STANDING at six feet tall, David Harewood is a force to be reckoned with.
Since his rise to fame he has become a much sought after actor.
David Harewood was born on December 8, 1965, in the Small Heath area of Birmingham.
His lorry driver dad and caterer mum had moved to England from Barbados less than a decade before.
The 56-year-old has three siblings and was educated at Washwood Heath Comprehensive School.
David was a member of the National Youth Theatre and worked in a Birmingham wine bar as a teenager.
At the age of 18, David bagged a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – but his big acting break came in 1990 when he was 24.
Harewood has previously spoken about how he suffered a breakdown in his 20s and was sectioned.
He is a vocal supporter of raising awareness and support for mental health and is an ambassador for the Mental Health Foundation.
In 2019 he was praised for his moving documentary for the BBC, David Harewood: Psychosis and Me, which received wide acclaim when it aired in 2019.
David is best known for playing Captain Poison in blockbuster movie Blood Diamond, and Joel Steadman in Night Manager.
In the past, the Birmingham City fan has appeared in Celebrity Mastermind, Dr Who and played Nelson in the BBC drama Mrs Mandela.
You may also remember him from Labour’s May 2012 Party Election Broadcast.
His biggest role has to be on Homeland, which he appeared in from 2011 to 2012.
After this he was known for Supergirl, where he played Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman from 2015 to 2021.
In 2022 he starred in the Amazon Prime Video series Ten Percent.
David married his long-term partner Kirsty Handy in Barbados in February 2013.
The couple have two daughters and live in Streatham, south London.
David’s surname was given to his ancestors when they were transported from Africa to the Caribbean and kept as slaves by the Lascelles family.
In 2007, he visited Harewood House, in Yorkshire, and spoke to Viscount Lascelles, who is also the Queen’s cousin, about their shared history.
The same year, philanthropic David donated his bone marrow – and saved a stranger’s life.
