Tosin Cole (/ˈtsɪn/[2]) is a British actor. He is known for various roles in British television series and films. He began his on-screen career starring in The Cut and EastEnders: E20, later securing a regular role as Neil Cooper in the soap opera Hollyoaks and Ryan Sinclair in Doctor Who. In 2024, Cole appeared in Netflix's Supacell in a lead role.

Tosin Cole
Cole at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1992-07-23) 23 July 1992 (age 32)
Florida, U.S. [1]
Citizenship
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
Notable workThe Cut
EastEnders: E20
Hollyoaks
Doctor Who
Supacell

Early life

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Born in Florida, United States[1] to parents of Nigerian heritage and raised in New York City, New York.[3] Cole moved from New York to London, England at age 8. He attended Abbey Wood Secondary School in Greenwich, London. He left school before his A-levels to pursue a career in acting.[4]

Although Cole holds dual British and American citizenship, he considers himself as British.[1][5]

Career

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In 2009, Cole was part of a theatre production titled Wasted!, a modern reproduction of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, produced by Intermission Theatre, a company which helps teenagers stay away from crime.[6] In 2010, Cole joined the cast of BBC teen drama The Cut, in which he played the role of Noah Achebe, who was introduced in the third series.[7] In 2011, he filmed parts in two short films titled Me and My Dad and Jasmine.[8]

Cole later secured the role of Sol Levi in EastEnders: E20, a spin-off of the British soap opera EastEnders.[9] The role required Cole to learn to dance and perform his routine in front of professional dance group Flawless in the series finale. He was quoted as saying the experience was "very, very, very stressful."[10] Cole said it was a privilege to work on E20 and said the cast were fantastic.[11] Cole then agreed to reprise the role for the third series.[12] He was then cast as a regular character in soap opera Hollyoaks as Neil Cooper. Neil was one of six new characters the programme introduced,[13] playing the role from 2011 until the character's death in a bus explosion in 2012. He also filmed a television advert as part of the serial's promotional push for the new characters.[14]

The actor went on to appear in a 2013 episode of the BBC medical drama Holby City as Keith Potts.[8] He also played his first cinematic film role in Gone Too Far!, portraying Razer.[15] This was followed by another film role in Second Coming.[16] In 2014, came the role of Anthony in the miniseries The Secrets.[8] In 2015, Cole played the characters of Djimon Adomakoh in ITV drama Lewis and Kobina in an episode of historical series Versailles.[8] That year Cole also had a brief appearance in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as the X-Wing pilot Lt. Bastian.[17]

On 4 October 2017, Cole starred in the short film Father of Man.[18] He then played Amjad in the film Unlocked.[19] On 22 October 2017, it was announced that Cole had been cast in the eleventh series of Doctor Who, playing Ryan Sinclair, a companion to The Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, starting in 2018.[20] Cole departed the role in 2021 making his last appearance in the New Year's Day special "Revolution of the Daleks".[21]

In August 2022, Tosin Cole was announced as a lead character alongside an ensemble cast in Netflix's Supacell, directed by Rapman. [22] The six episode series was released on 27 June 2024.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Jasmine Tyler Short film
2013 Gone Too Far! Razer
2014 Second Coming Troy
Honeytrap Andre
2015 The Enchanted Rose Jude Short film
Shelter Ash Short film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lt. Bastian
2016 Roadkill Den (Younger) Short film
2017 Burning Sands Frank
Father of Man Alex Jacobs Short film
Unlocked Amjad
2019 The Souvenir Phil
2020 Certified Black Genius Kaye Short film
2021 The Souvenir Part II Phil
Pirates Clips
Ear for Eye US Young Adult
2022 Homeless Talent Chris Short film
Till Medgar Evers
2023 House Party Damon
2024 Bob Marley: One Love Tyrone Downie
2026 Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie TBA Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Cut Noah Achebe Series regular
2010–2011 EastEnders: E20 Sol Levi Series regular
2011–2012 Hollyoaks Neil Cooper Series regular
2012 Hollyoaks Later Series regular
2013 Holby City Keith Potts Episode: "The Cost of Loving"
2014 The Secrets Anthony Episode: "The Return"
2015 Lewis Djimon Adomakoh 2 episodes
Versailles Kobina Episode: "Mirror for Princes"
2018 Doctor Who Access All Areas Himself Guest; 10 episodes[23]
2018–2021 Doctor Who Ryan Sinclair Main role; 22 episodes (Series 1112)
2022 61st Street Moses Johnson Main role; 8 episodes
2024– Supacell Michael Main role; 6 episodes

Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue
2009 Sixteen Tyrone The Gate / SPID Theatre
Blainabe Michael Intermission Youth Theatre
Wasted Casca
2010 Verona Road Romeo
2011 Pandora's Box Tope Oval House Theatre
Mad About the Boy The Boy West Yorkshire Playhouse
2013 HMP Macbeth Malcolm Intermission Youth Theatre
2015 Stop Kriston Trafalgar Theatre
2016 They Drink It in the Congo William / Samo / Oliver / Kevin Almeida Theatre
2018 Ear for Eye Young Adult Royal Court Theatre
2024 Shifters Dre Bush Theatre

References

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  1. ^ a b c Baz Bamigboye (13 January 2023). "'Till' Star Tosin Cole: From Larking About In The 'House Party' Reboot To Portraying A Civil Rights Legend". deadline.com.
  2. ^ "The Cast of 'Doctor Who' Recap the Show in 16 Minutes". Vanity Fair. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  3. ^ Spencer-Elliott, Lydia (1 July 2024). "Supacell star Tosin Cole". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  4. ^ Fishwick, Samuel (23 October 2018). "Tosin Cole on Doctor Who, keeping secrets and the first play he saw". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  5. ^ Zak Maoui (11 March 2022). "Tosin Cole: "As a Brit it's important to be dressed by British designers"". gq-magazine.co.uk.
  6. ^ Fishwick, Samuel (23 October 2018). "Doctor Who's Tosin Cole: 'Seeing people who look like me on stage made me think I could do that'". Evening Standard.
  7. ^ "The Cut". BBC Online. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d Fullerton, Huw (23 October 2017). "New Doctor Who star Tosin Cole has already appeared in Star Wars". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (29 July 2010). "'EastEnders' announces new 'E20' cast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  10. ^ Press Association (9 October 2010). "E20's Tosin 'nervous' about dancing". MSN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (29 July 2010). "More on the new 'EastEnders: E20' cast!". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  12. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (23 June 2011). "'EastEnders: E20': Ricky Norwood introduces the cast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
  13. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (26 August 2011). "'Hollyoaks' new sixth form students – In Pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  14. ^ Smith, Chris (5 September 2011). "Meet the sexy sixth-form". E4. Channel 4 Television Corporation. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  15. ^ Baughan, Nikki (6 October 2014). "Gone Too Far!". The List. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Second Coming, Film Review. Picturehouse@F.A.C.T., Liverpool". Liverpool Sound and Vision. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  17. ^ "New Doctor Who star Tosin Cole has already appeared in Star Wars". Radio Times. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  18. ^ "Father Of Man [Short Film] Directed by Cornelius Walker & Starring Tosin Cole! – Your Cinema". yourcinemafilms.com. 15 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  19. ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (25 April 2017). "'Unlocked': Review". Screen. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Doctor Who: Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Sharon D Clarke join Jodie Whittaker as regular cast members". Radio Times. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  21. ^ ""Revolution of the Daleks" Preview Confirms Major Cast Exits, A Series 11 Character Return & More". Doctor Who TV. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  22. ^ Ellingham, Miles (8 July 2024). "Tosin Cole: Supacell's local hero". GQ Magazine. Condé Nast. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Access All Areas | Doctor Who: Series 11". YouTube. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
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