David Harewood

From Birmingham to the National Theatre

David Harewood had only 80 pounds in his bank account when he was offered the role of David Estes. It was 2011, and the British actor was on the verge of giving up after decades of supporting roles in his home country. But the call from Showtime to join Homeland radically changed his financial and professional trajectory.

The son of immigrants from Barbados, Harewood grew up in a working-class area of Birmingham before winning a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. There he shared a classroom with people who would later become global stars. But for a Black actor in 1980s England, the path was full of invisible walls.

And then came the risk.

In 1997, he became the first Black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre in London. That production, directed by Sam Mendes, was a landmark for both critics and audiences. But prestige on the stage did not always translate into financial stability. Harewood alternated Shakespeare plays with brief appearances in British medical dramas to keep up with his bills.

The face that changed American television

His move to the United States gave his career a real boost. In Homeland, he played the director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center during the first two seasons. That dry, authoritative character let him showcase a cool, technical precision that Hollywood was quick to exploit.

In 2015, he joined the cast of Supergirl to bring J'onn J'onzz (Martian Detective) to life. For six seasons, the role gave him a global visibility he had never experienced before. But Harewood did not want to limit himself to special effects and superhero costumes.

The stage was always her refuge.

He used his privileged position to speak about issues the industry preferred to ignore. In 2019, he starred in the documentary David Harewood: Psychosis and Me, in which he recounted his own psychotic breakdown, which occurred when he was 23 years old. That BBC production was an act of brutal honesty that broke the taboo around mental health in the creative industry.

Cameras and Directors' Chairs

Reaching a mature stage in his career, he explored cinematography and directing. He directed several episodes of Supergirl between 2019 and 2021. Harewood quickly understood that real control in the entertainment industry lies behind the camera, not just in front of it.

In 2023, he took part in the video game Alan Wake II, playing Mr. Door. His motion-capture performance was praised for the nuanced physicality he brought to the character. His career entered a phase where the format (film, television or video games) mattered less than the quality of the script.

And the gamble paid off.

In 2024, he joined the Star Wars universe with the series The Acolyte, playing a senator of the Republic. That same year, he worked on the new adaptation of The Day of the Jackal alongside Eddie Redmayne. On this production, he took on a solid supporting role that confirms his status as a character actor in major international productions.

David Harewood wrapped up 2024 by directing three episodes of the second season of the Sherwood series for the BBC. His fee per directing episode now far exceeds what he earned in a full year during his early days in Birmingham. His name appears in the production credits of Section 52, the company he founded to develop his own projects.