Manjinder Virk
| Manjinder Virk | |
|---|---|
| Born | Coventry, England, UK |
| Residence | London, England, UK[1] |
| Nationality | British Indian[2] |
| Alma mater | De Montfort University |
| Occupation | Actress, director, writer |
| Spouse(s) | Neil Biswas (2007–present) |
Manjinder Virk is an English actress, director and writer. She has appeared in the television series Holby City (1999), Doctors (2000), The Bill (2004), The Ghost Squad (2005), Runaway (2009), Skins (2010), Monroe (2011), Hunted (2012) and Midsomer Murders (2016 - ...).
She has also written and directed the short films Forgive (2008) and Out of Darkness (2013), the latter of which she won Best of Fest award at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
Early life
Virk was born in Coventry, England. Her mother's name is Jasvir.[3] She comes from a family of three children.[4]
She began acting at the Belgrade Youth Theatre in Coventry and went on to become artistic director of Pangram Dance Theatre with her brother, Hardish.[3][4] She went on to earn a degree in contemporary dance at De Montfort University in Leicester.
Career
In 1999, Virk started off on the British TV series Holby City, which was just the beginning of her television career. She later appeared in three separate episodes of the TV soap opera Doctors, first in 2000 as Karen Slater, again in 2004 as Laila Khalid and in 2007 playing Harpit Jindal. The roles she is most notable for are her roles in 2007's Britz as Nasima Wahid, and the 2010 documentary The Arbor portraying Lorraine Dunbar. The latter she earned three nominations, Best Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival Awards and Best Actress and New Comer at the BIFA Awards. She also had a small reoccurring role on the British medical drama show Monroe, recently appeared on the new BBC One show Hunted and has a reoccurring role on Midsomer Murders.
In 2003, she wrote a play for a show for touring company Theatre Centre titled Glow.[5] In 2008, Virk wrote and directed the short film Forgive starring Sacha Dhawan and Abdi Gouhad.[6] In 2012, she wrote and directed another short called Out of Darkness starring Tom Hiddleston, Monica Dolan, Andrew Gower, Jimmy Akingbola, Christine Bottomley and Riz Ahmed.[7]
Personal life
She met husband Neil Biswas on the set of the TV drama Bradford Riots in 2007.[3] As of 2013, she and her husband live in Brixton, South London.[8]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Holby City | Junior Nurse | TV series (1 episode: "Staying Alive: Part 2") |
| 2000 | Doctors | Karen Slater | TV series (1 episode: "Game Over") |
| 2003 | Ready When You Are, Mr. McGill | Sue | TV film |
| 2003 | Two Minutes | Ruby | Short |
| 2004 | The Bill | Khadija Miah | TV series (4 episodes) |
| 2004 | Doctors | Laila Khalid | TV series (1 episode: "Moving On") |
| 2004 | Swiss Toni | Jenny | TV series |
| 2004 | Green Wing | Theatre Nurse | TV series (1 episode: "Tangled Webs") |
| 2005 | Child of Mine | WPC | TV film |
| 2005 | The Ghost Squad | WPC Shareen Charan | TV series (1 episode: "Colour Blind") |
| 2006 | Bradford Riots | Shazia | TV film |
| 2006 | Orange People | Amber | Short |
| 2007 | World of Wrestling | Princess | Short |
| 2007 | Doctors | Harpit Jindal | TV series (1 episode: "Wings and Needles") |
| 2007 | Comedy Showcase | News Reporter | TV series (1 episode: "Plus One") |
| 2007 | Britz | Nasima Wahid | TV film |
| 2007 | Famous Last Words | TV short | |
| 2008 | The Blue Tower | Asha | |
| 2009 | Runaway | PC Brinkley | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2010 | Skins | Doctor Berg | TV series (1 episode: "Katie") |
| 2010 | The Arbor | Lorraine Dunbar | Documentary |
| 2011 | Lost Paradise | Ismat | Short |
| 2011 | Monroe | Sally Fortune | TV series (6 episodes) |
| 2012 | The Thick of It | Journalist 1 | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2012 | Hunted | Simran Baines | TV series (4 episodes) |
| 2012 | Broken Eternity | Woman | Short |
| 2013 | Out of Darkness | Female | Short; also writer, director and producer |
| 2014 | Checkpost | Ria | Short |
| 2015 | Call the Midwife | Ameera Khatun | TV series (Episode #4.5) |
| 2015 | History's Future | Phoebe | Post-production |
| 2015 | Ordinary Lies | Marianne | TV series |
| 2016 | Midsomer Murders | Dr Kam Karimore | Episode 18.4 "A Dying Art" |
Awards and nominations
Virk was nominated in 2010 for Best Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival Awards and Best Actress and Newcomer at the BIFA Awards,[9][10] both for her role in The Arbor. She was one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow in Screen International in 2007.[3] She was also nominated for Asian Woman of Achievement Award in 2008.[11]
In 2013, for her short film Out of Darkness, Virk won Best of Fest award at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival.[12]
References
- ↑ Virk, Manjinder (23 October 2007). "Angel of death". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ Virk, Manjinder (12 March 2008). "The idea that women should disappear when they hit old age is one of the last myths. Ask my mum". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 McMullen, Marion (14 March 2011). "Coventry's head girl Manjinder Virk in TV's Monroe". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- 1 2 "TV recreation of tense chapter in social history". Coventry Telegraph. Apr 27, 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ "Glow :: Shows :: Theatre Centre". Theatre Centre. 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ "Britz – Pushing The Boundaries". The Asian Today. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ @HundredsofSouls (17 October 2012). "Follow short film Out of Darkness". Twitter. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ Tom Seymour (16 October 2013). "LFF 2013 Spotlight: Out Of Darkness". Little White Lies. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ↑ "Ones To Watch - Manjinder Virk". Clash Music. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ↑ "The Moet British Independent Film Awards". Telegraph.
- ↑ "Asian Women of Achievement Award Winners 2008". Red Hot Curry. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ Charles Hutchinson (21 November 2013). "Aesthetica Short Film Festival chalks up a record year". Retrieved 4 March 2015.
