David Harewood, who turned sixty this week, returns as Othello for the third time on stage. It’s a role he first took on in 1997, becoming the first black actor to play the part at London’s National Theatre.
Growing up in multicultural Birmingham in the sixties and seventies, he was born to immigrants from Barbados.
Described as gregarious by his teachers at school, Harewood showed an interest in entertaining from an early age and subsequently trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts.
In his early twenties, he had a psychotic breakdown, something he spoke about in a recent documentary.
A string of roles in TV and film followed. And then came his breakthrough role as CIA agent David Estes in the acclaimed hit US TV show Homeland.
Mark Coles looks back at his career.
Contributors
Gary Turner – childhood friend
Pete Mortiboys – school physical education teacher
Jeremy Harrison – Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts (RADA) classmate and friend
Afua Hirsch – broadcaster, journalist and author of the book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging
Tom Morris – Theatre director and colleague
Toby Jones – Actor and colleague
Production
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Ben Carter, Laura Cain
Editor: Nick Holland and Justine Lang
Sound: Gareth Jones
Archive
Audio of David Harewood as Othello, 2025, Theatre Royal Haymarket, clean from trailer
David Harewood: Psychosis and Me documentary, 2019, for BBC, production company: Films Of Record Limited
