Assad Zaman

Assad Zaman ( ; born 9 May 1990) is an English actor. He is known for his stage work and his roles in the BBC thriller Apple Tree Yard, the period drama Hotel Portofino (2022–2023), and the AMC adaptation of Interview with the Vampire (2022–present).

Early life Assad Zaman was born and grew up in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne. His parents immigrated to England from Bangladesh in the 1980s. Zaman trained at the Manchester School of Theatre, graduating in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.

Career Zaman made his London stage debut in the 2014 National Theatre production of Behind the Beautiful Forevers. This was followed by his onscreen debut in an episode of Russell T Davies' Cucumber on Channel 4. He went on tour with Ayub Khan Din's play East is East that same year.

In 2017, Zaman played Sathnam in the BBC One adaptation of Apple Tree Yard. He had theatre roles in the stage adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth at the Kiln Theatre in 2018, The Funeral Director on tour, A Doll's House at the Lyric in Hammersmith in 2019, and The Winter's Tale in 2020. He also appeared in the Red, White and Blue installment of Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology. In 2020, Zaman was one of the producers of the Othello Project, a group of Black, Asian, and biracial creatives within the Royal Shakespeare Company. Born in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and initially conceived as an original series of standalone monologues, the project used art to challenge racism by creating a platform for Black and Asian voices and stories. Zaman returned to East is East in 2021, this time in a different role. The show ran at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre before transferring to the National Theatre for additional dates. He expanded into writing with the short play "Laundry", which was produced in 2021 as part of Alphabetti Theatre's Listen Up project.

Zaman played series regular Dr Anish Sengupta in the first two seasons of the period drama Hotel Portofino and currently stars as Armand in the AMC series Interview with the Vampire. Zaman was not initially aware he was auditioning for the role of Armand, whose true identity is not revealed until the season 1 finale. After a call with showrunner Rolin Jones in which Jones explained the twist (wherein minor character Rashid, one of the household staff, is the vampire Armand in disguise), Zaman underwent several additional rounds of auditions before being cast. Roxana Hadadi of Vulture praised Zaman's performance, calling it "a master of control," while Ro Rusak of Nerdist highlighted Zaman's "incredible performance" in the show's second season, as one of their Best TV and Film Moments of 2024. In June 2024, Zaman's directorial debut, The Fox and the Grapes, screened at Close-Up Cinema in London.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2015 Behind the Beautiful Forevers Deepak Rai National Theatre Live 2020 The Saint of Southall Rohit Short film 2024 We Work for the Dead Lot Feature film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2015 Cucumber Tony Episode 1.6 2017 Apple Tree Yard Sathnam Episodes 1.1, 1.3, 1.4 2019 Vera Lee Nadella Episode 9.2 ("Cuckoo") 2020 Our Girl Hasan Episode 4.3 Small Axe Asif Episode 1.3 (Red, White and Blue) 2022–2023 Hotel Portofino Dr Anish Sengupta Series regular 2022–present Interview with the Vampire Armand Main role

Stage Year Title Role Notes 2013 Tyne Various Live Theatre, Newcastle Dark Woods, Deep Snow: A Grimm Tale Luka Northern Stage, Newcastle 2014 Beats North Al Edinburgh Fringe Festival Behind the Beautiful Forevers Deepak Rai Royal National Theatre, London 2015 East is East Saleem Khan UK tour 2016 A Midsummer Night's Dream Demetrius New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich Arms and the Man Sergius Saranoff Watford Palace Theatre, Watford 2017 Salomé Young Syrian Royal Shakespeare Company Coriolanus Roman Citizen/Volscian Soldier/Roman Senator Royal Shakespeare Company 2018Julius Caesar Calphurnia/Metellus Cimber/Messala Royal Shakespeare Company's First Encounters series I Wanna Be Yours Haseeb Paines Plough White Teeth Millat Iqbal Kiln Theatre, London 2019 The Funeral Director Zeyd UK tour A Doll's House Kaushik Das Lyric Theatre, London 2021 The Winter's Tale Florizel Royal Shakespeare Company East is East Abdul Khan Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham; Royal National Theatre, London

Filmmaking credits Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 2025 The Fox and the Grapes Short-film