Akshay was born and raised in East London, and his early life was marked by a painful shyness that his mother sought to address by enrolling him in acting classes at a local stage school when he was just 11 years old.
He made his stage debut at the age of 11, cast as Don John in a production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' as part of the Shakespeare Schools' Festival. This initial exposure to the stage sparked a passion in Akshay, and he went on to work with the National Youth Theatre, building a strong foundation in his craft.
At the age of 18, Akshay secured a place on the BA Acting course at The Drama Centre London, where he honed his skills and began to make a name for himself in the industry. During his time at the Drama Centre, he landed several professional screen credits, including small roles in ITV's 'Lewis' and BBC's 'Silent Witness'.
Akshay's breakthrough role came when he was cast as Aasef in the BBC 2 mini-series 'WhiteHeat', starring Sam Claflin, Claire Foy, and Hugh Quarshie. This role marked a turning point in his career, and he was soon approached by United Agents, with whom he signed a contract just one week prior to starting at The Drama Centre.
The final year of Akshay's time at the Drama Centre was a particularly busy one, with several key roles and projects on the horizon. He secured his first lead role as Cam, a quiet and tech-savvy genius, in the teen-party film 'Legacy', and went on to play Nicki Veer in the romantic comedy 'One Crazy Thing', alongside Ray Panthaki and Daisy Bevan.
Akshay's versatility as an actor was further demonstrated when he took on the role of Roshan Jabour in ITV's 'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Beyond the Pale', alongside Paddy Considine. Just a month before graduation, he was cast as Rahim in Season 4 of the Emmy-winning U.S. show 'Homeland', starring Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, and Suraj Sharma.
Akshay's first Hollywood feature film credit came in the form of a small but essential role in Michael Apted's 'Unlocked', starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, and Michael Douglas. Since then, he has continued to work steadily between British and American film and television, as well as a handful of short and independent films, some of which he has co-produced.
