Eshaan Akbar (/ˈiːʃæn/; born 14 August 1984)[citation needed][1][non-primary source needed] is an English comedian, writer and actor.[2][3]
Eshaan Akbar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 August 1984 |
| Education | Queen Mary University of London (BA) Birkbeck, University of London (MA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Website | eshaanakbar |
Early life
editAkbar is an English person of Pakistani and Bangladeshi ancestry. Born in Whitechapel, east London, he moved with his family to Essex where he attended Forest School, a private Church of England school in Snaresbrook. Akbar studied Economics, Finance and Management at Queen Mary University of London and worked in wealth management until the 2008 crash. He then completed a master's degree in Global Governance and Public Policy at Birkbeck College, University of London, where his dissertation focused on UK aid provision in the 21st century.
He also worked at the London Borough of Merton Council and HSBC. He also had stints at the British Heart Foundation and Anthony Nolan. Akbar has also worked as a Bollywood dance choreographer and journalist.[4]
Career
editEshaan Akbar began performing stand-up in 2014 doing five-minute spots at open mic nights like We Are Funny Project and the Comedy Cafe. He made the final of the So You Think You're Funny competition and Laughing Horse in that same year. In 2016, he supported Micky Flanagan on his warm up tour. He has gone on to support Dane Baptiste, Hal Cruttenden, Rory Bremner, Jan Ravens, Sindhu Vee, and Jason Manford.[5]
On TV, he has appeared on Live At The Apollo, The Big Asian Stand-Up, Frankie Boyle's New World Order, Mock the Week, QI, The Big Asian Stand-Up Night,[6] Sunday Morning Live and has written for Rob Rinder's Good Year, Bad Year.[7]
On radio, he hosted a regular Saturday afternoon show on the BBC Asian Network,[8] including stints covering The Breakfast Show and Drivetime. He is also the host for the award-winning Nine Twenty Nine podcast for Fiverr and the But Where Are You Really From? podcast for the BBC. He created Panic Room, an Audible podcast, presenting alongside John Robins and Olga Koch.
He co-hosts the podcast Shame is Delicious with Darren Harriott.[9][10]
He is a celebrity Ambassador for the Action on Hearing Loss charity.[11]
Akbar starred as Principal Lakhani in season four of the Netflix series Sex Education.[12][13]
In October 2024, he was criticised for mocking the victims of Hamas' 7 October 2023 attack on Israel on the one year anniversary of the attack.[14]
References
edit- ^ Akbar), Michael Pakintyre (aka Eshaan (14 August 2018). "Tonight, I'm watching @abcomedian with @TheNewsAtGlenn then heading off to Abbatoir for drinks to celebrate my birthday – I'm 34. What? Please come if you're around x". [dead link]
- ^ Best, Steve (21 September 2017). Joker Face: Over 450 Comedians Share Their Best One-liners. Unbound Publishing. ISBN 9781783523399 – via Google Books.
- ^ "FRINGE 2019: Why you need to see… Eshaan Akbar". JOE.co.uk. 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Comedian Eshaan Akbar wants you to see the funny side of the Koran". London Evening Standard. 25 July 2018.
- ^ "About". eshaanakbar.
- ^ G, J. (6 August 2020). "Eshaan Akbar | Blue Book Artist Management". Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ "Eshaan Akbar". IMDb.
- ^ "Eshaan, Sunil and Nim". BBC.
- ^ "Darren Harriott & Eshaan Akbar: Shame is Delicious – live podcast | Leicester Comedy Festival". Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "SHAME IS DELICIOUS". Just For Laughs - London. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Ambassadors". Action on Hearing Loss.
- ^ "I'm absolutely astounded and honoured to let you know that I'll be starring in the new season of @sexeducation on @netflix, coming out later this year!". Twitter. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "I make my acting debut on @NetflixUK on @sexeducation as Principal Lakhani". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ^ "Eshaan Akbar accused of 'mocking' October 7 victims". Chortle.
External links
edit- Eshaan Akbar at IMDb