Anthony Surath Jayawardena is a British actor, known for his roles as Mr Bhamra in the West End musical Bend It Like Beckham the Musical and for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe and Royal National Theatre. In 2018, he began portraying the role of Rashid Hyatt in the Channel 4 drama Ackley Bridge.
Career Jayawardena appears on the original cast recording of Bend It Like Beckham the Musical, performing the songs "People Like Us" and "The Engagement: Look At Us Now". He was the original Abdul Kareem in the play The Empress by Tanika Gupta, which tells the story of Queen Victoria's relationship with The Munshi, a young man brought over from India to be her servant in the final 15 years of her life. He played Stephano in the RSC's production of The Tempest, which partnered with Intel and Imaginarium Studios and was the first use of real-time motion-capture technology on stage.
Filmography + Film Year Title Role Director 2004 Chasing Liberty White House GuardAndy Cadiff 2008 A Bunch of Amateurs Kevin Patel 2009 National Theatre Live: All's Well That Ends Well 2nd Lord Dumaine Marianne Elliot 2010 National Theatre Live: London Assurance Mark Meddle Nicholas Hytner 2011 Screwed Bear Reg Traviss 2012 Tower Block Bear Ronnie Thompson, Eddie 2013 Trance Security Guard Danny Boyle 2016 A Street Cat Named Bob Tony Roger Spottiswoode2023Doctor Jekyll MalcolmJoe Stephenson
+ Television Year Program Role Episode 2011 Kabaddasses The Marauding Moustache 1 2012 Silent Witness Younis 2 episodes2016 The Windsors Sandy Series 1 Holby City Monty the Python Series 19, episode 10 2018 The Tunnel Lawrence Taylor 2 episodes 2018–2022Ackley Bridge Rashid Hyatt Main role2020The CrownSir Sonny Ramphal2 episodes2022AvoidanceKeith
Stage Year Title Role Company2009 England People Very Nice Various Royal National Theatre Twelfth Night Fabian The Royal Shakespeare Company All's Well That Ends Well 2nd Lord DumaineRoyal National Theatre 2010 London Assurance Mark Meddle2013 The Empress Abdul Kareem Royal Shakespeare Company Love N Stuff Mansoor Theatre Royal Stratford East 2015 Bend It Like Beckham the Musical Mr Bhamra Phoenix Theatre2016 The Invisible Hand Imam Saleem Tricycle Theatre The Tempest Stephano Royal Shakespeare Company2017 Twelfth Night Sir Toby Belch Shakespeare's Globe Lions and Tigers Subhash Bose / Jyotish Gupta Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Young Marx Gert “Doc” Schmidt Bridge Theatre 2019 Hobson's Choice Hari Hobson Royal Exchange Theatre 2021 East is East Zahir "George" Khan Birmingham Repertory Theatre 2024 Nye Winston Churchill / Doctor Dain Royal National TheatreDr. StrangeloveRussian Ambassador BakovNoël Coward Theatre 2025 Acorn Antiques: The Musical Mr Clifford Hope Mill Theatre
Discography Year Album Role Label 2015Bend It Like Beckham the Musical Mr Bhamra Sony Music Classical
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