Fisayo Akinade

Akinade was born in Liverpool. He spent four years of his childhood in Nigeria before returning to the UK where he grew up in the Fallowfield and Moss Side areas of Manchester.^[4][5]

He wanted to be a gymnast growing up. However, after suffering injury, and the closure of the place where he practiced, Akinade began attending drop-in drama classes at the Contact Theatre, later joining the Contact Young Actors Company, and workshops at the Royal Exchange Theatre.^[6][7] He went on to train at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.^[8][9]

Akinade has performed in a number of productions on both stage and screen. On stage, he played Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Eros in Antony and Cleopatra.^[10] and several National Theatre productions.^[11]

His television breakthrough came in 2015, when he starred as Dean Monroe in Russell T Davies' drama Cucumber and its offshoots Banana and Tofu.^[12] In 2016, Akinade starred alongside Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton, and Paddy Considine in The Girl with All the Gifts.^[13]

He appeared in the 2019 feature film The Personal History of David Copperfield.^[11]

In 2020 he appeared in the National Theatre musical production, Barber Shop Chronicles,^[10] written by Inua Ellams. The show was presented live on stage and streamed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.^[14]

In 2021 he played Mercutio in the National Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, made for television. It premiered on 4 April 2021 on Sky Arts in the UK.^[10]

In February 2022, Akinade starred in Alistair McDowall's play The Glow.^[15] The play was performed at Royal Court Theatre Downstairs.^[16][17] Akinade featured in the Netflix series Heartstopper, released in April 2022, in which he plays schoolteacher and Charlie Spring's mentor, Nathan Ajayi.^[18] In November 2022, Akinade starred as Chevalier de Saint-Jacques in Starz drama Dangerous Liaisons, alongside Alice Englert, Nicholas Denton and Lesley Manville. Dangerous Liaisons was picked up for a second series.^[19]

In December 2025, Akinade appeared as Nurse Angel in Kate Winslet's directorial-debut film Goodbye June; the film aired on Netflix.^[20]

Akinade was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award for young British actors in 2014 for his role as Silvius and William in the UK tour production of As You Like It ^[21]. He went on to win third prize of the same award in 2016 for his role as The Dauphin in the Donmar Warehouse production of Saint Joan, losing out to Paapa Essiedu and Jessica Brown Findlay for the first and second prizes, respectively ^[22]. In 2025, Akinade became one of the judges of the Ian Charleson Award ^[23].

Akinade is openly gay. He cites Heartstopper as the kind of programme which would have helped him to come out of the closet much sooner. He also said the show has helped him become more joyful, bold, and brave about his own queerness.^[24]