Shivantha Wijesinha

Shivantha is an actor and singer/songwriter originally from the little island of Sri Lanka. He was born in Oxford, and has lived in the UK, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Italy and Australia and New York. He studied at America's oldest acting conservatory The American Academy of Dramatic Arts; (alumni include Jessica Chastain, Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, Robert Redford, Danny Devito, Grace Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Adrian Brody, Anne Bancroft and Kim Katrall among others). He plays the lead role of Jegan in Oscar nominee Deepa Mehta's latest film Funny Boy - which is out now on Netflix. His films have won several awards including: Best US Fiction (Out of My Hand) at the LA Film Festival in 2015, Best Picture (My Little Nut) at the 48-Hour Winter Film Festival in 2015, Best Student Film (Entropic) at the Winter Film Awards in 2017, Best Science Fiction Film (Entropic) at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in 2017, Best Tri State Film (Death Trail) at the Philadelphia Independent Film Award, Best Action Film Award (Death Trail) at the Yellow Fever Indie Film Festival in Ireland, Outstanding Narrative Feature (Meme) at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival in 2018, Best Film (Hechki) at the River to River Florence Indian Film Festival in 2014. He himself has won the Best Supporting Actor (Last Game) at the Asians On Film Festival in 2012 (available in Amazon Prime), and Best Actor (Death Trail) at the Asians On Film Festival in Spring 2019. A Lothario's Lament premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, and he worked with Golden Globe winner/Academy Award nominee Mira Nair on a reading of Monsoon Wedding. In 2012, he was selected to make his Off Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink at the Roundabout Theatre and the same year, was selected for the ABC Variety Showcase in NY - only 12 out of 7500 applicants were chosen. Australian TV credits include The Librarians (ABC), Carla Carmetti (SBS) and Kath and Kim (ABC). He is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor, with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Melbourne Australia, as has as a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies. He released his first album Words From Not Long Ago in 2014, and recorded Clarity in 2017 with Kyle Cassel and Walter Parks (Richie Havens) at Kaleidoscope Studios. The album was mastered at G&J Audio (Norah Jones, John Coltrane, Sex Pistols, Aretha Franklin). His song 'Fallen into You' reached number #5 on The Most Requested Songs for the Year in Sri Lanka in 2005. His music is available on all major platforms including Spotify and iTunes.