Abubakar Salim facts for kids

Abubakar Salim (born on January 7, 1993) is a talented Kenyan-British actor and a video game developer. He became well-known for his voice work in the video game Assassin's Creed Origins, which even earned him a nomination for a British Academy Games Award. He was also recognized as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, which is a special award for rising stars. On TV, you might know him from the Sky One series Jamestown (2018–2019) or the HBO Max show Raised by Wolves (2020–2022). Abubakar is also the person who started and leads his own company, Surgent Studios, which creates both films and video games.

Early Life and Education

Abubakar Salim was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England. His parents came from Kenya, making him a first-generation Briton. His dad worked as a software engineer, and his mom was a carer. Abubakar started acting when he was 16 years old. He joined the National Youth Theatre after his very first audition! Later, he received a scholarship to study acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He graduated in 2014 with a special degree in Acting.

Becoming an Actor

Abubakar's first professional acting job on stage was in a play called Prince of Denmark at the Royal National Theatre in London in 2010. The next year, in 2011, he made his first appearance on television in an episode of the ITV show The Jury.

After finishing his studies at LAMDA in 2014, Abubakar had small parts in a few TV shows. These included the Fox series 24: Live Another Day and the Canal+ comedy-drama Spotless. He also returned to the stage in 2015, performing in plays like Sense of an Ending and Teddy Ferrara. In 2016, he toured with the play The Winter's Tale and appeared in Labyrinth.

Voice Acting and Big Roles

A big moment in Abubakar's career came in 2017 when he voiced the character Bayek in the popular video game Assassin's Creed Origins. His performance was so good that he was nominated for a British Academy Games Award.

In 2018, Abubakar got his first main role on television. He joined the cast of the Sky One historical drama Jamestown as the character Pedro for its second season. He also appeared in the BBC One drama Informer and the third season of Fortitude. From 2020 to 2022, Abubakar starred as Father in the HBO Max science fiction series Raised by Wolves.

Starting a Game Studio

In 2020, Abubakar Salim started his own video game development studio. It was first called Silver Rain Games, but later changed its name to Surgent Studios. He is the founder and CEO of this company. Abubakar is a big fan of video games himself. He said that working on Assassin's Creed Origins helped him understand how video games are made. This experience inspired him to create his own studio.

Surgent Studios' first game, a 2D side-scrolling platform game called Tales of Kenzera: Zau, was released by EA Originals in April 2024. This game was nominated for two awards at the 2024 21st British Academy Games Awards: Debut Games and Game Beyond Entertainment. Abubakar accepted the "Game Beyond Entertainment" award in April 2025.

Recent Projects

In 2023, it was announced that Abubakar Salim would play the character Alyn of Hull in the second season of House of the Dragon. This season was released in 2024. It has also been confirmed that he will return for the third season of the show.

Filmography

Television and Film

Video Games

Web Series

Stage

See also

In Spanish: Abubakar Salim para niños