Mawaan Rizwan

Mawaan Rizwan (born 18 August 1992) is a Pakistani-born British actor and comedian who began his career as a YouTuber. He created and starred in the BBC Three comedy Juice (2023), winning a British Academy Television Award for his performance in addition to receiving writing nominations. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Rizwan emigrated to London with his mother and sister in 1994; at the age of eight, the family was threatened with deportation but granted indefinite leave to remain after legal battles and protests.

Rizwan started making YouTube videos at the age of 16, which led to roles in television and streaming programmes. In 2013, he began starring in the BAFTA-nominated children's spoof news series DNN: Definitely Not Newsround, and in 2015 starred in the Disney XD UK series Mega Awesome Super Hacks. That year he also travelled to Pakistan to film the documentary How Gay Is Pakistan? His stand-up career began in 2010 with his first gig at a basement venue in Leicester Square, and he trained at the prestigious Ecole Philippe Gaulier, with physicality and silliness key to his craft.

In 2020, Rizwan starred in the Sky One comedy series Two Weeks to Live, was named to Forbes' "30 under 30" list, wrote for Netflix's Sex Education, and finished third on the 10th series of Taskmaster. In 2021, the BBC appointed him Young Person's Comedy Laureate. His surreal BBC Three comedy Juice, based on his 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show, was released in September 2023, with a second series in 2025. In 2026, he made his debut at the Royal Shakespeare Company playing The Barker / Giri in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Rizwan is gay, having come out to his traditional Muslim parents at the age of 24.