Prasanna Puwanarajah
Prasanna Puwanarajah (Tamil: பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is a British actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor.
Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Tamil Sri Lankan parents from Sri Lanka, his mother a psychiatrist and his father a dentist. He spent his early childhood on Churchill Avenue in Ipswich before the family moved to Hampshire when he was four. He participated in school plays and spent a season with the National Youth Theatre, but thought of acting as more of a hobby than a career choice at the time.
He trained in Medicine at New College, Oxford. After working as a junior doctor in reconstructive surgery for over three years, Puwanarajah decided to take a year out. It was during this time he decided to become a full-time actor, describing it as "more of a strong pull towards something else" than a "push away from" his medical career.
Acting
TV
The Crown
as Martin Bashir
2016
Movie
The Gunman
as Doctor (UCL)
2015
Movie
Diana
as Martin Bashir
2013
TV
Patrick Melrose
as Johnny
2018
Movie
The Stoning of Soraya M.
as Revolutionary Guard
2009
Movie
Möbius
as Saïd
2013
TV
You, Me and the Apocalypse
as Rajesh
2015
TV
The Sarah Jane Adventures
as Car Salesman
2007
TV
Silk
as Dr Malik
2011
TV
Too Much
as Auggie
2025
TV
Payback
as DC Jibran Khan
2023
TV
The Listeners
as Paul
2024
TV
Critical
as Dr. Ramakrishna Chandramohan
2015
TV
Defending the Guilty
as Ashley
2018
TV
Ten Percent
as Dan Bala
2022
Movie
The Vote
as Tom Baird
2015
Movie
National Theatre Live: Hamlet
as Guildenstern
2010
Movie
Malcolm
as Joe
2023
Movie
The Baby Shower
2016
Movie
Finding Emily
as Professor Westlake
2026
Movie
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
as Servant
2010
Movie
National Theatre Live: Dara
as Prosecutor Talib
2020