Raza Jaffrey
Encyclopedia
Raza Jaffrey is a British actor, most notable for playing the character of Zafar Younis
in the BBC1 television spy drama Spooks
/ MI-5
.
, England, the son of an Indian sea captain from Agra
and a white English mother from Liverpool
. He grew up in London and was educated at Dulwich College
(1986–91), alongside fellow Spooks
actor Rupert Penry-Jones
(1982–89). He studied English and Drama at Manchester University, and studied acting at Bristol Old Vic
Theatre School.
He originally intended to be a pilot, and was to join the Royal Air Force on leaving Manchester University. Whilst at University he appeared in a number of plays at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including The London Vertigo by Brian Friel, and at The Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
, including Henry VIII, and A Comedy Of Errors. In his final year at Manchester he worked with RSC chief associate director Gregory Doran which he has cited as one of the things that led him to apply for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and eventually go on to become a professional actor. Throughout his time at Manchester he was also the lead singer with a jazz funk band.
(Oldham Coliseum), and 14 Songs 2 Weddings and A Funeral (Lyric Hammersmith, Birmingham Rep and Tour) .
His break came in 2001 when he was cast as Sky in Mamma Mia!
at The Prince Edward Theatre, London, directed by Phyllida Lloyd
. From this he went on to land the leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber
's production of A.R. Rahman's Bombay Dreams at The Apollo Theatre, London, directed by Steven Pimlott
. He won rave reviews for his performance with The BBC hailing him as "the most exciting new leading man to emerge in a London musical since Hugh Jackman
became an overnight star in the National Theatre production of Oklahoma".
After leaving Bombay Dreams he appeared in ITV1’s M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, the HBO/BBC co-production Dirty War
and the three part BBC Drama Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
. In 2005 he began work on the BBC One spy drama series Spooks
/ MI-5
, as agent Zafar Younis. During this time he returned to the stage playing Orsino in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at The Albery Theatre London, and was cast in the David Cronenberg
film Eastern Promises.
He then left Spooks
to join the BBC One drama series Mistresses and went on to star in Sharpe's Peril
alongside Sean Bean
and the feature films Infinite Justice
, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at The Kara Film Festival
, The Crew
and Harry Brown
.
In 2010, he appeared in the follow-up feature film to Sex and the City, Sex and the City 2
, as Guarav. He then went on to star opposite Ashley Jensen
as cheating boyfriend Mike in the BBC1 comedy Accidental Farmer
.
In 2011 he appeared as the French supervillain Cain on the NBC superhero drama The Cape before working for NBC again on the Steven Spielberg produced drama Smash
. Jaffrey plays the English boyfriend of rising broadway star Karen played by Katharine McPhee
. The show also stars Anjelica Houston and Debra Messing
, and was shot entirely on location in in New York City.
Jaffrey still continues to sing and has performed in a number of concert productions, including singing at The London Palladium with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
, and with the BBC Concert Orchestra for BBC Radio 2.
He was also the creator and co-producer of the dance show "RED," a celebration of dozens of styles of movement and dance featuring flamenco, salsa, capoeira hip-hop, belly dance, kathkali, break dance, ballet; brought together by their influences on and from India. He took the show to Johannesburg
’s Nelson Mandela Theatre.
actress Miranda Raison
in September 2007, shortly after he left the show. In November 2009, they separated.
Zafar Younis
Zafar Younis is a fictional character in the popular BBC espionage drama Spooks, known in the United States as MI-5. The show follows the exploits of MI5's counter-terrorism group, Section D. The character is played by British actor Raza Jaffrey. Zafar is introduced in the last episode of series...
in the BBC1 television spy drama Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
/ MI-5
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
.
Early life
Jaffrey was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, the son of an Indian sea captain from Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
and a white English mother from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. He grew up in London and was educated at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
(1986–91), alongside fellow Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
actor Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
(1982–89). He studied English and Drama at Manchester University, and studied acting at Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
Theatre School.
He originally intended to be a pilot, and was to join the Royal Air Force on leaving Manchester University. Whilst at University he appeared in a number of plays at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including The London Vertigo by Brian Friel, and at The Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival
The Pendley Open Air Shakespeare Festival is, as the name implies, an annual festival dedicated to the plays of William Shakespeare. It takes place at the beginning of August at Pendley Manor, a hotel in Tring, Hertfordshire.-History:...
, including Henry VIII, and A Comedy Of Errors. In his final year at Manchester he worked with RSC chief associate director Gregory Doran which he has cited as one of the things that led him to apply for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and eventually go on to become a professional actor. Throughout his time at Manchester he was also the lead singer with a jazz funk band.
Career
After graduating from the Old Vic, he worked extensively on stage, appearing in Romeo and Juliet (Leicester Haymarket), Cyrano De Bergerac (The Theatre Royal Northampton and Tour), East Is EastEast is East (play)
East is East is a play by Ayub Khan-Din, first produced by Tamasha Theatre Company in co-production with the Royal Court and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. It is often cited as one of the key works to bring Asian culture to mainstream British audiences...
(Oldham Coliseum), and 14 Songs 2 Weddings and A Funeral (Lyric Hammersmith, Birmingham Rep and Tour) .
His break came in 2001 when he was cast as Sky in Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...
at The Prince Edward Theatre, London, directed by Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd
Phyllida Lloyd CBE is an English director, best known for her work in theatre and as the director of the most financially successful British film ever released, Mamma Mia!.-Career:...
. From this he went on to land the leading role in Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's production of A.R. Rahman's Bombay Dreams at The Apollo Theatre, London, directed by Steven Pimlott
Steven Pimlott
Steven Charles Pimlott OBE was an English opera and theatre director and actor. An obituary in The Times hailed him as "one of the most versatile and inventive theatre directors of his generation"...
. He won rave reviews for his performance with The BBC hailing him as "the most exciting new leading man to emerge in a London musical since Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
became an overnight star in the National Theatre production of Oklahoma".
After leaving Bombay Dreams he appeared in ITV1’s M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team, the HBO/BBC co-production Dirty War
Dirty War (film)
Dirty War is a 2004 BBC, in association with HBO Films, made-for-TV movie thriller/drama about a terrorist attack on Central London, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival. It was originally broadcast on BBC One on September 24, 2004, on HBO on January 24, 2005, and the first time on...
and the three part BBC Drama Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee
Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is a 1999 novel by Meera Syal that was later adapted into a three-part BBC television miniseries in 2005. Childhood friends Tania , Sunita and Chila are now in their 30s and at a crossroads in life...
. In 2005 he began work on the BBC One spy drama series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
/ MI-5
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, as agent Zafar Younis. During this time he returned to the stage playing Orsino in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at The Albery Theatre London, and was cast in the David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
film Eastern Promises.
He then left Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
to join the BBC One drama series Mistresses and went on to star in Sharpe's Peril
Sharpe's Peril
Sharpe's Peril is a British television drama, part of a series that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, based on the novels of Bernard Cornwell.- Production history :...
alongside Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
and the feature films Infinite Justice
Infinite Justice (film)
Infinite Justice is a film written and directed by British director Jamil Dehlavi. It was awarded the prize for BEST DRAMATIC FEATURE at the European Independent Awards in Paris in March 2007, and the Robert Rodriguez Award for Excellence at the 2007 Hollywood Digital Film Festival in Los Angeles....
, for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at The Kara Film Festival
Kara Film Festival
The KaraFilm Festival - Karachi International Film Festival is an internationally recognized film festival of Pakistan annually held in Karachi....
, The Crew
The Crew (2008 Film)
The Crew is a 2008 British crime film based on the novel "Outlaws" by Kevin Sampson. It is set in the criminal underworld of Northern England especially Liverpool, Merseyside.-Synopsis:...
and Harry Brown
Harry Brown (film)
Harry Brown is a 2009 British action drama film directed by Daniel Barber and starring Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Jack O'Connell, and Liam Cunningham....
.
In 2010, he appeared in the follow-up feature film to Sex and the City, Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City 2 is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film Sex and the City, which is based on the HBO TV series of the same name....
, as Guarav. He then went on to star opposite Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress who is best known for her roles in the television series Extras for which she was nominated for an Emmy, and ABC's Ugly Betty...
as cheating boyfriend Mike in the BBC1 comedy Accidental Farmer
Accidental Farmer
Accidental Farmer is a television drama by broadcast on BBC1 on 21 December 2010.It is about a London-based advertising executive who moves to a farm in Yorkshire after buying it with her boyfriend's credit card as revenge for cheating on her; and the rigours and problems she encounters on the...
.
In 2011 he appeared as the French supervillain Cain on the NBC superhero drama The Cape before working for NBC again on the Steven Spielberg produced drama Smash
Smash (TV series)
Smash is an upcoming American NBC series set to premiere on Monday, February 6, 2012.-Synopsis:The show revolves around a group of characters who come together to put on a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. But before that can happen, the people who will try to bring it all...
. Jaffrey plays the English boyfriend of rising broadway star Karen played by Katharine McPhee
Katharine McPhee
Katharine Hope McPhee is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, model, and television personality. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records...
. The show also stars Anjelica Houston and Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
, and was shot entirely on location in in New York City.
Jaffrey still continues to sing and has performed in a number of concert productions, including singing at The London Palladium with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
, and with the BBC Concert Orchestra for BBC Radio 2.
He was also the creator and co-producer of the dance show "RED," a celebration of dozens of styles of movement and dance featuring flamenco, salsa, capoeira hip-hop, belly dance, kathkali, break dance, ballet; brought together by their influences on and from India. He took the show to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
’s Nelson Mandela Theatre.
Personal life
He married fellow SpooksSpooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
actress Miranda Raison
Miranda Raison
-Early life:Born in Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, her father Nick Raison is a jazz pianist and artist, while her mother Caroline read the news for Anglia Television. She has two brothers and two sisters: Ed , Rosie, Sam and May. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her father remarried...
in September 2007, shortly after he left the show. In November 2009, they separated.
Credits
- SmashSmash (TV series)Smash is an upcoming American NBC series set to premiere on Monday, February 6, 2012.-Synopsis:The show revolves around a group of characters who come together to put on a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. But before that can happen, the people who will try to bring it all...
2011 - The Cape 2011 Cain
- Accidental FarmerAccidental FarmerAccidental Farmer is a television drama by broadcast on BBC1 on 21 December 2010.It is about a London-based advertising executive who moves to a farm in Yorkshire after buying it with her boyfriend's credit card as revenge for cheating on her; and the rigours and problems she encounters on the...
2010 Mike - Sex and the City 2Sex and the City 2Sex and the City 2 is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Patrick King. It is the sequel to the 2008 film Sex and the City, which is based on the HBO TV series of the same name....
(2010) Guarav - Harry BrownHarry Brown (film)Harry Brown is a 2009 British action drama film directed by Daniel Barber and starring Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Jack O'Connell, and Liam Cunningham....
2009 Father Bracken - Sharpe's PerilSharpe's PerilSharpe's Peril is a British television drama, part of a series that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, based on the novels of Bernard Cornwell.- Production history :...
2008 Lance Naik Singh - The CrewThe Crew (2008 Film)The Crew is a 2008 British crime film based on the novel "Outlaws" by Kevin Sampson. It is set in the criminal underworld of Northern England especially Liverpool, Merseyside.-Synopsis:...
(formerly Outlaws) 2008 Keith Thompson - Mistresses (TV series)Mistresses (TV series)Mistresses is a British serial drama television programme that follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships...
2008 Hari - SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
2004-2007 Zafar Younis - Eastern Promises 2007 Doctor Aziz
- Sex, the City and Me (TV) 2007 Shafi
- Infinite Justice (film)Infinite Justice (film)Infinite Justice is a film written and directed by British director Jamil Dehlavi. It was awarded the prize for BEST DRAMATIC FEATURE at the European Independent Awards in Paris in March 2007, and the Robert Rodriguez Award for Excellence at the 2007 Hollywood Digital Film Festival in Los Angeles....
2006 Kamal Khan - Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee HeeLife Isn't All Ha Ha Hee HeeLife Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee is a 1999 novel by Meera Syal that was later adapted into a three-part BBC television miniseries in 2005. Childhood friends Tania , Sunita and Chila are now in their 30s and at a crossroads in life...
2006 Krishan - Dirty WarDirty War (film)Dirty War is a 2004 BBC, in association with HBO Films, made-for-TV movie thriller/drama about a terrorist attack on Central London, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival. It was originally broadcast on BBC One on September 24, 2004, on HBO on January 24, 2005, and the first time on...
2004 Rashid Dhar