David Harewood

Biography

David Harewood is an actor, director, author, and activist. With a career spanning almost thirty-five years, David has performed on stage with some of the most prestigious theatres, and across TV and Film on some of the biggest networks in the world. His credits include Homeland, Blood Diamond, and The Night Manager. During his work with the DC Comics and Warner Bros show Supergirl, David made his directorial debut, adding yet another string to his bow of creativity and talent. 

After school and a spell in the National Youth Theatre, David won a place at RADA before embarking on an early acting career that took in TV stalwarts such as Minder, Press Gang and Casualty, and then film roles in Al Pacino’s The Merchant of Venice, and Blood Diamond. David has portrayed Martin Luther King in the critically acclaimed stage production The Mountaintop, and Nelson Mandela in the BBC drama Mrs Mandela.

Through his exploration of important and often difficult subjects, David has become a driving force for systematic and cultural change. From his documentary David Harewood: Psychosis and Me highlighting his battle with mental health in his twenties, to the influences and injustices that come from simply being born as a person of colour in documentaries such as Black is the New Black, Could Britain Ever Have a Black Prime Minister? and Why Is Covid Killing People of Colour? With his to work with UNICEF to protect children in danger – David is a true change maker in every sense of the word. He has helped raise awareness as well as millions of pounds for so many charities, organisations, and individuals across our collective global communities. 

David’s first book Maybe I Don’t Belong Here: A Memoir of Race, Identity, Breakdown and Recovery, was published to critical acclaim. The book and its crucial messages are being used as mental health and race toolkits across the country and within the health and education sectors. It has been cited as essential reading for anyone wanting to learn more about mental health and the often dangerous and devastating impacts of racism.