Phaldut "Paul" Sharma is a Welsh actor and dancer. He is perhaps best known for his small role in the 2013 science fiction movie ''

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

'', and is also known for playing Achmed in ''

Gavin & Stacey ''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom created, written by and starring James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one from Billericay in Essex, and the other from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and ...

'' and AJ Ahmed in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

''.

Early life

Sharma was born in the UK to Guyanese Hindu parents, whose ancestors came from

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

Career

Television and film

Sharma played Vinnay Ramdas in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' and then Damon Lynch in 2011, Rajiv in comedy-drama ''

Roger Roger ''Roger Roger'' is a BBC television comedy drama written by John Sullivan. The series was about a minicab firm called Cresta Cabs. The pilot aired in 1996 and there were three subsequent series on BBC1 in 1998–2003. Cast and characters Main ...

'' and Paul in ''

Meet the Magoons ''Meet the Magoons'' is a six-part comedy television series in the United Kingdom aired on Channel 4 in 2005, directed by and starring Hardeep Singh Kohli. The main characters are a Punjabi family who live in Glasgow, and own an Indian restaurant c ...

''. He has also appeared in episodes of ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

'', ''

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is d ...

'' and the BBC daytime series ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. also appeared in one episode of Ultimate Force Series 4 Episode 3 "the dividing line". Sharma was in the first episode of the UK comedy ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'', playing Sanj, and was Stacey Shipman's (

Joanna Page Joanna Louise Page is a Welsh actress and presenter, known for portraying List of Gavin & Stacey characters, Stacey Shipman in the BAFTA-winning television series ''Gavin & Stacey''. She played Dora Spenlow in the David Copperfield (1999 film), ...

) ex-fiancé, Achmed, in ''

''. In 2009, Sharma appeared as Hindu nationalist Harish Dhillon in an episode of ''Spooks''. In 2012, Sharma was cast in ''

'' as Masood Ahmed's (

Nitin Ganatra Nitin Chandra Ganatra (born 30 June 1967) is a British actor. He is known for portraying Masood Ahmed in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'' (2007–2019), for which he won a British Soap Award. Early life Ganatra was born on 30 June 1967 in Ke ...

) brother AJ, a regular character. He left the soap opera in 2014. He also appeared in episode six of '' Hunted''. In 2013, Sharma garnered notable attention from South Asian outlets for a small role in the 2013 science fiction move ''

'', where he chose to sing a short portion of the popular Hindi song ''

Mera Joota Hai Japani "Mera Joota Hai Japani" (; ) is a Hindi song with music composed by Shankar Jaikishan and lyrics written by Shailendra. It was featured in the 1955 Bollywood film ''Shree 420'', performed by popular Bollywood actor Raj Kapoor, though sung by pl ...

''. In 2015, Sharma released 'I Gotta Be Me' - a ten-part web comedy in which he plays Paul Shah - a semi-autobiographical character based on his experience as a Sammy Davis Junior tribute act. He also appeared as Leigh in episodes four and five of ''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Hanna''. In 2021, Sharma appeared as DCI Ram Sidhu in the fourth series of ITV drama ''

Unforgotten ''Unforgotten'' is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Ca ...

''. In 2023 he filmed the BBC television feature ''

Men Up ''Men Up'' is a Welsh television film broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, about the first clinical trials for the drug viagra, which took place in Swansea in 1994. Russell T Davies is amongst the executive producers. The cast includes Aneurin ...

'', about the first clinical trials for the drug

Viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Ray ...

that took place in Swansea in 1994. He plays Peetham "Pete" Shah.

Stage

Sharma played

Sammy Davis Jr Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which tou ...

in the West End production of ''Rat Pack Confidential'' in 2003. From September to October 2010, he appeared in Factory Theatre Company's Boiling Frogs at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...

, London.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Phaldut Living people 1981 births Male actors from Newport, Wales Alumni of the Guildford School of Acting 21st-century British male actors British people of Indo-Guyanese descent Guyanese Hindus Male actors from London People educated at Bassaleg School Welsh male film actors Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors