Kiell Smith-Bynoe always wanted to act but never thought it could be a career for people like him. That all changed when, aged 12, he discovered that an older boy from his school had appeared on TV.

Born at Newham General Hospital in March 1989, Kiell from East Ham, attended primary and secondary schools in Forest Gate.

Kiell Smith-Bynoe, aged 13, on the first day of Year 9

Karlos Coleman, Youth Theatre Teacher at the Theatre Royal Stratford Youth Theatre was the first person to recognise Kiell’s potential. Karlos convinced him that he could be just as good as the people he had watched on TV or seen perform on stage.

Kiell, who stars in the BBC One sitcom Ghosts, also works behind the camera too. He said: “I write a lot and have a few projects in development; one of them will be filmed at the end of this year and then hopefully out early 2022.” However he much prefers to “show off” in front of the camera.

Kiell advises anyone wanting to pursue a career in acting to make as many projects as possible, get your talent out there and be positive about yourself. He said:

“Whether it’s a video you make at home on your phone or something you film with friends on a proper camera. The more you have in your portfolio, the more you can get noticed.”

“Also, owning what you do is an important factor. Don’t say I’m trying to get into acting, say: I’m an actor.”

Kiell is currently working on multiple personal projects, one of which is a musical comedy show at the Soho Theatre about two rival children’s entertainers. Kiell plays a grime mc very good at making balloon animals.

The third season of the BAFTA-winning comedy Stath Lets Flats, starring Kiell Smith-Bynoe, starts on Tuesday, 26 October at 10.15pm on Channel 4.

Ghosts is available to watch on iPlayer:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00049t9/ghosts

String vs. Spitta, 29th Nov-11th Dec at Soho Theatre:

https://sohotheatre.com/shows/string-v-spitta/

Social media: Instagram and Twitter.

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