Elsayed was born on 15 September 1993 at St Mary's Hospital in London. At 16 years old, Elsayed joined the drama school The Young Actors Theatre in Islington.[1] He is of Egyptian heritage.[2]
Career
Television and film
In 2012, after getting his first lead role in My Brother the Devil, Elsayed fell in love with acting and knew he wanted to be an actor for the rest of his life.[1] For his role as Mo in My Brother the Devil he was nominated with the Best Newcomer Award at the BFI London Film Festival.[3] He also received an nomination for the ALFS Award as Young British Performer of the Year.[4] After this Elsayed appeared in several TV series, like Casualty and Silent Witness.[5]
In 2014, he portrayed a vampire who spoke Arabic in Penny Dreadful.[6]
In 2016, Elsayed was cast in the BBC ThreeDoctor Who spin-off Class as Ram Singh. Elsayed's character Ram is a student at Coal Hill Academy, who plays in the school's football team.[7] In 2018 Elsayed reprised his role as Ram in six audio plays by Big Finish, and again in 2020.[8][9]
In 2023, Elsayed released his debut EP Promise Land on Bandcamp, with all proceeds going towards medical aid in Palestine.[14][15]
Personal life
Elsayed is a Muslim.[2] He has three brothers and one sister.[16] He is a childhood friend of Little Simz,[17] and has appeared in several of her music videos.