Vivian Oparah

Vivian Nneka O. Oparah (born 30 December 1996) is a British actress and musician. She is known for her work in theatre, earning an Off West End Award nomination, and her roles in the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off Class (2016) and the film Rye Lane (2023).

Vivian Oparah
Born (1996-12-30) 30 December 1996[1]
Years active2016–present

Early life

Oparah was born in Camden and grew up in Tottenham, London.[2] She attended The Latymer School, where she took A Levels in media, English literature, product design and biology. During her media coursework in 2014, she formed a band called NTLS along with other students. Their debut single and video Heart Skipped a Beat was uploaded by someone to YouTube. Her older brother also works in music. Oparah joined the National Youth Theatre,[3] where she did a two-week summer course.[4]

Career

While deferring her acceptance to UCL,[5] Oparah was cast in the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off Class as Tanya Adeola, marking her television debut. Oparah later said that Class was her first audition. When she auditioned she only knew that the series was linked to the Doctor Who universe, but she did not imagine that it was such a big production until she got the job and started filming. During the production of the series Oparah lived in Cardiff, in the same building as actress Sophie Hopkins.[6]

Oparah named an Emerging Talent at the 2017 Screen Nation Film and Television Awards.[7] That same year, she starred as Minnie in the play An Octoroon at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond.[8][9] For her performance, she was nominated for Best Supporting Female in a Play at Off West End Theatre Awards.[10][11] In 2018, Oparah reprised her role as Tanya in six audio plays by Big Finish[12] and made her feature film debut in Teen Spirit.

In 2020, Oparah appeared in an episode of the BBC One miniseries I May Destroy You as well as the second series of the BBC Three comedy-drama Enterprice. She starred opposite David Jonsson in the romantic comedy Rye Lane, which opened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.[13] Also in 2023, she had a main role in the Sky Max drama Then You Run. She has an upcoming lead role opposite Bilal Hasna in the Amazon Prime comedy thriller series Dead Hot.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2018 Teen Spirit Kelli
2019 Pagans Viv Short film
Signs Ade Short film
2023 Rye Lane Yas

TV series
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Class Tanya Adeola Main role (8 episodes)
2017 The Rebel Amaya Series regular (5 episodes)
2020 I May Destroy You Bisola Episode: "Happy Animals"
Enterprice Isha 3 Episodes
2021 Intelligence Honey 1 episode
2023 Then You Run Stink

Audio
  • Class (2018), Tanya Adeola (3 episodes)

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
2017 An Octoroon Minnie Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond[14]
2018 Fanny & Alexander Mej Old Vic, London[15][16]
An Octoroon Minnie Royal National Theatre (Dorfman), London[17]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2018 Off West End Awards Best Supporting Female in a Play An Octoroon Nominated [10]

References
  1. "Vivian Oparah". 21 October 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  2. Roth, Rachael (22 May 2017). "Stomping Grounds: Vivian Oparah of BBC America's 'Class' on "Everything Good and Bad About London"". Fodors. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. Gill, James (4 April 2016). "Who are the stars of new Doctor Who spin-off Class?". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. Radish, Christina (15 April 2017). "'Class' Star Vivian Oparah on the 'Doctor Who' Spinoff & Working with Peter Capaldi". Collider. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  5. Wickes, Jade (9 March 2022). "Vivian Oparah: film, TV (and music's) next big multi-hyphenate thing". The Face. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  6. "Interview: "We're part of something really cool" – Sophie Hopkins (BBC's Class/Dr. Who)". vulturehound.co.uk.
  7. "News. Susan Wokoma, Malachi Kirby, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Arnold Oceng & more nominated for the 12th Screen Nation Awards [Full list]". Scene TV. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  8. Birchenough, Tom (27 May 2017). "An Octoroon review - slavery reprised as melodrama in a vibrantly theatrical show". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  9. Ludmon, Mark (27 May 2017). "REVIEW: An Octoroon, Orange Tree Theatre". British Theatre. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  10. "The Offies". Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  11. "An Octoroon. Whats On. Orange Tree Theatre". Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  12. "Axed Doctor Who spin-off Class to return for audio series". Radio Times.
  13. Smith, Anna (23 January 2023). "'Rye Lane' Sundance Review: A Sunny, Irreverent Tribute To British Rom-Com Forebears". Deadline. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  14. Al-Hassan, Aliya (25 May 2017). "BWW Review: AN OCTOROON, Orange Tree Theatre". Broadway World. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  15. "Fanny & Alexander Cast. The Old Vic". Old Vic Theatre. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  16. "Fanny and Alexander at the Old Vic, London – review round-up". thestage.co.uk/. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  17. Snow, Georgia (21 February 2018). "Cast confirmed for Brian Friel's Translations at National Theatre". The Stage. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
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