Ray Panthaki

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Ray Panthaki
Panthaki at the 6th Asian Awards 2016
Born (1979-01-20) 20 January 1979
London, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • screenwriter
  • director
  • film producer
Years active1999–present

Ray Panthaki (/pənˈθɑːki/;[1] (born 20 January 1979) is a British actor, writer, director, and producer. On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC series EastEnders (2003–2005) and Blessed (2005), the ITV series Marcella (2016–2020), the Sky Atlantic series Gangs of London and the Netflix series Away (both 2020). For his performance in the film Boiling Point (2021), he received a British Independent Film Award nomination. His other films include Convenience (2013).

He was elected to the BAFTA Film Committee in 2024.[2]

Early life

Panthaki was born in London to second-generation Indian parents.[3] His parents belong to India's Parsi minority community.[4]

Career

Panthaki appeared in the 1999 anthology Tube Tales and made his feature film debut as Hassan B in Sacha Baron Cohen's 2002 comedy Ali G Indahouse. This was followed by roles in the films 28 Days Later,Provoked and the 2006 film Kidulthood which he also produced.[5]

In 2006, Panthaki was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Play at the TMA Theatre Awards for his role in Gladiator Games. Later that year, he set up the London-based production company Urban Way.[6] Panthaki made his West End theatrical debut in July 2008 in the play In My Name at the Trafalgar Studios.[7] He has performed twice at the Royal Court Theatre in London in Where Do We Live by Christopher Shinn and The Westbridge by Rachel De-Lehay. He went on to play a leading role in Tanika Gupta's The Empress for the Royal Shakespeare Company directed by Emma Rice.

He starred in the films It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010) and Interview with a Hitman (2012).[5]

In 2013, Panthaki's directorial debut Life Sentence, a film which he also wrote, won Best UK Short at the East End Film Festival 2013.[8][9][10] In 2013, Panthaki produced and starred in the comedy film Convenience starring alongside Vicky McClure and Adeel Akhtar.[11][12] The film's director Keri Collins won Best Breakthrough at the 2014 BAFTA Cymru for his work on the film.[13][14][15][16]

In 2014, he was announced as one of 18 BAFTA Breakthrough Brits a celebration of Britain's stars of tomorrow alongside fellow actors Stacy Martin, Katie Leung and Callum Turner.[17] In 2016, Panthaki was cast as DCI Rav Sangha in Hans Rosenfeldt's Nordic noir detective series Marcella.[18]

In 2017, it was announced that Panthaki had signed on to Wash Westmoreland's Colette, a biopic about the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, to play real-life French playwright Pierre Veber.[19] Panthaki attended the world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival alongside co-stars Keira Knightley and Dominic West, where the film received positive reviews.[20] The following year, he portrayed journalist Kamal Ahmed in the film Official Secrets.

In 2020, Panthaki appeared in the Netflix series Away, alongside Hilary Swank, as Group Captain Ram Arya, second in command on a mission to Mars.[21][22]

At the British Independent Film Awards 2021, Panthaki was nominated for the BIFA for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Freeman in Boiling Point alongside Stephen Graham.[23][24][25]

Panthaki is set to direct In Starland.[26]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Jump Boy Shamil Short film
Tube Tales Mo Segment: "Grasshopper"
2002 Ali G Indahouse Hassan B
Licks Pizza man Short film; also co-producer
28 Days Later Private Bedford
2003 Bollywood Queen Anil
2006 Kidulthood Mark Also co-producer
Provoked Ravi
2007 Veils Samir Short film
The Feral Generation Vincent Also producer
2009 City Rats Dean Also executive producer
2010 It's a Wonderful Afterlife Jazz Sethi
2011 Screwed Neil
2012 Interview with a Hitman Franco
The Man Inside Bose Also executive producer
2013 Jadoo
Convenience Ajay Also producer
2014 Cryptic Cochise
2015 World War Dead: Rise of the Fallen Marcus
2016 One Crazy Thing Jay Veer Also producer
Oysters Have Feelings Too Jay Short film
Ghosted Paul
2018 Colette Veber
2019 Official Secrets Kamal Ahmed
2020 Ernie Writer and producer
2021 SAS: Red Notice Prime Minister Atwood
Boiling Point Freeman Also executive producer
2023 Bonus Track Mr Zeppelin [27]
2025 Black Diamond
TBA Fortunate Sons †

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 The Bill Charlie Episode: "Taking Sides"
2000 Losing It Ray Television film
2001 The Armando Iannucci Shows Episode: "Communication"
My Family Gary Episode: "Trust Never Sleeps"
2002 Blood Strangers Zafar Wahid Television film
Spooks Chalak Ahmed Episode: "One Last Dance"; uncredited
2003 Rehab Naz Television film
Doctors Duncan Marks Episode: "Donations"
2003–2005 EastEnders Ronny 158 episodes
2005 Blessed Lance 8 episodes
2006 Strictly Confidential Ali Series 1 Episode 3
2013 Life of Crime DS Nabeel Kothari Episode: "1997"
2014 DCI Banks Jeff Kitson Episodes: "Bad Boy Parts 1 & 2"
The Wrong Mans Khalil 2 episodes
2015 Crackanory Nasim 1 episode
2016–2020 Marcella DI/DCI Rav Sangha 24 episodes
2020 Gangs of London Jevan Kapadia 8 episodes
Away Ram Arya 10 episodes
2022 The Serpent Queen Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine 13 episodes
2023 Boiling Point Freeman

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2020 Dreams Dreams architect

References

  1. "Ray Panthaki: Breakthrough Brit in 2014". BAFTA. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. Tabbara, Mona (2024-09-04). "Iain Canning, Barnaby Thompson, Ray Panthaki join Bafta film committee". Screen. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  3. Alex Ritman (1 June 2018). "'Colette' Star Ray Panthaki on Helping Remove Racial Casting Barriers". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. Lacey, Hester (12 February 2022). "Ray Panthaki: 'I need to continue making films. I don't know why'". Financial Times.
  5. "Ray Panthaki Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  6. "Vicky McClure to star in Convenience". Screen International. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  7. "Cruelly funny black comedy thriller." Remotegoat. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  8. "Halley wins top prize at East End Film Festival". screendaily. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  9. "SHORTS: LIFE SENTENCE/THE UNDREAM". Eastendfilmfestival.com. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  10. "Youth of Today : TAKE ONE". www.takeonecff.com. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  11. "Convenience". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  12. Felperin, Leslie (1 October 2015). "Convenience review – fun-fuelled comedy caper". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. Cooper, Sarah. "The British independent comedy is being produced by Ray Panthaki for his company Urban Way". Screen International. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  14. "Ray Panthaki - Why I'm Open About Cost Of Film". Sky News. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  15. Lalji, Aly (2015-09-29). "Convenience review: "Highly recommended"". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  16. "10 Actor/Producers you should already know about! - Raindance". Raindance. 2013-10-25. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  17. "Thesps Among BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits". Variety. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  18. Adejobi, Alicia (February 2021). "Marcella viewers 'obsessed' as Rav confronts her in Ireland after faking her own death". Metro. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  19. Lodderhose, Diana (2017-07-10). "Ray Panthaki Joins Keira Knightley & Dominic West In Wash Westmoreland's 'Colette'". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  20. "Sundance market cools with few breakouts or Oscar pics". Southern California Public Radio. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2018-05-16.
  21. Feldman, Dana (6 September 2020). "Ray Panthaki Says the Unifying Message of Away Comes at the Perfect Time". Forbes. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. "Netflix announces cast for original series Away starring Hilary Swank and Josh Charles". About Netflix. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  23. "Ali G Indahouse (2002)". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  24. Bradshaw, Peter (22 March 2002). "Can Sacha Baron Cohen take Ali G to the big screen and still keep his legions of fans? Very probably, writes Peter Bradshaw". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  25. Pulver, Andrew (2021-11-03). "Belfast and Boiling Point top British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  26. Ritman, Alex (2025-07-16). "Ray Panthaki's Feature Directorial Debut 'In Starland,' Starring 'Sing Sing' Breakout Clarence Maclin, Rounds Out Cast and Unveils First Look (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  27. Dalton, Ben (2022-08-17). "Bankside boards Sky-backed UK feature Bonus Track as production begins (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2023-03-24.