Shazad Latif

British actor Shazad Latif has made his name in the United States thanks to his role as Vog/Ash Tyler in the hugely popular, Primetime-Emmy-winning show Star Trek: Discovery. The roles that have made him famous in the UK include Tariq Masood in Spooks, Dr Nick Kassar in My Mad Fat Diary, Clem Fandango in Toast of London, and Alfred Wincham in a 2021 BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. He also played Dr Henry Jekyll in the transatlantic horror series, Penny Dreadful.

Latif was born in London in July 1988 and took his training at the world-renowned Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol. However, he dropped out a year before graduation to begin starring as gifted technician Tariq Masood in the final three series of the long-running BBC spy drama, Spooks. Such a significant role was a major break that couldn’t be turned down. His next role was very different: playing work-experience studio tech Clem Fandango in the sitcom Toast of London.

In 2014, Latif appeared alongside some of the giants of British acting — Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Graves — in a political thriller called Salting the Battlefield. In 2016, he also made his first inroads into America when he appeared in Penny Dreadful, which was aired on both sides of the Atlantic. Star Trek: Discovery then heralded his arrival in America proper. He has since appeared in major shows in both Britain and North America, establishing himself as one of today’s top actors.