Abubakar Salim

Abubakar Salim is a Kenyan-British actor and video game developer. For his work on Assassin's Creed Origins, he was nominated for a British Academy Games Award and named a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. On television, he is known for his roles in the Sky One series Jamestown (2018–2019) and the HBO Max series Raised by Wolves (2020–2022). He is also the founder and CEO of the film and video game company Surgent Studios.

Early life and education Born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, Salim is a first-generation Briton of Kenyan descent. His father was a software engineer for Xerox, and his mother a carer. He began his acting career at age 16 when he joined the National Youth Theatre after his first audition. He subsequently received a scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.

Career Salim made his professional stage debut as Osric in Prince of Denmark at the National Theatre in 2010. This was followed in 2011 by his television debut in a series 2 episode of the ITV legal serial The Jury.

Upon graduating from LAMDA in 2014, Salim had small roles in the Fox limited series 24: Live Another Day and the Canal+ comedy-drama Spotless. He returned to the stage in 2015 with roles in Sense of an Ending at Theatre503 and Teddy Ferrara at the Donmar Warehouse. In 2016, he went on the Cheek by Jowl tour of The Winter's Tale and appeared in Labyrinth at Hampstead Theatre.

In 2017, Salim voiced Bayek in the video game Assassin's Creed Origins,

In 2020, Salim started his own video game development studio called Silver Rain Games (later renamed to Surgent Studios), as the founder and CEO. A self-described fan of video games, Salim noted that his work for Assassin's Creed Origins gave him a better insight into the development process for video games, which eventually inspired him to pursue a career in video game development and establish his own studio. The studio's debut project, a 2D side-scrolling platform game, titled Tales of Kenzera: Zau, was released by EA Originals in April 2024. The game was nominated for both the Debut Games and Game Beyond Entertainment categories at the 2024 BAFTA Games Awards, and Salim accepted the latter in April 2025.

In 2023, it was announced that Salim had been cast as Alyn of Hull in the second season of House of the Dragon. He was confirmed to be returning in the third season of the show.

Filmography Television and film Year Title Role Notes 2011 The Jury Sadam 1 episode 2014 24: Live Another Day Secret Service Agent Tom 3 episodes 2015 Spotless Charlie 2 episodes 2016 Agatha Raisin Jonah MacGillivray Episode: "The Potted Gardener" Black Mirror Guard Episode: "Nosedive" 2017 Strike Jonah Agyeman Episode: "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 3" 2018 Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! Kwaku / Various Voice role 2018–2019 Jamestown Pedro 16 episodes 2023 The Legend of Vox Machina Zanror Voice role; 4 episodes Napoleon Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Film role 2024–present House of the Dragon Alyn of Hull Main role; 14 episodes

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2017 Assassin's Creed Origins Bayek of Siwa 2024 Tales of Kenzera: Zau Zau also as Game Director 2025 Dead Take – Creative Director Dying Light: The Beast Keller Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Ultima the Arch Seraph 2026Highguard Atticus Emberville Unannounced role In production

Web series

Stage Year Title Role Notes 2010 Prince of Denmark Osric National Theatre, London 2015 Sense of an Ending Paul Theatre503, London Teddy Ferrara Police Officer Donmar Warehouse, London 2016 The Winter's Tale Camillo Tour Labyrinth Trent / Javier Hampstead Theatre, London