Amrita Acharia
Norwegian actress
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Amrita Acharia (Nepali: अमृता आचार्य, also spelled Acharya) is a British actress of Nepalese–Ukrainian origins. She is best known for her roles as Irri in the HBO series Game of Thrones and as Dr. Ruby Walker in the ITV series The Good Karma Hospital.
Amrita Acharya | |
|---|---|
| अमृता आचार्य | |
Acharia at the Triforce SFF Awards in 2014 | |
| Born | 31 July 1987[1] |
| Other name | Amrita Acharya |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Notable work | Game of Thrones |
| Height | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)[2] |
Early life
Acharia was born in Patan, Nepal. Her father is Nepalese and met her Ukrainian mother while studying in Lviv. Acharia grew up in Kathmandu, Ukraine, England and Norway. She spent her first seven years in Nepal, before her father's job took the family to England and then, as a teenager, to Tromsø, Norway.[3]
At the age of 19, having finished high school in Norway, Acharia moved to England seeking a career in acting.[4][5] She trained at ALRA.[2]
Career
Acharia played the role of Irri, a Dothraki servant of Daenerys Targaryen in the first two seasons of Game of Thrones. Her character died during the second season.[6] In a scene cut from the broadcast programmes, Irri was strangled by her fellow handmaiden Doreah (played by Roxanne McKee).
Amrita also made an appearance as a school girl in the biographical film The Devil's Double.
Acharia played the lead in the Norwegian feature film I Am Yours, a role which landed her a nomination for Best Actress at the Norwegian Amanda Awards. The film was chosen as Norway's foreign-language Academy Awards submission.[7]
In 2016 Acharia appeared in the role as State Prosecutor in the Norwegian TV-series Frikjent.
From 2017 to 2022 she starred as Dr Ruby Walker in the ITV series The Good Karma Hospital. Acharia played an NHS junior doctor who, faced with frustration at work and issues in her personal life, responds to an advert to work at a public hospital in the southern Indian state of Kerala (although the show was actually filmed in Sri Lanka rather than India).[3] She was longlisted for the 2019 National Television Awards in the Best Drama Performance category for the role.[8]
She is the lead in the British psychological thriller Welcome to Curiosity which is supposedly the world's first film to be entirely crowdfunded. The producers raised £200,000 through crowdfunding. It relates four interconnected stories based around a serial killer's escape from prison.[9]
Personal life
Acharia completed the London Marathon in 2016, with a time of 03:46:07.[10]
She is an ambassador for the charity ChoraChori, which works to support displaced and trafficked Nepalese children from India.[11] She speaks Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Norwegian.[6][12] She does not speak Nepali, but stated she is planning to learn it.[13][3]
Filmography
| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | In Company of Wolves[14] | Rita | Short film |
| Collectables | Woman | Short film | |
| 2011 | The Devil's Double[15] | School Girl | |
| Lapland | Bride | TV film | |
| 2013 | I Am Yours[16] | Mina | Original title: Jeg er din |
| 2014 | Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead[17] | Reidun | Original title: Død snø 2 |
| Camouflage[18] | Amira | ||
| 2015 | Amar Akbar & Tony[19] | Richa | |
| Of Her I Dream[20] | Sharza | Short film | |
| Queen's Mile[21] | Ania | Short film | |
| 2016 | Kiss the Devil in the Dark[22] | Lilly | Short film |
| 2018 | White Chamber[23] | Ruth | |
| Genesis[24] | Alexa Brooks | ||
| Welcome to Curiosity[9] | Zoe | ||
| Sibi and Dan[25] | Kate | TV film | |
| 2019 | Missing Link[26] | Ama Lahuma | Voice role |
| 2023 | There's Something in the Barn[27] | Carol Nordheim | |
| Black Dog[28] | Doctor[29] | ||
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Casualty | Neela Sarin | Episode: "A Lesser Good"[30] |
| 2011 | Doctors | Saskia Tremlett | Episode: "Candidate"[31] |
| 2011–2012 | Game of Thrones | Irri | Recurring role, 13 episodes[32] |
| 2015 | Pen & Paper & Laser Guns | Abby | Episode: "Series 1, Episode 2" |
| 2016 | Frikjent | Amina Sahir | Series regular, 8 episodes[33] |
| 2017 | Red Dwarf | Waitress Greta | Episode: "Timewave"[34] |
| 2017–2022 | The Good Karma Hospital | Dr. Ruby Walker | Series regular, 18 episodes[35] |
| 2020 | The Sister | Holly Fox | Miniseries, 4 episodes[36] |
| 2022–2024 | The Serpent Queen | Aabis | Series regular, 16 episodes |
| 2026 | Tiger Island | Narrator | BBC documentary miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2026 | Van der Valk | Inge Palmberg | Episode: Series 4, Episode 3 |
Video game
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 | Safia Ulusoy | Voice role[37] |
| 2026 | Dragon Quest VII Reimagined | Aishe | Voice role[38] |
Radio / Podcast
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | BBC Limelight: Wolf Valley | Lena | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
Theatre credits
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Elevator | She | New Diorama Theatre, London | [39] |
| 2014 | At The End of Everything Else | Icka | Unicorn Theatre, London | [40] |
| 2015 | The Chronicles of Kalki | Kalki | Gate Theatre, London | [41] |
| 24 Hour Plays – Heroines | Yvette | Royal National Theatre, London | [42] | |
| 2020 | The Special Relationship | Anne Whyman | Soho Theatre, London | [43] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (with Game of Thrones cast) | Game of Thrones | Nominated |
| 2014 | Amanda Award | Best Actress | I Am Yours | Nominated |
| 2016 | Utah Film Award | Best Supporting Actress: Short/Series | Kiss the Devil in the Dark | Nominated |
| Northern Light Talent | Northern Light Talent | Won | ||
| 2018 | Maverick Movie Award | Best Supporting Actress: Short | Kiss the Devil in the Dark | Nominated |
| Best Ensemble Performance: Short (with Dameon Clarke, Doug Jones, Gary Reimer, Rick Macy, Johnny Call, Amy Lia, Brian Higgins, Sonia Macari, Jake Stormoen, Jillian Joy, Beth Mayoh & James C. Morris) | Kiss the Devil in the Dark | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | The International Horror Hotel Film Award | Best Creature(s) (with Doug Jones, Chris Hanson, Jonathan Martin, Rebecca Martin, Amy Lia & Jillian Joy) | Kiss the Devil in the Dark | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress, Short Film | Kiss the Devil in the Dark | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | CinEuphoria Award | Merit – Honorary Award (with Game of Thrones cast and crew) | Game of Thrones | Won |
