2013–2019: Early roles

Essiedu joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2012 to play Fenton in Phillip Breen's production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Afterwards, he joined the National Theatre, playing Burgundy and understudying Edmund in Sam Mendes’ production of King Lear. When Sam Troughton lost his voice during a performance, Essiedu stepped in and played the role to critical acclaim.^[9] He appeared in Outside on the Street (Pleasance Theatre), Black Jesus (Finborough Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory), You For Me For You (Royal Court).

In 2016, Essiedu starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet as the titular role and King Lear as Edmund. The judges described Essiedu's Hamlet as one the audience listened to "completely still", observing Essiedu's performance could turn on a sixpence – sweet, playful and flirtatious one minute, and fiercely intelligent the next. "Like all great actors", a judge commented, he "made all the lines his own". His Edmund in King Lear was reported to convey a chilling contempt and cynicism.^[10]Paapa voiced Tunde in the BBC Radio 3 drama As Innocent As You Can Get (2016) by Rex Obano,^[11] and in the BBC Radio 4 drama Wide Open Spaces the same year, in which he played the role of a man determined to overcome his agoraphobia in order to keep his promise to visit his daughter's grave on the first anniversary of her death.^[12]

Essiedu began his television career with roles as Demetrius in Russell T Davies' television film adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016), Otto in the period drama miniseries The Miniaturist (2017), Nate Akindele in the Channel 4 miniseries Kiri (2018), and Ed Washburn in the BBC One drama Press (2018). He made his feature film debut in a small role as a policeman in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017) an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name.^[13] In 2019 he acted in the Danai Gurira play The Convert starring alongside Letitia Wright at the Young Vic. Time Out praised the leads writing, "It’s Essiedu and Wright whose performances linger the most, though. He is brilliant as a clever and nervous man, quite possibly gay, desperately searching for belonging via imported ideals that he’s always secretly known are a sham."^[14]

2020–present

From 2020 to 2022 Essiedu starred as Alex Dumani in the crime drama Gangs of London on Sky Atlantic. In 2020, Essiedu portrayed Kwame in the BBC One series I May Destroy You alongside Michaela Coel.^[8] For the latter, Essiedu received critical acclaim, a number of notable nominations including for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He also won Best Ensemble alongside the rest of the cast at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards. He then played George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford in the three-parter Anne Boleyn starring Jodie Turner-Smith for Channel 5 in 2021.^[15]

In 2022, Essiedu returned to the theatre playing three separate roles in the Caryl Churchill play A Number at The Old Vic, with Lennie James. Nick Curtis of The Evening Standard praised his performance writing, "Paapa Essiedu gives a tour de force performance" adding "He’s subtly, devastatingly different in speech, stance and attitude".^[16] That same year Essiedu began starring in the Sky Max science fiction time loop series The Lazarus Project for which he received a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor nomination.^[17] He also appeared in Alex Garland's folk horror film Men (2022) and joined the cast of mystery thriller series The Capture on BBC One for its second series as Isaac Turner, Security Minister and MP for Hazlemere South.

In 2023 he acted in the Black Mirror episode Demon 79 alongside Anjana Vasan. Jack King of GQ cited it as "the best Black Mirror episode in years". He elaborated on Essiedu's performance, "It also serves as another platform for Essiedu's chameleonic acting abilities...Between this and his riveting parts in The Capture, I May Destroy You and The Lazarus Project, he's not only showing himself to be one hell of a talent but one with exciting range."^[18] He returned to the stage starring opposite Taylor Russell in the Jamie Lloyd directed revival of the Lucy Prebble play The Effect at the National Theatre in 2023 and at The Shed in 2024.^[19][20] He acted opposite Saoirse Ronan in the film The Outrun which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.^[21]

Film

Television