Mawaan Rizwan is a Pakistani-born British actor, writer and comedian who began his career as a YouTube contributor.
Early life
Rizwan was born in Lahore, Pakistan; his mother, Shahnaz, was one of nine siblings and had starred in a number of black and whitePakistani films when she was a child. His mother wanted a better life for Mawaan and his sister and so they emigrated to London, UK in 1994 when he was two. At the age of eight, Rizwan and his family were threatened with deportation, but after legal-battles and protests for the family's immigration rights they were granted indefinite leave to remain.
Career
Rizwan began his career at 16 making YouTube videos that saw him gain notice which resulted in him gaining roles on various television and streaming programming. In 2013 he began starring in the BAFTA award nominated series 'DNN: Definitely Not Newsround', a spoof news comedy series for children. and in 2015 he starred in Disney XD UK series 'Mega Awesome Super Hacks' alongside Oli White and Jimmy Hill. In 2015, Rizwan travelled to Pakistan, his country of birth, to film the documentary 'How Gay is Pakistan?' which explores the issues faced by other LGBTQ muslims living under Islamic law that deems homosexuality illegal.. The documentary was televised internationally, including on ABC2 in Australia, CBC in Canada and in various markets via Prime Video. Rizwan's career in stand-up comedy began in 2010 when he performed his first gig at a basement venue in Leicester Square, and has gone on to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with his 2018 and 2019 performances gaining positive reviews from critics. In 2018, Rizwan participated in a charity benefit event called 'Choose Laughs?' at the Playhouse Theatre to support the NGOHelp Refugees. In 2019, it was announced that Rizwan would be starring in the upcoming comedy series Two Weeksto Live for Sky One, due to be aired in 2020.. April of 2019 also saw Rizwan release his first two singles 'I've Got a New Walk' & 'Mango' with a third single 'Never Been Skiing' released in September.Forbes named Rizwan one of their '30 under 30' movers for their 2020 list, after recognition for being a writer on Netflix series Sex Education as well as his role in BBC Three drama Murdered by My Father and opening for Queer Eye'sJonathan Van Ness on tour. In 2020, Rizwan will appear in the 10th series of Taskmaster.
Personal life
Rizwan is openly gay, having come out to his traditional Muslim parents at the age of 24.. In 2014 he appeared alongside his mother, Shahnaz, in a YouTube video which resulted in his mother gaining the attention of Bollywood and eventually landing a role in the Indian television series Yeh Hai Mohabbatein . Mawaan's brother, Nabhaan, also followed the family into a career in acting with his debut in BBC drama series Informer.
