Kadiff Kirwan
{{short description|British actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kadiff Kirwan
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|2|3|df=y}}
| birth_place = Plymouth, Montserrat
| education =
| alma_mater = Central School of Speech and Drama
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2013–present
}}
Kadiff Kirwan (born 3 February 1989) is a British-Montserratian actor and writer.{{cite web |title=Kadiff Kirwan |url=https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/kadiff-kirwan |website=Curtis Brown |access-date=30 May 2025}} He is known for his roles in several British television series, particularly Chewing Gum, Timewasters, The Stranger and Slow Horses.
Early life and education
Kadiff Kirwan was born on 3 February 1989{{Cite tweet |user=kadiffkirwan |author=Kadiff Kirwan |number=165405847336398849 |title=The chocolate man is off to @choccywoccyshop for my #23 rd Birthday!! Woohoo!! Defiantly still drunk}} and raised in Plymouth, Montserrat.{{cite web |title=Kadiff Kirwan |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7042375 |publisher=IMDb |access-date=29 May 2025}} Kirwan moved with his family to Antigua, at the age of 7, after the 1995 Soufrière Hills volcanic eruption destroyed the family home. After two years in Antigua, Kirwan's family moved to Preston, England, where he developed a love for acting in school, and at 14 Kirwan was cast in a school production of Bugsy Malone.{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/bbc-queers-stars-reveal-the-moments-that-changed-their-lives/?page=2 |date=18 October 2017 |title=BBC Queers stars reveal the moments that changed their lives |website=Radio Times |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202184308/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/bbc-queers-stars-reveal-the-moments-that-changed-their-lives/?page=2 |archive-date=2 December 2024 |access-date=29 May 2025}}
On his desire to act, Kirwan has said: "I was bad at school. Like, really bad. And I had a drama teacher who from Year 9 onwards hounded me and told me that my behaviour issues would calm down if I went to drama classes after school. She kept pestering and eventually I went. Suddenly, everything started making sense: I was acting out because I was dealing with being gay and not telling my peers or my family because they're quite religious [...] I was going through a lot at the time, and acting was the thing that saved me. It gave me my voice."{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Laurence |date=14 July 2020 |title=How the Star of Netflix's The Stranger Kadiff Kirwan Learned to Be Fearless |url=https://www.backstage.com/uk/magazine/article/netflix-stranger-kadiff-kirwan-70153/ |website=Backstage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218181745/https://www.backstage.com/uk/magazine/article/netflix-stranger-kadiff-kirwan-70153/ |archive-date=18 February 2025 |access-date=29 May 2025}}
He graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama in 2011.{{cite web |author= |title=No stranger to fate |url=http://www.essence-magazine.co.uk/Kadiff-Kirwan-Interview-DecJan-2019.html |website=essence-magazine.co.uk |publisher=Maple Publishing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240529130508/http://www.essence-magazine.co.uk/Kadiff-Kirwan-Interview-DecJan-2019.html |archive-date=29 May 2024 |access-date=29 May 2025}}
Personal life
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2018
| Attaché |
| 2019
| Mayor |
| 2022
| My Policeman{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2021/06/harry-styles-filming-uk-my-policeman-kadiff-kirwan-timewasters-chewing-gum-1234767698/|title= 'Timewasters' & 'Chewing Gum' Star Kadiff Kirwan Joins Harry Styles Drama 'My Policeman'|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Andreas|last=Wiseman|date=2 June 2021|access-date=2 June 2021}} | Nigel |
=Television=
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2013
|Home | Nadia Fall |
| 2015
| {{sortname|The|Vote}} | Jerome Hanikie |
| 2019
| Guys and Dolls | Skye Masterson |
| 2024
|The Hot Wing King{{Cite web |title=The Hot Wing King {{!}} National Theatre |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-hot-wing-king/ |access-date=10 July 2024 |publisher=Royal National Theatre |language=en-GB}} |Cordell |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|7042375}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwan, Kadiff}}
Category:21st-century British male actors
Category:Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Category:Black British LGBTQ people
Category:Black British male actors