Jack Devnarain (born 9 February 1971) is a South African actor. He is best known for the roles in the television serials The Ghost and the Darkness, Isidingo and Mayfair.
Personal life He was born on 9 February 1971 in Tongaat (now oThongathi), KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His mother was a drama teacher.
He is married to Pam Devnarain and is a father of two children.
Career He started his acting career in Durban through the community theatre circuit. During this period, he studied law at the University of KZN and graduated in 1993. In 1996, he made his acting debut in the film The Ghost and the Darkness with a minor role. Then in 1998, he appeared in the popular television serial Isidingo with a supportive role 'Rajesh Kumar' which became very popular. After graduation, he served in the Police Service for nine years until 2003 in the Rapid Response and Crime Prevention units where he was famous for his arrests and convictions. However, he continued to appear in television, cinema and theater during his busy lawful life.
In 2002, he moved to Johannesburg to be a professional actor. In 2011, he starred in the heist action film 31 million Reasons directed by . He later received a SAFTA nomination as the Best Lead Actor in a Feature Film. In 2015, he was being a part of the Trek4Mandela group that summited Kilimanjaro on Mandela Day 2015, which is an effort to raise funds to support Caring4Girls. He has then served as a member of the Executive Committee of South African Guild of Actors (SAGA) since 2010.
In 2018, he appeared in the South African Indian action crime film Mayfair. He played the supportive role of 'Jalaal' in the film, which later received positive reviews. The film was also screened at the 62nd BFI London Film Festival and Africa in Motion Film Festival in October 2018.
Filmography Year Film Role Genre Ref. 1996 The Ghost and the Darkness Nervous Sikh Orderly Film 1998 Isidingo Rajesh Kumar TV series 2004 The Eastern Bride Zahoor Mustafa Home Video 2005 City Ses'la Uncle Prakash TV series 2008 On the Couch Dev TV series 2009 Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer Doctor Film 2010 Florida Road Doctor Film 2011 31 Million Reasons Ronnie Gopal Film 2018 Liberty Mr. Bhandari TV mini-series 2018 Mayfair Jalaal Film TBD Alleyway Doctor Hakeem Film
References
External links
Former 'Isidingo' star Jack Devnarain alerts president to brewing storm Actors are told 'take it or leave it', says former 'Isidingo' star