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 tween dance series Find Me in Paris (2018–2019).
Early life and education Abeysekera was born in Colombo and grew up during the Civil War. His father was a garage owner and his mother taught English. Abeysekera was educated at Nalanda College Colombo.
When he was 18, Abeysekera lost his friend in a tsunami. He had begun studying to become a doctor, but decided to pursue his passion of theatre because "life can end at any second". Having obtained a diploma from the Lanka Children's and Youth Theatre Foundation, he played the lead role in a British Council production of Peter Shaffer's Equus in 2007. This enabled him to audition for drama schools in the UK, following which he secured a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 2011.
Career Abeysekera made his professional stage debut with the English Touring Theatre in 2011, playing Valere in Tartuffe. In 2012 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon and was cast as Bartholomew in The Taming of the Shrew. In 2015, he played Peter Pan on the London stage.
In 2016, he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company and played Puck in a film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was screened by the BBC. He played Posthumus in their stage production of Cymbeline at the Barbican Theatre London, and Horatio in Hamlet.
In 2018, Abeysekera began appearing in the Hulu series Find Me in Paris, portraying the role of Dash Khan until 2019. He played Pi Patel in the 2019 premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti's adaption of Life of Pi at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, for which he won a UK Theatre Award.The Life of Hiran In the same year, he was cast in the part of Leonardo da Vinci in the new play Botticelli in the Fire staged by the Hampstead Theatre, London. He then played Sunil Sharma in the play Behind the Beautiful Forevers at the Royal National Theatre.
In 2021, Abeysekera returned to the role of Pi Patel when Life of Pi transferred to the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. In 2022, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play for his performance. He reprised his role once again for the show's 2023 New York run at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, marking his Broadway debut. He received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations.
Abeysekara played the title role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, directed by Robert Hastie in the Lyttleton Theatre at the Royal National Theatre from 25 September until 22 November 2025, as part of Indhu Rubasingham's inaugural season as artistic director.
Filmography +Key Denotes projects that have not yet been released Film Year Title Role Notes 2014 Lion in the Tent Aamir Short film 2015 Unleaded Rahim Short film 2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck Television film 2019 Supervized Celestro 2026The Magic Faraway TreeAngry Pixie
Television Year Title Role Notes 2018 Holby City Tyler Saba 2 episodes 2018–19 Find Me in Paris Dash Khan 27 episodes 2022 The Good Karma Hospital Prakash Dhatt 1 episode
Stage Year Work Role Company Notes 2011 Tartuffe Valere UK tour Rats Tales Wood cutter/Prince/Troll baby Royal Exchange, Manchester 2012 The Taming of the Shrew Bartholomew Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon 2013 You In Mid Air Theo Oakden The Circus Space / RADA 2014 BBC Proms 22: War Horse Ensemble National Theatre / Royal Albert Hall, London Behind the Beautiful Forevers Sunil Sharma National Theatre, London 2015 Peter Pan Peter Pan Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London 2016 Cymbeline Posthumus Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London Hamlet Horatio Royal Shakespeare Company 2018 The Prisoner Mavuso Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris 2019 Life of Pi Pi Patel Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Akhrot Edinburgh Fringe Festival Botticelli in the Fire Leonardo da Vinci Hampstead Theatre, London 2020 Tempest Wood cutter / Prince / Troll baby Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris 2021 Life of Pi Pi Patel Wyndham's Theatre, London 2023 Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York The Father and the Assassin Nathuram Godse Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre 2025HamletHamletLyttleton Theatre, Royal National Theatre
Audio Year Work Role Venue Notes 2013 Broken Paradise Reader BBC Radio 2017 Tuman Bay Barakat BBC Radio 4
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2011 Ian Charleson Awards Tartuffe 2019 UK Theatre Awards Best Performance in a Play Life of Pi 2022 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor
References
External links
Hiran Abeysekera at RADA