Actor Aml Ameen in Conversation with Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE

Join Actor Aml Ameen as he explores his career choices with Artistic Director of the Young Vic, Kwame Kwei-Armah. Aml will discuss how he prepares for the history revealing roles he’s taken on and the amazing company he keeps on screen and stage, including Idris Elba in Yardie, the great Kathy Bates in Harry's Law, and the influential Michaela Cole in I Will Destroy You. He will talk about his romcom directional debut Boxing Day which draws on aspects of his own life, the importance of using one's voice to shed light on the industry, and the vision he has for his progress, future and legacy.

Aml Eysan Ameen is a British actor who received his Hollywood break playing the young lawyer, "Malcolm Davie’s" alongside Kathy Bates in David E. Kelley’s legal drama, HARRY’S LAW. Soon after, Ameen was cast as the young Forrest Whitaker in Lee Daniel’s critically acclaimed feature, THE BUTLER. He also starred in Emmy Award winning HBO drama, I MAY DESTROY YOU opposite Michaela Cole and as the lead character of the young Jamaican, “D”, in Idris Elba’s feature directorial debut, YARDIE. Starting his career at the tender age of seven, Aml began acting and dancing on stage in the West End musical, OLIVER AND JOLSON, and performed with Michael Jackson at the Brit Awards in 1996. Aml appeared across British television including, EASTENDERS, HOLBY CITY, DIS/CONNECTED, FALLOUT and SILENT WITNESS. He built a growing fanbase with his role of “Lewis Hardy’ on THE BILL and earned the Best Newcomer nomination for the Screen Nation Awards for his role as “Trife” in the British cult classic indie film, KIDULTHOOD. Aml returned to the stage in 2009 in a starring role in NOT BLACK AND WHITE at the Tricycle Theatre for Kwame Kwei- Armah. Aml is also known for his roles as “Capheus" in the first season of the Netflix original series SENSE8 and “Alby" in the 20th Century Fox trilogy, THE MAZE RUNNER. He made his directorial debut with BOXING DAY, a holiday romantic comedy for Warner Brothers, Film 4 and the British Film Institute. As the writer, he drew inspiration from elements of his own life. This year, he starred in the Canadian TV series THE PORTER which tells the stories of Black porters in the 1920s as they sought to unionize and fight for their civil rights. Recently, Aml joined David E. Kelley and Regina King's Netflix limited series, A MAN IN FULL in which he stars alongside Jeff Daniels. He will also be seen playing Martin Luther King Jr in the upcoming Netflix film, RUSTIN, directed by George C Wolfe and produced by the Obamas. He’s currently working on his sophomore directing effort, also with Film 4.

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE is Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre. He was Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage (2011-18) and Artistic Director of the Festival of Black Arts and Culture, Senegal (2010), where he wrote and directed the opening ceremony at Senghor stadium. His work as a director includes: Twelfth Night, Tree, Changing Destiny and The Collaboration (Young Vic), Jazz, Marley, Amadeus, Dance of the Holy Ghosts, The Mountaintop; An Enemy of the People, The Whipping Man and Things of Dry Hours (Baltimore Center Stage) Comedy of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Detroit’67 (Public Theatre, New York), The Liquid Plain (Signature Theatre, New York and Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Porgy and Bess (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra) and the Olivier Nominated One night in Miami for Best New Play 2016 (Donmar Warehouse). As a playwright, Kwame was the first African Caribbean to have a play produced in London’s West End (Elmina’s Kitchen). His triptych of plays was produced at the National Theatre, where he later created the online resource The Black Play Archive. Further credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneatha’s Place (Baltimore Center Stage) Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre). Kwame was Chancellor of the University of the Arts, London (2010-2015), is Patron of Ballet Black and The Black Cultural Archives, Chair of Warwick Arts Centre Advisory Board and a Trustee of the Tate and the Black Equity Organisation. Kwame was awarded an OBE for Services to Drama in 2011, and in 2020 listed as one of 100 Great Black Britons.