Antonio Aakeel

Antonio Aakeel
Born Antonio Khela
Wolverhampton, England
Occupation Actor
Years active 2009–present
Website www.antonioaakeel.com

Antonio Aakeel is a British actor from Birmingham, England. He is best known for his work in E4 television show Skins and political drama The Line of Freedom. He appears in the upcoming noir crime thriller City of Tiny Lights directed by BAFTA winner Pete Travis.

Early life

Aakeel was born in Wolverhampton, England, and moved around the West Midlands as a child.[1] He caught the acting bug after being given a one-line role in a school nativity play and went on to hone his craft through local theatre, before being scouted by a talent agent.[2] He speaks Punjabi and Hindi.[3]

Career

Film

Aakeel starred as Nasir Baloch in the 2013 political drama The Line of Freedom directed by David Whitney. The film depicts the true story of a murdered student rights activist and premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival.[4] Upon release the film was immediately met with controversy, particularly for its depiction of the Pakistani Army and treatment of Baloch people. The film was subsequently prohibited in Pakistan and reportedly contributed to a national ban of IMDb.[5]

In 2015, he appeared in feature film The Contract, directed by Nic Auerbach and written by David Marconi.

He was next cast alongside Riz Ahmed and Billie Piper in London crime thriller City of Tiny Lights directed by BAFTA winner Pete Travis.[6] The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2016 and is due a cinematic release in 2017.[7]

Television

Aakeel landed his first television role in the British show Skins. He was chosen over 500 hopefuls by director Charles Martin and appeared in series 3 of the E4 drama.[8]

He has gained guest-lead roles in BBC series Doctors and BBC1 drama series Moving On directed by Reece Dinsdale.[9][10][11][12]

In 2016, Aakeel was cast in Guilty Pleasures directed by Sonny Michael Chohan, a TV drama based on real life sex trafficking circles in the UK.[13]

In 2017, he will be seen in the three-part BBC1 drama Three Girls directed by BAFTA winner Philippa Lowthorpe.

Theatre

In 2013, he played the title role in the stage adaption of Guantanamo Boy. The play ran at the Half Moon Theatre and toured nationally at Middle Temple Hall, The Hat Factory, Mercury Theatre Burnley Youth Theatre and The Drum Theatre.[14] The Stage's Susan Elkin wrote "Khela is good as the distraught, anguished, terrified Khalid. The downhill spiral followed by the final return of a damaged-for-life boy to Rochdale is well handled too. He has a very expressive face."[15]

In 2015, He played the lead role of Artie in Waiting for Garbo at the Crescent Theatre as part of the Birmingham Theatre Festival. Love Midlands Theatre reviewed the performance, commenting his "portrayal of a brash New Yorker falling apart is utterly convincing."[16]

Antonio has also performed locally with Midlands based theatre company Round Midnight.[17]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role
2009 Skins Trevor
2014 Doctors Aasim Masood
2016 Guilty Pleasures Imi
Doctors Mark 'Stotty' Stott
Moving On Mati Ahmadi
2017 Three Girls Immy
Film
Year Title Role
2013 The Line of Freedom Nasir Baloch
2015 The Contract Raza
2016 City of Tiny Lights 'Young' Lovely

References

  1. ↑ "Wolverhampton actor secures feature-length international film role". NativeMonster. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Birmingham actor makes Hollywood Debut". What's On Birmingham. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "Interview with Antonio Aakeel". Scottish Asian Magazine. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Line of Freedom Premiere". Dubai Film Festival. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Line of Freedom and the brief IMDb ban in Pakistan". Global Voices. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  6. ↑ "Meet the young cast of City of Tiny Lights". ScreenTerrier. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Popular Birmingham actor to make big screen debut". I Am Birmingham. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Antonio Aakeel - NewUrban". NUBI. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "BBC Doctors". BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Antonio Aakeel will star in BBC series Moving On". Identity Drama. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Moving On returns as BBC One reveals new comissions". Prolific North. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "BBC's Doctors to explore gender identity issues for the first time". GayTimes.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Child grooming drama to premiere in Birmingham". I Am Birmingham. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Review: Guantanamo Boy". Children's Theatre Reviews. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Guantanamo Boy Theatre Review - WhatsonStage Susan Elkin". WhatsonStage.com. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  16. ↑ "Waiting For Garbo Theatre Review". Love Midlands Theatre. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Follow me theatre play a success". The Redditch Standard. Retrieved 15 September 2016.

External links

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