Biography
London-born actor Danny Sapani's intense presence and powerful build made him a natural for men of action and authority in UK TV projects like "Ultimate Force" (ITV, 2002-06) and "Penny Dreadful" (Showtime, 2014-16). Born in Hackney, East London on November 15, 1970, Sapani was one of six children by parents who had emigrated from Ghana in the late 1960s. He developed his interest in acting through a teacher at primary school, who sought to channel Sapani's boundless energy by giving him a role in the school play. He soon sought out training and successfully auditioned for a spot in the Weekend Arts College, a drama school that partnered low-income children with a passion for performing with professional actors. Sapani furthered his dramatic education at the Central School of Speech and Drama before entering the London theater scene in both classical and modern productions. In 1993, he made his television debut on an episode of the police drama "Between the Lines" (BBC, 1992-94) and worked steadily on the small screen in the years that followed, enjoying both guest roles and recurring parts on series like "Fish" (BBC, 2000) and "Serious and Organized" (ITV, 2003). His feature film debut came in 2000 with a small role in Mike Figgis' "Hotel," but Sapani was found more regularly on television, where he added recurring roles on the action series "Ultimate Force," the long-running cop drama "The Bill" (ITV, 1983-2010), and the science fiction/coming-of-age drama "Misfits" (E4, 2009-2013), which cast him as a probation worker with the ability transform into a destructive monster, to his growing resume. After landing a showcase role as a tough member of a criminal gang in Danny Boyle's "Trance" (2013), Sapani was cast as a drug lord in the Tamil action-comedy "Singam II" (2013) opposite Indian star Suriya. The following year, Sapani earned his breakout television role as the mysterious Sembene, who aided African explorer Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) in his search for his missing daughter on "Penny Dreadful." The exposure afforded by that series led to his debut on American television in "Bastard Executioner" (FX, 2015), a historical action-drama created by Kurt Sutter.
