Sheila Atim

Sheila Atim (; born 1991) is a Ugandan actress. She made her professional acting debut in 2014 at Shakespeare's Globe in The Lightning Child, a musical written by her acting teacher Ché Walker.

Following critically acclaimed stage roles in the Donmar Warehouse's all-female Shakespeare Trilogy in 2016 among others, Atim won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her role as Marianne Laine in an original production of Girl from the North Country. She has composed songs for several productions and premiered her play Anguis at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has also been cast in several television series, including the cancelled Game of Thrones successor series Bloodmoon, the BBC's The Pale Horse, and Amazon's The Underground Railroad, directed by Barry Jenkins. She starred in Netflix's successful sports drama Bruised and won another Laurence Olivier Award, this time for Best Actress, for her performance in the play Constellations.

Early life Sheila Atim was born 1991 in Uganda and moved to the United Kingdom with her mother at the age of five months. She grew up in Rainham, London, and attended the Coopers' Company and Coborn School. She did some occasional modelling as a teenager after being recruited when she shaved the side of her head for a school prom. She appeared in a 2009 London Fashion Week event, All Walks beyond the Catwalk, organized by the British Fashion Council to showcase clothes for "real women". She later said that "modelling was never a big earner for me. I was unusual looking, so I couldn't go for commercial castings."

The Lightning Child, written by Walker and Arthur Darvill, ran for several weeks from mid-September 2013 It received mixed reviews, with the Financial Times describing it as "a bold experiment, but sadly not a successful one" and The Guardian review calling it "oddly conventional and pointlessly excessive". The Independent said that despite the production being overlong and having problems with the structure, it was "hard not to like" the show. and The Yorkshire Times review said that Atim "dominated the stage". Following this, Atim appeared with Ako Mitchell in Walker's two-hander Klook's Last Stand, being praised by The Guardian for an energetic performance and "tremendous stage presence" by The Daily Telegraph. In the autumn of 2014 she appeared alongside Adelayo Adedayo and Nakay Kpaka in Rachel at the Finborough Theatre The Times later referred to her performance as "mesmerising". and The Independent wrote "Sheila Atim (Ferdinand) and Leah Harvey (Miranda) are adorably funny and charming as they capture the giddy gaucheries of first love." Atim won a 2018 Clarence Derwent Award, presented to best supporting actors in London productions, for her roles in The Tempest and Les Blancs.

Her leading role in Babette received a more mixed assessment, with The Times saying she was "the best thing about [the] production"

She played Marianne Laine in the original run of the musical Girl from the North Country at The Old Vic in London from 26 July to 7 October 2017. Following the success of The Old Vic production, it transferred into London's West End at the Noël Coward Theatre from 29 December for a limited 12-week run until 24 March 2018. The Times stated that "Atim, in a strong cast, is standout," in an article that was headlined "She sings Dylan better than Bob." and won the 2018 Laurence Olivier award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

In 2018, she played Emilia opposite Mark Rylance's Iago in Othello at Shakespeare's Globe, where according to The Independent, "she unleashed a fury that blew the greatest actor of his generation off the stage."

Atim presented her first play as an author, Anguis, at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Times considered it to be an "intriguing look at female power ... that marks [Atim] as a playwright to watch", whereas The Scotsman, while praising the songs and some performances, lamented that "the stories of the hugely privileged queen and the stressed-out modern black Londoner never quite come together as strongly as the situation promises." In 2018 she portrayed Limehouse Nell in ITV's Harlots. the year that she was named one of the cast of the Game of Thrones prequel series Bloodmoon. The planned series was cancelled following the pilot episode. She appeared as an alleged witch in the 2020 BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie's The Pale Horse She is also on the Board of Trustees of The Old Vic Theatre Trust. On October 10, 2025, it was announced she will be playing the character of Akasha (previously played by Aaliyah) in Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat (2026) (better known as Interview with the Vampire Season 3).

Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes 2018 Twelfth Night Viola/Sebastian 2020 Sulphur and White Samira The Show John Conqueror 2023 All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt Evelyn 2024 Mufasa: The Lion King Ajarry (voice) 2024 Leaving Ikorodu in 1999 Mother Short film 2025 Dust Bunny Brenda

Television Year Title Role Notes 2014 I Live with Models Mean Girl 1 1 episode 2018 Harlots Limehouse Nell Recurring role, 8 episodes 2021 The Irregulars The Tooth Fairy Episode: "Chapter Two: The Ghosts of 221B" 2021 The Underground Railroad Mabel Miniseries, 6 episodes 2025 Marvel Zombies Sara Wolfe (voice) 2 episodes 2026 Blade Runner 2099 Post-production 2026 Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat Akasha

Theatre Dates Title Role Venue 18 September – 12 October 2013 The Lightning Child Maenad Shakespeare's Globe 13 June – 6 July 2014 Klook's Last Stand Vinette Park Theatre, London 30 September – 25 October 2014 Rachel Mrs. Laine Finborough Theatre From 6 November 2014 Hopelessly Devoted Chess National tour (starting at Lincoln Performing Arts Centre) 18 March – 8 September 2015 The Jew of Malta Attendant Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (Royal Shakespeare Company) 11 April – 24 June 2015 Love's Sacrifice Julia 3 July – 12 September 2015 Volpone Assistant to Lady Politic Would-Be 10 September – 3 October 2015 The Etienne Sisters Additional songs Theatre Royal Stratford East 22 March – 2 June 2016 Les Blancs The Woman National Theatre 23 September – 17 December 2016 Shakespeare Trilogy: The Tempest Ferdinand Donmar Warehouse Shakespeare Trilogy: Henry IV Gadshill & Lady Percy Shakespeare Trilogy: Julius Caesar Lucius 23–25 March 2017 Black Lives Black Words – The Interrogation of Sandra Bland Bland One Bush Theatre 9 May – 3 June 2017 Babette's Feast Babette Print Room 26 July – 7 October 2017 Girl from the North Country Marianne Laine Old Vic 29 December 2017 – 24 March 2018 Noël Coward Theatre 20 July – 13 October 2018 Othello Emilia Shakespeare's Globe 1–26 January 2019 Time is love / Tiempo Es Amor Rosa Finborough Theatre 1–26 August 2019 Anguis Author Gilded Balloon Teviot 18 June – 1 August 2021 Constellations Marianne Vaudeville Theatre

Radio Year Title Role Distributor 2017 The Anansi Boys Rosie, Sybilla BBC Radio 4 2018 Loose Ends Guest BBC Radio 4

Awards and nominations