British Actors You Should Know: Nina Sosanya

Nina Sosanya is one of those actors who is so ubiquitous that you might not realize how many shows you’ve seen her in until you start counting. From the buzziest titles to the niche-est projects, Sosanya’s name appears all over British TV and in several beloved franchises, including Doctor Who and His Dark Materials. She’s the degree of famous where she gets recognized on the street occasionally but maintains enough privacy to still, as she puts it, “go out the door looking weird.”

Sosanya was raised in north London and trained as a dancer before breaking into theater and television in her twenties. She grew up as a lover of fantasy and science fiction, which may explain why she fits so naturally into so many shows of the genres. She maintains her theater roots, with numerous Shakespearean roles under her belt, among many other theater credits. 

Her first big break in television was in the 2001 series Teachers, a comedy-drama about the lives of high school teachers. Since then, her star has risen steadily, all the way to her latest role on the silver screen in one of the most talked-about series of the year, Baby Reindeer. With so many of Sosanya’s roles to choose from, we’ve selected some of her best here.

Love Actually season is approaching, so keep an eye out for Sosanya the next time you watch this beloved Christmas rom-com. It’s an iconic film that needs no introduction, but for the uninitiated, Love Actually follows eight interconnected love stories in the month leading up to Christmas. Sosanya appears as Annie, the personal assistant to the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant), who falls in love with his junior staffer. 

Behind Annie’s highly competent and professional exterior, Sosanya’s adept facial expressions turn a walk-on role into a fully realized character.

Love Actually is streaming on Amazon Prime.

Before there was Bridgerton, there was Casanova. Sosanya stars alongside David Tennant in this raunchy and rollicking 3-part series about the eponymous 18th-century Italian sex symbol. Sosanya plays Bellino, a woman who disguises herself as a man to get ahead in the opera world and catches the eye of Tennant’s Casanova. The two become lovers and almost get married, but instead remain friends. Casanova crosses Bellino’s path several times throughout his adventures, watching her climb society's ladder and ultimately fall into depravity.

Casanova is streaming on Peacock.

The 2024 Olympics may have ended, but the BBC mockumentary comedy series Twenty Twelve, about the preparations for the 2012 Olympics, is forever. Not for the last time, Sosanya plays a character who shares her first name, Nina. This Nina is the exasperated assistant to politician Sebastian Coe, played by the real-life Coe himself. The star-studded cast includes Sosanya’s Love Actually co-star Hugh Bonneville, narrated by Sosanya’s Casanova co-star David Tennant. 

Twenty Twelve is streaming on PBS Passport.

In Screw, a well-received but prematurely canceled prison drama, Sosanya plays Leigh Henry, a supervising officer at an all-male prison. Sosanya stars alongside Derry Girls’ Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, who plays her fellow guard, Rose. The darkly comedic series focuses on the lives of the guards and attempts to give a fresh spin to prison dramas. 

Commissioned by Channel 4, the series managed to go two seasons before being canceled.

All seasons of Screw are streaming on BritBox.

Last Tango in Halifax is a family dramedy about two families brought together when retirees Alan (Derek Jacobi) and Celia (Anne Reid) reconnect and fall in love after sixty years apart. Alan’s daughter Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) unwittingly stirs up family drama when she begins a relationship with her colleague Kate, played by Sosanya. Kate weathers the storm of Caroline coming out as a lesbian to her mother, Caroline’s tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband, and the antics of Caroline’s extended family. 

Kate was a beloved character and one of Sosanya’s best-known roles, but she met a carefully considered yet controversial end in the show’s third season.

Last Tango in Halifax is streaming on Netflix.

Once again, Sosanya finds herself in a mockumentary about a British public institution narrated by David Tennant. A sequel spinoff of Twenty Twelve, W1A is an extremely metatextual BBC sitcom that spoofs the inner workings of the BBC. It features Hugh Bonneville and Jessica Hynes as their Twenty Twelve characters, but Sosanya appears in a new main role as BBC producer Lucy Freeman. 

Sosanya’s comedy chops are well represented on this list, but this is one of her best-known comedic roles.

W1A is streaming on BritBox.

In Season 1 of the fantasy series Good Omens, Sosayana appears as Sister Mary Loquacious, a satanic nun who helps deliver the baby antichrist. She attempts to hinder the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant) in their mission to save the world from the apocalypse. Sosanya was so beloved by the Good Omens cast, crew, and fans that writer and showrunner Neil Gaiman wrote a part just for her in the second season. 

When she returned in Season 2, it was not as Sister Mary Loquacious, but rather as human coffee shop owner Nina (yes, the part had her name on it!). Sosanya described this Nina as a more cynical, bitter version of herself. The series' third and final season has been greenlit, but there’s no word on if Sosanya will return with it.

Good Omens is streaming on Amazon Prime. 

In the hit thriller Killing Eve, Sosanya plays Jess, an MI6 agent who is brought on to join Eve (Sandra Oh) in investigating the sinister Peel family. Jess is one of many agents drawn into the orbit of Eve and Villanelle’s (Jodie Comer) cat-and-mouse game. Jess is funny, down-to-earth, extremely capable, as an MI6 agent should be. 

Sosanya has delightful camaraderie and banter with Oh’s Eve. Sadly, Jess disappears from the show when Jess goes on maternity leave near the end of Season 2.

Killing Eve is streaming on Acorn TV.

The pandemic-era BBC comedy series Staged saw Sosanya teaming up with many of her Good Omens castmates once again for a story much more based in the real world. Made during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Staged follows fictionalized versions of David Tennant and Michael Sheen as they put together an ill-fated play on Zoom. In the first season, Sosanya plays Jo, who is helping to finance the play. 

She returns in Season 3, alongside Good Omens showrunner Neil Gaiman and fellow Good Omens actor Ty Tennant. Staged really knows how to get the band back together!

Staged is streaming on BritBox.

If you’re not convinced by now that Nina Sosanya is everywhere, consider her role in one of the buzziest and most controversial streaming hits of 2024, Baby Reindeer. The series is allegedly based on a true story (which has since been contested in court) of Donny (Richard Gadd), a struggling comedian stalked by a troubled woman. 

Sosanya plays Liz, Donny’s landlady and the mother of his ex-girlfriend (yes, it’s complicated).

Baby Reindeer is streaming on Netflix.