Calvin Demba is an English actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles in ''

Youngers ''Youngers'' is a British comedy drama series created by Benjamin Kuffuor and Levi David Addai. It began airing on E4 on 20 March 2013. It is produced by Big Talk Productions. The series has been picked up for international distribution by BBC ...

'' and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''.

Early life

Demba was born and raised in East London. From the age of 17, Demba attended The Half Moon youth theatre in

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...

, before signing with an acting agency in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

Career

Demba first came to prominence in 2011, when he was cast as Scott Sabeka in the Channel 4 soap ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

''. Demba stayed in the role for a year, filming 82 episodes as Sabeka. In 2013, Demba made his theatrical debut, in the play ''Routes'', portraying Kola. The play was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in London. From 2013-2014, Demba portrayed Jay in the E4 comedy-drama series ''

''. In an interview with ''

The National Student ''The National Student'' was a national print and online magazine for higher education students in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a co ...

'', Demba shared, "I’m hoping shows like this will open up the doors for more young black actors and this will be good for that reason alone. It conveys young people in a positive way and as goal-orientated which is not always done. There are no drug references, no sex and not even any swearing. I feel like we’re going in the right direction with this because it shows we’re not all drug-taking people without hope. There are diamonds in the rough." In 2015, Demba was nominated for the Evening Standard 'Emerging Talent' Award for his performance in

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...

's ''The Red Lion'' at the National Theatre, London. In 2020, Demba starred as Andy Okonkwo in the BBC drama ''

'', alongside

Alison Steadman Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Ma ...

Victoria Hamilton Victoria Hamilton (born 5 April 1971) is an English actress. After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the ...

and

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the Lo ...

. In 2022, Demba wrote and directed short film, ''Babydolls'', which was his directing debut, and a project backed by the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

. Demba was one of four writers honoured at the 2022 Film London Lodestars; the ceremony honours innovative creators and practitioners to watch. Demba is featured in the upcoming

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

drama series, ''Supacell''.

Credits

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demba, Calvin Living people British television actors British film actors Year of birth missing (living people)