Hiran Abeysekera

Acting

Hiran Abeysekera

Hiran Abeysekera is a Sri Lankan actor. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the stage adaptation of Life of Pi. On television, he is known for his roles in Russell T Davies' A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016) and the fantasy dance series Find Me in Paris (2018–2019).

Known For

The Magic Faraway TreeThe Magic Faraway Tree · 2026
The Magic Faraway Tree
6.22026
MovieAdventureFamily
A modern family relocates to the countryside where the children discover a magical tree with eccentric residents. They're transported to fantastical lands, rekindling their family bond through adventures.
SupervizedSupervized · 2019
Supervized
5.22019
MovieComedy
Four aging superheroes in a retirement home in Ireland come together for one last hurrah.
UnleadedUnleaded · 2015
Unleaded
6.12015
MovieComedyCrime
Three thugs attempting to rob a petrol station are interrupted by three stoners with a severe case of the munchies.
National Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful ForeversNational Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers · 2015
National Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
6.02015
MovieDrama
India is surging with global ambition. But beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport lies a makeshift slum, full of people with plans of their own. Zehrunisa and her son Abdul aim to recycle enough rubbish to fund a proper house. Sunil, twelve and stunted, wants to eat until he’s as tall as Kalu the thief. Asha seeks to steal government anti-poverty funds to turn herself into a ‘first-class person’, while her daughter Manju intends to become the slum’s first female graduate. But their schemes are fragile; global recession threatens the garbage trade, and another slum-dweller is about to make an accusation that will destroy herself and shatter the neighbourhood.
A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream · 2016
A Midsummer Night's Dream
5.22016
MovieComedyFantasy
At the tyrannical court of Athens, pitiless dictator Theseus plans his wedding to Hippolyta, a prisoner of war, while young Hermia is sentenced to death by her own father for loving the wrong man. Meanwhile, in the town below, an amateur theatre group rehearses. And beyond Athens, in the wild woods, dark forces are stirring...
National Theatre Live: HamletNational Theatre Live: Hamlet · 2026
National Theatre Live: Hamlet
6.52026
MovieDrama
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Are you watching closely? Trapped between duty and doubt, surrounded by power and privilege, young Prince Hamlet dares to ask the ultimate question—you know the one. Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare's famous tragedy. National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director, Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky's Edge, Operation Mincemeat) directs this sharp, stylish and darkly funny reimagining.
National Theatre Live: Life of PiNational Theatre Live: Life of Pi · 2023
National Theatre Live: Life of Pi
2023
MovieDramaAdventure
Puppetry, magic and storytelling combine in a unique, Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of the best-selling novel. After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors – a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. Filmed live in London’s West End and featuring state-of-the-art visuals, the epic journey of endurance and hope is bought to life in a breath-taking new way for cinemas screens.
RSC Live: HamletRSC Live: Hamlet · 2016
RSC Live: Hamlet
8.22016
MovieDrama
Hamlet has the world at his feet. Young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainties smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the injustice of his new reality. Simon Godwin directs Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Shakespeare's searing tragedy. As relevant today as when it was written, Hamlet confronts each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world. Hamlet played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until throughout summer 2016.

Filmography

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National Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful ForeversNational Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers · 2015
National Theatre Live: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
6.02015
MovieDrama
India is surging with global ambition. But beyond the luxury hotels surrounding Mumbai airport lies a makeshift slum, full of people with plans of their own. Zehrunisa and her son Abdul aim to recycle enough rubbish to fund a proper house. Sunil, twelve and stunted, wants to eat until he’s as tall as Kalu the thief. Asha seeks to steal government anti-poverty funds to turn herself into a ‘first-class person’, while her daughter Manju intends to become the slum’s first female graduate. But their schemes are fragile; global recession threatens the garbage trade, and another slum-dweller is about to make an accusation that will destroy herself and shatter the neighbourhood.

Sunil Sharma

RSC Live: CymbelineRSC Live: Cymbeline · 2016
RSC Live: Cymbeline
2016
MovieDrama
Britain is in crisis. An ineffectual Queen Cymbeline rules over a divided dystopian Britain. Consumed with grief at the death of two of her children, Cymbeline's judgment is clouded. When Innogen, the only living heir, marries her sweetheart Posthumus in secret, an enraged Cymbeline banishes him. Behind the throne, a power-hungry figure plots to seize power by murdering them both. In exile Innogen's husband is tricked into believing she has been unfaithful to him and in an act of impulsive jealousy begins a scheme to have her murdered. Warned of the danger, Innogen runs away from court in disguise and begins a journey fraught with danger that will eventually reunite Cymbeline with a long-lost heir and reconcile the young lovers.

Posthumus