Harki Bhambra
{{Short description|English actor}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Harkirat Singh Bhambra
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|3|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = Leeds, England
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
}}
| occupation =
| years_active = 2014–present
}}
Harkirat Singh Bhambra (born 7 March 1985) is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC Two sitcom Two Doors Down (2016), the BBC One series Our Girl (2017–2018), the ITV drama The Good Karma Hospital (2022) and the RTÉ comedy-drama Sisters (2023).
Early life
Born in Leeds, Bhambra grew up in the Upper Wortley and Whinmoor areas of the city.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bigissuenorth.com/features/2022/01/hospital-pass/#close|title=Hospital pass|journal=Big Issue North|first=Patrick|last=Barlow|date=31 January 2022|accessdate=13 February 2024}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/people/celebrity-interviews/22565675.best-yorkshire-life-harki-bhambra/|title=My best Yorkshire life: Harki Bhambra|journal=Great British Life|first=Kathryn|last=Armstrong|date=30 March 2022|accessdate=13 February 2024}} He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Management{{Cite web|url=https://www.livingnorth.com/article/harki-bhambra-discusses-new-series-good-karma-hospital|title=Harki Bhambra Discusses the New Series of The Good Karma Hospital|journal=Living North|date=February 2022|accessdate=13 February 2024}} from the University of Manchester and worked as a commercial manager and quantity surveyor in the construction industry for five years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.asianstandard.co.uk/with-my-accent-i-thought-id-be-working-in-doncaster-not-sri-lanka-says-leeds-actor/|title="With my accent I thought I'd be working in Doncaster not Sri Lanka" says Leeds actor|journal=Asian Standard|first=Shawna|last=Healey|date=12 February 2022|accessdate=13 February 2024}} He went on to train at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mountview.org.uk/news/autumn-graduate-news/|title=Alumni Graduate News|website=Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts|accessdate=13 February 2024}}
Career
After taking part in university and fringe productions, Bhambra made his television debut in 2015 with guest appearances in the Doctor Who series 9 episode "The Magician's Apprentice",{{Cite web|url=https://guide.doctorwhonews.net/person.php?name=HarkiBhambra|title=Harki Bhambra|website=Doctor Who Guide|accessdate=14 February 2024}} as well as episodes of Londongrad and Drifters. He would later return to the Doctor Who universe for The Night Doctor Adventures audio drama from Big Finish Productions. In 2016, Bhambra had his first main role as Jaz in first two series of the BBC Two sitcom Two Doors Down.{{Cite web|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/harki_bhambra/|title=Harki Bhambra|website=British Comedy Guide|accessdate=14 February 2024}} Bhambra then joined the main cast of the BBC One military drama Our Girl for its third series as Rab.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/our-girl-cast/|title=Meet the cast of Our Girl|journal=RadioTimes|first=Susanna|last=Lazarus|date=4 July 2018|accessdate=14 February 2024}} He had a small role in the 2018 anthology London Unplugged and appeared in The Village at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.{{Cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/first-look-at-the-village-at-theatre-royal-stratford-east|title=First Look at The Village at Theatre Royal Stratford East|website=Playbill|first=Hannah|last=Vine|date=13 September 2018|accessdate=23 March 2020}}
In 2020 and 2021, Bhambra played Ajay Dewan in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. In 2022, Bhambra starred in the fourth series of the medical drama The Good Karma Hospital, also on ITV,{{Cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1553329/the-good-karma-hospital-season-4-cast-harki-bhambra-samir-hasan|title=The Good Karma Hospital season 4 cast: Who is newcomer Harki Bhambra as Dr Samir Hasan?|journal=Daily Express|first=Hayley|last=Anderson|date=23 January 2022|accessdate=15 February 2024}} and appeared in an episode of the BBC miniseries This Is Going to Hurt.{{Cite web|url=https://www.entertainmentdaily.com/tv/this-is-going-to-hurt-huck-is-harki-bhambra/|title=Meet Harki Bhambra: Huck in BBC One’s This Is Going to Hurt|website=Entertainment Daily|first=Aaliyah|last=Ashfield|accessdate=13 February 2024}} This was followed by his feature film debut in the 2023 biographical sports film Gran Turismo as Persol{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/gran-turismo-film-from-sony-rounds-out-cast-with-six-additions-1235186727/|title='Gran Turismo' Film From Sony Rounds Out Cast With Six Additions|website=Deadline Hollywood|last=Grobar|first=Matt|date=2 December 2022|access-date=5 December 2022|archive-date=8 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208190812/https://deadline.com/2022/12/gran-turismo-film-from-sony-rounds-out-cast-with-six-additions-1235186727/|url-status=live}} and a role as Steve in the RTÉ comedy Sisters.
Personal life
Bhambra plays football as a hobby and supports Arsenal, as influenced by Ian Wright.{{Cite web|url=https://www.blowoutmagazine.com/other-stuff/2022/5/9/harki-bhambra|title=Harki Bhambra|journal=Blowout Magazine|first=Erica|last=Bergsmeds|date=9 May 2022|accessdate=13 February 2024}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2018
| Dan'ish | Anthology |
| 2023
| Persol | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2015
| Mike | Episode: "The Magician's Apprentice" |
| 2015
| Jimmy Winter | 1 episode |
| 2015
| Drifters | Best Man | Episode: "Wedding" |
| 2016
| Jaz | Main role, series 1–2 (10 episodes) |
| 2017–2018
| Our Girl | Rab | Main role, series 3 (12 episodes) |
| 2020
| Vera | Vinay Deol | Episode: "Parent Not Expected" |
| 2020
| Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Amit Azim | Episode: "Teach Me, Dear Creature" |
| 2020
| Bobby Singh | Episode: "Raga" |
| 2020–2021
| Ajay Dewan | 5 episodes |
| 2021
| Raj Gupta | 1 episode |
| 2021
| Flack | Stu | Episode: "Sofi" |
| 2022
| Huck | 1 episode |
| 2022
| Dr Samir Hasan | Main role, series 4 (6 episodes) |
| 2023
| Sisters | Steve | 4 episodes |
Stage
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2014
| Mind the Gap | Faisul | Unity Theatre, Liverpool{{Cite web|url=https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/mind-the-gap-unity-liverpool_35678/|title=Mind the Gap (Unity, Liverpool)|website=WhatsOnStage|first=Janie|last=Phillips|date=12 September 2014|accessdate=15 February 2024}} |
| 2015
| Object Love | Isaac | The Vaults, London{{Cite web|url=https://viewsfromthegods.co.uk/object-love.shtml|title=Plays - Object Love|website=Views from the Gods|date=31 January 2015|accessdate=15 February 2024}} |
| 2018
| The Village | Gopi |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|7546157}}
- [https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/harki-bhambra/ Harki Bhambra] at Independent Talent
{{DEFAULTSORT:bhambra, harki}}
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester
Category:English male television actors
Category:English people of South Asian descent