Zawe Ashton

Zawedde Emma Muwanga-Ashton (; born 25 July 1984) is a British actress and playwright. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy dramas Fresh Meat and Not Safe for Work, the Netflix horror thriller film Velvet Buzzsaw, and for her portrayal of Joyce Carol Vincent in Dreams of a Life. She also portrayed Dar-Benn in The Marvels (2023).

Early life Ashton was born in Hackney, London, on 25 July 1984. She is the eldest of three children born to a Ugandan mother, Victoria, and an English father, Paul Ashton. Her maternal grandfather, Paulo Muwanga, was President and later Prime Minister of Uganda. She gained her degree in acting at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Career Acting Ashton's theatre credits include Harold Pinter's Betrayal at The Harold Pinter Theatre, London and the Bernard B. Jacob's Theatre, Broadway. Rhinoceros, The Arsonists, Gone Too Far! (Royal Court), Othello (Globe Theatre), Frontline (Globe Theatre), All The Little Things We Crushed (Almeida), This Wide Night (Soho Theatre), Michael Frayn's comedy Here (The Rose Theatre Kingston), Abi Morgan’s Splendour (Donmar Warehouse), Jean Genet's The Maids (Trafalgar Studios), Salome in Salome (Headlong Theatre / Hampstead Theatre). In June 2010 Ashton was awarded 2nd prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her classical performance in Salome.

Her film credits include Velvet Buzzsaw, directed by Dan Gilroy for Netflix, Dreams of a Life directed by Carol Morley, for which she was nominated in the Most Promising Newcomer category at the 2012 British Independent Film Awards, St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, Blitz, Nocturnal Animals, directed by Tom Ford, Greta directed by Neil Jordan.

Her TV credits include Vod in the Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat, Claire in the six-part BBC One / Netflix series Wanderlust, Journey Blue in Doctor Who, BBC, and Katherine in Not Safe For Work for Channel 4. As a child, Ashton appeared in two episodes of The Demon Headmaster.

In November 2023, she played the character Dar-Benn in the Marvel Studios movie The Marvels.

Awards In May 2010, Ashton was named one of the "55 Faces of the Future" by Nylon magazine's Young Hollywood Issue. In October 2012, she received the Ultimate Newcomer trophy from Cosmopolitan magazine at their Women of the Year awards. In November 2012, she won the Creative Diversity Network Award for Best Breakthrough On-Screen Talent for her role as Vod in the BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 hit Fresh Meat. In 2013, she won a Screen Nation Award for Female Performance in a Film 2012/2013, in recognition of her lead-role performance in Dreams of a Life.

Writing Ashton began entering poetry slams at age of 17, In 2006 she was Young Writer in Residence at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. Ashton was co-writer of Suddenlossofdignity.com, Bush Futures Programme. One of her plays, For all the Women Who Thought They Were Mad, was selected as part of the Royal Court Playwriting Festival in 2009. She has worked with the Bush Theatre and the Clean Break theatre company.

In 2019, Ashton published her first book, Character Breakdown, a fictionalized memoir based on her experiences as an actress.

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in July 2021.

Other work Ashton has narrated episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody, shown on Channel 4. She narrated a documentary, Public Enemies: Jay-Z vs Kanye, for the same channel in 2017.

In 2017, Ashton presented the third series of Random Acts, Channel 4's short-film showcase in association with Arts Council England. Episode 2 included a film directed by Ashton, where she had the lead role.

Personal life Ashton is engaged to actor Tom Hiddleston. They co-starred in the 2019 West End and Broadway revivals of Betrayal. Their relationship was first confirmed following an appearance together at the 74th Tony Awards in 2021. Their engagement was confirmed after Ashton was spotted wearing a diamond ring at the 75th British Academy Film Awards in 2022. They have two children.

Acting credits

Film Year Title Role Notes 2009 St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Bianca 2011 Blitz WPC Elizabeth Falls Weekender Sarah Dreams of a Life Joyce Vincent 2014 The Place We Go to Hide Director only; short film Happy Toys Director only; short film 2016 Nocturnal Animals Alex 2018 Greta Alexa Hammond 2019 Velvet BuzzsawJosephina 2022 Mr. Malcolm's List Julia Thistlewaite 2023 The Marvels Dar-Benn 2024 All of You Andrea

Television

Theatre Year Title Role Venue Notes 2007 Othello Bianca The Globe Rhinoceros Daisy Royal Court The Arsonists Anna Royal Court 2008 Gone Too Far! Armani Royal Court The Front Line Casey The Globe 2009 All The Little Things We Crushed Zoe Almeida Theatre This Wide Night Marie Soho Theatre 2010 Salome Salome Curve Theatre The Children's Monologues The Old Vic / Royal Court Theatre Writer only 2012 Here Cath Rose Theatre 2015 Splendour Gilma Donmar Warehouse 2016 The Maids Claire Trafalgar Studios 2018 The Hardest Rain The Old Vic Writer only Betrayal Emma Harold Pinter Theatre / Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre