Ricky S. Sekhon (born 15 March 1983) is an English actor.

Early life

Sekhon was born in

Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of Punjabi

jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

parents. He has two older sisters. He graduated from the

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

in 2004 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Drama and Theatre Studies.

Career

Sekhon started as an acting member of the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

from 2001 to 2005. He played

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

in the 2012 film ''

Zero Dark Thirty ''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the S ...

''. At the time of auditioning, he was not told he was auditioning for Osama bin Laden, though he was aware the role was that of a terrorist. He spent eight weeks preparing for the role, during which he learned

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and read literature on bin Laden and his political ideology. Sekhon appeared as Hazeem in the 2010 comedy film '' The Infidel''. He has been a part of the National Youth Theatre's outreach programme for many years, taking drama to urban youth centres, directing short films, and shooting a film entitled ''The Induction'' with inmates at Feltham Young Offenders Institute. He has worked on directors' courses and short films at the

London Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, and had his work displayed at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

. His most recent role is in the second series of the BBC acclaimed drama '' The Missing''.

Personal life

Apart from English, Sekhon speaks French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and Punjabi.

Filmography

Film

*''Watch Over Me: Part 2'' - Taxi Driver (2004) *''Lucky Heather'' - Junkie (2006) *''All the Children Are Sleeping'' - Lead Assailant (2006) *''Greasy Spoon'' - Balif (2007) *''Immigration Education'' - Hassim (2007) *'' The Infidel'' - Hazeem (2010) *''The Last Call'' - Julian (2010) *''

'' -

Osama Bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

(2012) *''Double Date'' (2017)

Television

*''My True Life Shocker'' - 2008 *'' The Missing Series 2'' - Yardil Askari'' (2016)

References

External links

* *
Ricky Sekhon Spotlight Profile

Ricky Sekhon Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sekhon, Ricky 1983 births Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London British people of Indian descent English male film actors National Youth Theatre members Living people