# Naveen Andrews
**Naveen Andrews** (full name Naveen William Sidney Andrews, born 1969 in London) is an English actor best known for playing Kip in the Oscar-winning film *The English Patient* (1996) and [Sayid Jarrah](https://www.edgepedia.org/sayid-jarrah) on the ABC series *Lost* (2004–2010)[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) • [2](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/naveen-andrews). His later work includes Jonas Maliki in Netflix's *Sense8* (2015–2018), Dr. [Hasnat Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/hasnat-khan) in *Diana* (2013), and [Sunny Balwani](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunny-balwani) in Hulu's *The Dropout* (2022)[3](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, London, England; full name Naveen William Sidney Andrews[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) |
| Training | Graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 1990[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) |
| Breakthrough film | Kirpal "Kip" Singh in *The English Patient* (1996); Screen Actors Guild cast nomination and Chlotrudis Best Supporting Actor nomination, both 1997[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/awards/) |
| Signature TV role | Sayid Jarrah on *Lost*, 2004–2010, 121 episodes; Primetime Emmy nomination 2005, Golden Globe nomination 2006[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/awards/) |
| Later roles | Jonas Maliki in *Sense8* (Netflix, 2015–2018); Dr. Hasnat Khan in *Diana* (2013); Sunny Balwani in *The Dropout* (2022)[3](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost) |
| Early recognition | San Remo Film Festival Award, best actor, 1994, for *The Buddha of Suburbia*[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) |
| Physical transformation | Gained 9 kg (1 st 6 lb) to play Sunny Balwani in *The Dropout*[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost) |
## Early life and training
Andrews was born in London to Indian immigrants who had moved from Kerala to [South London](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-london) in the mid-1960s; his father Sydney was a businessperson and his mother Nirmala a psychologist[2](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/naveen-andrews) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969). His parents scraped together money to send him to private school, a path that led toward drama but also away from his conservative-minded family and toward alcohol and, later, heroin[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost). He left home at 16 and moved in with his married maths teacher, who was 15 years his senior; they began an affair and later had a son, Jaisal, born when Andrews was in his early 20s[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/05/television).
His interest in acting had been sparked in primary school; one of his teachers suggested to his parents when he was 5 that he might make a good actor, though they did not see it as a career[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/05/television) • [8](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/easy-going-31496/). He attended the [Guildhall School of Music and Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/guildhall-school-of-music-and-drama), graduating in 1990, alongside students including [Ewan McGregor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ewan-mcgregor) and [David Thewlis](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-thewlis)[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) • [9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/naveen-andrews/bio/3030203730/).
## Early career and British-Asian cinema
Andrews' early career coincided with a new wave of British-Asian storytelling in the early 1990s. He made his screen debut in *London Kills Me* (1991), written and directed by [Hanif Kureishi](https://www.edgepedia.org/hanif-kureishi), and a year later played the lead role of country singer Zaf in *Wild West* (1992), a comedy about a British-Pakistani country and western band[10](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/naveen-andrews/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost). At 23 he took the lead as Karim Amir in the BBC's *The Buddha of Suburbia* (1993), adapted from Kureishi's semi-autobiographical novel and boosted by a [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie) soundtrack; the role won him the San Remo Film Festival Award for best actor in 1994[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969).
**Hollywood breakthrough.** Andrews first caught Hollywood's attention playing the British Army Sikh sapper Kip Singh in [Anthony Minghella](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-minghella)'s *The English Patient* (1996), which also starred [Ralph Fiennes](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-fiennes) and [Willem Dafoe](https://www.edgepedia.org/willem-dafoe); he shared a 1997 Screen Actors Guild nomination for outstanding performance by a cast and received a Chlotrudis Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor[3](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/awards/). During this period he also appeared in *Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love* (1996), *Mighty Joe Young* (1998), *Bombay Boys* (1998), and *Drowning on Dry Land* (1999), where he co-starred with Barbara Hershey, who became his long-term partner[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969) • [10](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/naveen-andrews/).
## Lost and television stardom
Andrews became a household name when he was cast as Iraqi communications officer Sayid Jarrah in *Lost* (ABC, 2004–2010), appearing in 121 episodes across the show's six seasons[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/naveen_andrews) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710). The role brought a 2005 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a 2006 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/awards/). He was also nominated three times, from 2007 to 2010, for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival for the role[9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/naveen-andrews/bio/3030203730/). Though British-born of Indian descent, he portrayed an Iraqi character, one of several cross-cultural castings in his career[9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/naveen-andrews/bio/3030203730/).
During the *Lost* years he appeared in *The Ten Commandments* (2006), *Provoked* (2006), [Robert Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-rodriguez)'s *Planet Terror* (2007), and *The Brave One* (2007) opposite [Jodie Foster](https://www.edgepedia.org/jodie-foster)[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/naveen_andrews).
## Later work
After *Lost* ended in 2010, Andrews took recurring television roles: Lord Akbari in *Sinbad* (Sky 1, 2012), Jafar in *Once Upon a Time in Wonderland* (ABC, 2013–14), and Jonas Maliki in the Wachowskis' globe-spanning Netflix drama *Sense8* (2015–2018)[10](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/naveen-andrews/) • [3](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/). In *Diana* (2013) he played Dr. Hasnat Khan, the cardiac surgeon who was Princess Diana's lover, opposite [Naomi Watts](https://www.edgepedia.org/naomi-watts)[3](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/). He later played CIA operative Julian Cousins in *Instinct* (CBS, 2018), joined *The Cleaning Lady* for its second season on Fox in 2022, and appeared in *Last King of the Cross* (2024) and *The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh* (2024)[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/naveen_andrews) • [10](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/naveen-andrews/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710).
**The Dropout.** In Hulu's 2022 miniseries *The Dropout*, about the Theranos fraud case, Andrews played Sunny Balwani, the business partner and alleged co-conspirator of Elizabeth Holmes[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost). He gained 9 kg (1 st 6 lb) for the role to make his face fuller and modified his movements to seem slower and older, a transformation that earned nominations including the Gold Derby TV Award for Limited/Movie Supporting Actor and an HCA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost) • [9](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/naveen-andrews/bio/3030203730/).
In 2025 he took on Ricardo Montalbán's role as Khan Noonien Singh in voice for the podcast series *Star Trek: Khan*, which explores the character's exile on Ceti Alpha V between his first appearance in *The Original Series* and his return in *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710).
## Personal life
Andrews and Barbara Hershey were together for 10 years; during a brief separation he had a second son with a different woman in 2005[4](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost). He has spoken publicly about addiction in the 1990s, describing himself in that period as seen as "either a junkie or a drunk," and crediting recovery with allowing him to keep working through some of his best-known performances[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/05/television). He became an American citizen in 2010[2](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/naveen-andrews).
## References
1. [Andrews, Naveen 1969–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/andrews-naveen-1969)
2. [Naveen Andrews | Biography | Research Starters, EBSCOhost](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/naveen-andrews)
3. [Naveen Andrews bio, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/bios/naveen-andrews/)
4. ['Good times? I was out of it': The Dropout's Naveen Andrews on booze, drugs and baffling the world in Lost, The Guardian (2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/07/naveen-andrews-the-dropout-booze-drugs-and-lost)
5. [Naveen Andrews – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710/awards/)
6. [Naveen Andrews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004710)
7. ['I was seen as either a junkie or a drunk', The Guardian (2008)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/05/television)
8. ['Easy' Going, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/easy-going-31496/)
9. [Naveen Andrews Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/naveen-andrews/bio/3030203730/)
10. [Naveen Andrews – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/naveen-andrews/)
11. [Naveen Andrews Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/naveen_andrews)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames A to Ba*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license