Bio
Danny Sapani is an English actor best known for his starring role as Sembene, an African man with ritual face scarring who serves as Sir Malcolm's sentry and confidante, in the television horror series Penny Dreadful.
From Macbeth to Misfits and Doctor Who to Little Britain, Sapani is an accomplished and versatile actor whose work spans film, television, and theatre.
Born in Hackney and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, his film work includes The Oxford Murders (Alex de la Iglesia) starring Elijah Wood, Song for a Raggy Boy (Aisling Walsh) starring Aidan Quinn, Timecode II (Mike Figgis) and Hardboiled Sweets (David Hughes) starring Ian Hart.
He starred alongside James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson in Danny Boyle's Trance and also played the lead villain in the hugely successful Bollywood Singham 2 movie.
His wide-ranging TV credits include Doctor Who (Peter Hoar) starring Matt Smith, Garrow's Law (Ashley Pearce) starring Andrew Buchan, Misfits (Tom Green), Documental (Justin Theroux) starring Steve Coogan, Little Britain (Geoff Posner), Shirley, the Town (Colin Teague) and Blackout (Tom Green) alongside Chris Eccleston. He was also seen alongside Peter Mullan in The Fear.
Sapani's extensive theatre work encompasses The National Theatre, Royal Court, The Globe, and The Donmar Warehouse. He has worked with leading directors, including Sam Mendes (To the Green Fields Beyond), Mark Rylance (Julius Caesar), Nick Hytner (His Dark Materials) and Michael Attenborough (Big White Fog).
He is an experienced Shakespearean actor and played Macbeth in an award-winning production directed by Max Stafford Clark. He also had a leading, critically-acclaimed performance in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl at The National Theatre.