Damson Idris

British actor Damson Idris first caught significant attention in military dog tale "Megan Leavey" (2017) but truly broke through with a leading role in John Singleton's drug wars series "Snowfall" (FX, 2017-). Born in Peckham, London in 1991, Idris grew up in the capital with his single mother and five siblings, and initially dreamed of becoming a professional footballer before opting to study drama at Brunel University London.

There, he was encouraged by acclaimed actress Cathy Tyson to audition for the role of Tope in Ade Solanke's production, "Pandora's Box." Idris subsequently made his stage debut in the play, secured an agent and further honed his talents at the Identity School of Acting. He first appeared on screen in the short film, "Hiding in the Light" (2011), and a year later played a pallbearer in the coming-of-age Sundance hit "My Brother the Devil" (2012). One-off appearances in old-school sitcom "Miranda" (BBC One, 2009-2015), Danny Boyle's cop dramedy "Babylon" (Channel 4, 2014) and psychological drama "The Missing" (BBC One, 2014-) followed, as did guest parts in medical soaps "Doctors" (BBC One, 2000-) and "Casualty" (BBC One, 1986-). After landing the minor role of Hakim in British crime drama "City of Tiny Lights" (2016), Idris made his Hollywood film debut playing Michael Forman in the dog-themed Iraq War drama "Megan Leavey" (2017).

His big break arrived later that same year when he was cast as lead Franklin Saint, a 19-year-old drug dealer, in John Singleton's exploration of the early 1980s crack cocaine epidemic, "Snowfall" (FX, 2017-). Idris continued to build his profile with the roles of Jordan Knight in sci-fi horror "Astral" (2017) and Agent Denys in Liam Neeson vehicle "The Commuter" (2018). He then bagged his second major lead role in Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's directorial debut "Farming" (2018), in which he played Enitan, a Nigerian teenager who after being farmed out to a Caucasian British family becomes the leader of a white skinhead gang.