An attractive British actor of Indian descent, Naveen Andrews first rose to prominence in several roles penned by Hanif Kureishi. but it was his sterling work as Kip, the Sikh who defused land minds and romanced Juliet Binoche's nurse in "The English Patient" (1996) that caught US audience's attention.
The eldest son of Indian immigrants who settled in London, Andrews clashed with his father over the career choice of acting. At age 16, he moved out of his parents home and was taken in by a math teacher who became his guardian. In a more controversial move, he and the female teacher eventually became lovers and she bore him a son in 1992, two years after he graduated from London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. By that time, Andrews had made his stage debut in "My Beautiful Laundrette" (based on the well-received 1985 movie), directed by Hanif Kureishi. The director also gave the actor his first screen role in 1991's "London Kills Me". The teaming of Kureishi and Andrews reached its apotheosis with the 1993 BBC adaptation of the author's novel "The Buddha of Suburbia". Here Andrews was cast as the difficult lead role of a half-English, half-Indian suburban teenager in 1970s London and he delivered a strong and memorable performance.
A trained musician as well, Andrews got to display his vocal abilities as a Pakistani country-and-western singer in the British comedy "Wild West" (1992). Following his breakthrough role in "The English Patient", the actor was cast as a lusty monarch in Mira Nair's drama of sex and love "Kama Sutra" (also 1996), a somewhat controversial film. During the filming in India, the cast and crew had to dupe the local censors by pretending to be making a less explicit, more family-oriented piece. In the final effort, Andrews displayed a magnetic screen presence and a charming charisma. He was also well-cast as Dr Abraham Verghese in the Showtime adaptation of the physician's memoir "My Own Country" (1998), which detailed his efforts treating locals in rural Tennessee infected with HIV and suffering with AIDS. Later that year, Andrews was back on the big screen as the guide who helps an American zoologist (Bill Paxton) find the titular ape in the remake of "Mighty Joe Young".
Back on the small screen, Andrews essayed the role of Steve Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales, whose rise and fall was chronicled in the middling TV-movie "The Chippendales Murder" (USA Network, 2000). The actor then made his US TV debut as a regular portraying a news producer at a 24-hour cable channel in the ABC summer series "The Beast" (2001). He then segued back to the silver screen in the remake of "Rollerball" (2002).
- Also Credited As:
Naveen William Sydney Andrews, Navin Andrews
- Born:
January 17, 1969 in London, England
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Job Titles:
Actor, Musician, Singer
Family
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Father: Stanley Andrews. deceased
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Mother: Nirmala Andrews. deceased
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Son: Jaisal Andrews. born in 1992; mother, Gerladine Feakins
Significant Others
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Companion: Barbara Hershey. acted together in "Drowning on Dry Land" (1999)
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Companion: Geraldine Feakins. Andrews moved in with her at age 16 after clashing with his father over his desire to be an actor; Feakins became his guardian, then his lover
Education
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Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, England, 1990
Milestones
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1990 Acted onstage in "My Beautiful Laundrette", directed by Hanif Kureishi (date approximate)
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1991 Feature debut, as Bike in Kureishi's "London Kills Me"
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1992 First lead in a feature, "Wild West"
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1992 First major film role in the psychological thriller "Double Vision"
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1993 Reunited with Kureishi as lead in the BBC adaptation of "The Buddha of Suburbia"
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1996 Cast as a lusty Indian royal in "Kama Sutra", helmed by Mira Nair
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1996 Had breakthrough role as Kip, a Sikh who defuses land mines and romances a Canadian nurse (Juliette Binoche), in the Oscar-winning "The English Patient"
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1998 Co-starred in the remake of "Mighty Joe Young"
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1998 Portrayed an Indian doctor in rural Tennessee who becomes involved in educating and treating locals infected with HIV in the Showtime film "My Own Country", based on the memoir of Dr Abraham Verghese
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2000 Cast as Steve Banerjee, the founder of Chippendales, whose rise and fall was chronicled in the USA Network film "The Chippendales Murder"
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2001 American series debut as regular in ABC's "The Beast", playing a news producer working for a 24-hour cable network
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2001 Appeared in the independent feature "A Question of Faith"
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2002 Was featured in the remake of "Rollerball"
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2004 Cast as Sayid, a former Iraqi army officer on ABC's hit series "Lost"; earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations (2005) for Best Supporting Actor
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2004 Starred in the romantic comedy "Easy"
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2005 Cast in "Bride and Prejudice" a bollywood update of the Jane Austen classic directed by Gurinder Chadha
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2006 Played Menerith, a solider and stepbrother to Moses in the ABC miniseries "The Ten Commandments"
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2007 Co-starred with Jodie Foster in the crime drama, "The Brave One"
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2007 Starred in "Planet Terror," Robert Rodriguez's half of the goretastic double feature "Grind House" a collaboration with Quentin Tarantino
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Acted in the British TV productions "The Frontier" and "The Peacock Spring". among others
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As a teen, performed in a band as lead guitarist and singer
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At age 16, left home after clashing with father over his desire to be an actor; moved in with a math teacher who became his guardian
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Raised in Wandsworth, a section of south London
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While in drama school, performed in various plays including "King Lear" (as Gloucester), Lorca's "Blood Wedding", and "Two Flanks and a Passion"