at the Sundance Film Festival Peter Dubrage, writing in Variety, said that she was “a natural who, believe it or not, has never had a lead role till now” who in the role of the culturally straight-jacketed wannabe stunt woman “plays with deliciously exaggerated indignance”.[11] Praise also came from Adrian Horton writing in The Guardian who described her as a “delightful newcomer”,[12] and Chase Hutchinson for Collider who says Kansara “already in her relatively short career, has all the makings of a star. She can fully dive into the moments of silly slapstick just as she does the more nuanced emotional beats about trying to find your way in the world.”[13] Manzoor jokingly referred to Kansara as “the next Tom Cruise... She did so many of her own stunts.”[14] When asked about this comparison Kansara told The Guardian “I feel very lucky knowing her, working with her; for her to call me [that] is pretty cool. Tom Cruise, step aside!”[15] For her role in the film, Kansara was nominated in the Breakthrough Performance category at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards.[16]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2022 Bridgerton Miss Eaton 2 episodes
2022 The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself Flo 3 episodes
2023 Polite Society Ria Khan

References

  1. ^ Gonzales, Erica (26 April 2023). "How Priya Kansara Went From Working in Health Care to Becoming an Action Hero". Elle. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  2. ^ Strong, Hannah (27 April 2023). "Priya Kansara: 'I never thought that I'd be a comedic actor'". Little White Lies. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Redefining Manners: British Asian Priya Kansara Talks About Her Latest Film 'Polite Society'". Brown Girl Magazine. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Ritu Arya, Priya Kansara, & Nida Manzoor on Scaling Buildings & Learning Kung Fu for 'Polite Society' -Sundance 2023". Collider.
  5. ^ "Stars of Tomorrow 2022: Priya Kansara (actor)". Screen Daily.
  6. ^ "Screen International Announces This Year's Stars Of Tomorrow". whynow.co.uk.
  7. ^ "We Are Lady Parts' Creator Nida Manzoor Helming Feature Debut 'Polite Society' For Working Title & Focus". Deadline.
  8. ^ "Production wraps on Nida Manzoor's 'Polite Society' for Focus, Working Title, Parkville". Screen Daily.
  9. ^ "Umbrella Academy and Bridgerton stars team up for new action-comedy". Digital Spy.
  10. ^ "We Are Lady Parts' Creator Sets Feature Debut 'Polite Society' at Focus, Working Title". Hollywood Reporter.
  11. ^ "'Polite Society' Review: A British Pakistani Teen Takes on the Patriarchy in High-Octane Culture-Clash Comedy". Variety.
  12. ^ "Polite Society review – inventive action comedy soars, then falters". The Guardian.
  13. ^ "'Polite Society' Review: Nida Manzoor's Feature Debut Is an Action Comedy Equally Hilarious As It Is Heartfelt -Sundance 2023". Collider.
  14. ^ "Ritu Arya, Priya Kansara, & Nida Manzoor on Scaling Buildings & Learning Kung Fu for 'Polite Society' -Sundance 2023". Collider.
  15. ^ Uddin, Shaheena (22 April 2023). "' Haven't we all wanted to kick an aunty at one point?' martial arts meets Desi wedding in Polite Society". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2 November 2023). "Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal Score Nods as 'Rye Lane,' 'Scrapper, 'All of Us Strangers' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

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