Rhik Samadder

{{short description|Journalist, writer, broadcaster and actor}}

{{BLP primary sources|date=September 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Rhik Samadder is a British journalist, writer, broadcaster and actor.

Childhood and education

He was born in Lewisham{{Cite web |date=2019-08-13 |title=Life on the inside |url=https://unherd.com/2019/08/life-on-the-inside/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}} on 24 December 1980, the son of parents who immigrated from India the previous year.{{Cite web |title=C&W Agency |url=https://cwagency.co.uk/client/rhik-samadder/work/i-never-said-i-loved-you |access-date=2022-03-21 |website=cwagency.co.uk}}

He did a degree in philosophy at University College London,{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Helen |title=I Never Said I Love You by Rhik Samadder review — a blazing account of depression |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/i-never-said-i-love-you-by-rhik-samadder-review-sex-grief-and-the-power-of-an-embarrassing-mum-mtl9qhn5q |access-date=2022-03-19 |issn=0140-0460}} and studied acting at the Drama Centre London.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-18 |title=Rhik Samadder |url=https://www.headline.co.uk/contributor/rhik-samadder/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks |language=en-US}}

Career

As an actor, he had roles on HBO, BBC, ITV and Channel 4.{{Cite web |title=I Never Said I Loved You: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER by Rhik Samadder - Books |url=https://www.hachette.com.au/rhik-samadder/i-never-said-i-loved-you-the-sunday-times-bestseller |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=www.hachette.com.au}} On stage, he had title roles in The Indian Boy (Royal Shakespeare Company 2006) and Romeo and Juliet (Salisbury Playhouse). Other theatre roles include King Saturn (Soho Theatre), Fewer Emergencies (Oxford Playhouse), No Smoke (Arcola Theatre) and Ealing Common (Theatre 503). His film credits include Chemical Wedding (2008).{{Cite web |title=Liars' League |url=https://www.liarsleague.com/liars_league/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Liars' League}}

He began to be disillusioned with acting because, as an actor of Asian descent, the majority of parts he was approached for were terrorist dramas.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-20 |title='Rejection didn't hurt my pride - I had none left': confessions of a failed actor {{!}} Rhik Samadder |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jul/20/rhik-samadder-confessions-of-a-failed-actor |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} After his father died in 2006, he had a breakdown and moved in with his mother, causing him to reassess his career and abandon acting.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-20 |title='Rejection didn't hurt my pride - I had none left': confessions of a failed actor {{!}} Rhik Samadder |url=http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jul/20/rhik-samadder-confessions-of-a-failed-actor |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}

He now has a regular column in The Guardian, where he created successful features such as Inspect a gadget and Rhik Samadder tries something new.{{Cite web |date=2019-08-13 |title=Rhik Samadder on I Never Said I Loved You: 'I didn't want to write about abuse' |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/rhik-samadder-i-never-said-i-loved-you-interview |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=British GQ |language=en-GB}} He has also written for The Observer as well as for GQ, Men's Health and Prospect magazines.{{Cite web |date=2019-03-18 |title=Rhik Samadder |url=https://www.headline.co.uk/contributor/rhik-samadder/ |access-date=2022-03-19 |website=Headline Publishing Group, home of bestselling fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks |language=en-US}}

He is the author of the acclaimed autobiographical memoir I never said I loved you (2019) which tackles difficult themes such as race, sexual abuse, eating disorders, and mental health and is a Sunday Times bestseller.{{Cite web |title=I Never Said I Loved You: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - Rhik Samadder; {{!}} Foyles Bookstore |url=https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/biography/i-never-said-i-loved-you-the-sunday-tim,rhik-samadder-9781472250704 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=www.foyles.co.uk}}

References

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