Biography
Prasanna Puwanarajah (Tamil: பிரசன்னா புவனராஜா; born 1981) is a British actor, director, writer, and former junior medical doctor.
Puwanarajah was born at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk to Tamil Sri Lankan parents from Sri Lanka, his mother a psychiatrist and his father a dentist. He spent his early childhood on Churchill Avenue in Ipswich before the family moved to Hampshire when he was four. He participated in school plays and spent a season with the National Youth Theatre, but thought of acting as more of a hobby than a career choice at the time.
He trained in Medicine at New College, Oxford. After working as a junior doctor in reconstructive surgery for over three years, Puwanarajah decided to take a year out. It was during this time he decided to become a full-time actor, describing it as "more of a strong pull towards something else" than a "push away from" his medical career.
Filmography
Cast Credits

Too Much
Character: Auggie
TV • 2025

The Listeners
Character: Paul
TV • 2024

Payback
Character: DC Jibran Khan
TV • 2023

Malcolm
Character: Joe
MOVIE • 2023

Ten Percent
Character: Dan Bala
TV • 2022

National Theatre Live: Dara
Character: Prosecutor Talib
MOVIE • 2020

Defending the Guilty
Character: Ashley
TV • 2018

Patrick Melrose
Character: Johnny
TV • 2018

The Crown
Character: Martin Bashir
TV • 2016

You, Me and the Apocalypse
Character: Rajesh
TV • 2015

The Vote
Character: Tom Baird
MOVIE • 2015

Critical
Character: Ramakrishna Chandramohan
TV • 2015

The Gunman
Character: Doctor (UCL)
MOVIE • 2015

Diana
Character: Martin Bashir
MOVIE • 2013

Möbius
Character: Saïd
MOVIE • 2013

National Theatre Live: Hamlet
Character: Guildenstern
MOVIE • 2010

National Theatre Live: London Assurance
Character: Servant
MOVIE • 2010

The Stoning of Soraya M.
Character: Revolutionary Guard
MOVIE • 2009

The Sarah Jane Adventures
Character: Car Salesman
TV • 2007
Crew