British actor Antonio Aakeel is best known for his leading film role in the award winning Eaten by Lions (2018). He was named a Screen International 'Star of Tomorrow' by global film publication Screen Daily: an international conglomerate of film journalists known for distinguishing rising talent. Previous recipients of the award have included Eddie Redmayne, John Boyega and Dev Patel. Aakeel was born in Wolverhampton, England, to British-Indian parents and moved around the West Midlands as a child. He began acting in local theatre and school productions, before being cast in his first professional stage role as Khalid, in a national theatre tour of Anna Perera's award-winning novel, Guantanamo Boy. In 2019, Aakeel won the EE Eastern Eye ACTA Award for 'Best Emerging Artist' supported by Arts Council England at its annual London ceremony. He was cast in his first leading feature film role as Omar in Eaten by Lions (2018), playing a young man in search of his estranged father alongside comedians Johnny Vegas and Asim Chaudhry. The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and won the audience award for 'Best Film' at the London Indian Film Festival ahead of its wide cinematic release in 2019. Antonio won his small screen debut in the BAFTA award-winning drama series Skins (2007) after applying to a nationwide campaign seeking new acting talent. This was closely followed by roles in Independent features and Television, including a leading role in the critically acclaimed BBC One drama Moving On: Eighteen (2016), which won 'Best Daytime Programme' at the Royal Television Society Awards in 2018. He was next cast as Nitin, alongside Oscar winner Alicia Vikander in Warner Bros' Tomb Raider (2018) reboot, establishing himself as one of Britain's fast emerging talents. He appeared opposite Riz Ahmed and Billie Piper in the noir inspired thriller City of Tiny Lights (2016) directed by BAFTA-winner Pete Travis. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. In 2017, Aakeel played troubled brother to Life of Pi's Suraj Sharma in Film London's Shakespearean feature adaptation The Hungry (2017); a dark retelling of Titus Andronicus for Amazon, directed by Bornila Chatterjee. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017. It was announced by the BBC he was cast as the flamboyant and reckless Rafe Lahiri, a series regular in STARZ and BBC One's drama series Dublin Murders (2019) directed by Saul Dibb. Aakeel will next lead the upcoming feature Granada Nights (2021) as Ben, an uncultured British-tourist struggling with heartbreak and hedonism in the Spanish province, set for release in 2020.