Biographie
Born in London in 1966, Andrew grew up in Bedford before returning to London to undertake an apprenticeship in Mechanical and Production Engineering with the Ministry of Defence. After completing four years, he traveled extensively, spending time in Australia before returning to pursue drama school.
Andrew trained at The Guildhall School and subsequently focused mainly on television work. His career included notable British productions such as the BAFTA-winning dramas 'Loved Up' and 'Holding On', along with guest lead roles in 'Soldier, Soldier', 'The Bill', and 'EastEnders', among others.
Frustrated by the limited, stereotypical roles available to him, Andrew began advocating for greater inclusion and representation while shifting his focus to creating his own projects. In 1997, he produced and acted in his first short film, 'Losing Heart', directed by Marion Bailey, a frequent collaborator of Mike Leigh. This project allowed him to learn the Master Improvisation technique favored by Mike Leigh.
Building on the success of 'Losing Heart', Andrew secured funding for his debut feature film 'Offending Angels', where he served as writer, director, producer, and actor. His goal was to develop meaningful roles for non-white actors without relying on their ethnicity as a defining trait, addressing a gap he observed in the British industry.
Following this, he appeared in Stephen Norrington’s 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' and starred in the world premiere stage production of Hanif Kureishi's 'Intimacy', an 80-minute monologue.
Andrew then earned a place at the National Film & Television School in Beaconsfield, where he completed a Master’s in Screenwriting. During this time, he created the provocative short film 'Opportunist', which was acquired by FoxTV.
As writer, director, and producer, he has since completed two feature-length documentaries: 'Finding Fink at Fifty', about hedge-fund magnate Stanley Fink, and 'The Penthouse at St Pancras'. He also made the feature drama 'Greys Inbetween', which was distributed by eight channels worldwide.
Andrew has contributed articles to The Guardian on the topic of #OscarsSoWhite and written for The Telegraph. He has been interviewed by BBC News Channel, Al Jazeera, and various radio programs including BBC World at One and Five Live.
He has served as a juror for the Vevey Film Festival, BAFTA, The Sony Radio Awards, and the RTA’s. In addition to his screen work, he has authored four novels and several stage plays.
His body of work consistently explores themes of identity and challenges assumptions related to race and culture. His most recent screen appearance was in the Cannes award-winning feature 'Little Joe', directed by Jessica Hausner and starring Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, and Kerry Fox.
