Damson Idris biography, photos, personal life, height, ethnicity 2025

Damson Idris Biography

Adamson Alade-Bo Idris, known as Damson, is a London-born actor with Nigerian roots who shot to fame after his role in the series "Snowfall." In 2025, he cemented his success by sharing the screen with Brad Pitt in the racing blockbuster F1, and also landed the role of Prince Inan in the major screen adaptation of the fantasy novel "Children of Blood and Bone."

Actor Damson Idris in a white shirt and white pants — Damson Idris

Childhood and Family

Damson was born on September 2, 1991, in Peckham, at the time not exactly the nicest corner of South London. He was the sixth and youngest child in his family.

The name Damson is a shortened form of Adamson. He was named after his grandfather, Adam Alade Idris.

His parents, who came from Nigeria, belong to the Yoruba people. But his father wasn't around, and his mother, Philippa, raised the kids on her own, instilling in them self-belief and the understanding that nothing comes without hard work.

Money was desperately tight. Damson later spoke candidly about it: their large family lived in near-poverty, cockroaches in the corners, stains on the carpets, sleeping on a mattress found in the trash.

The youngest son in the family, Damson loved putting on shows for his relatives. Everyone could see right away – the kid was theatrical, he loved transforming into other people.

Little Damson Idris in a white suit sits on his mother's lap as she sits on the couch — Young Damson Idris with his mother

Truth is, he dreamed of something completely different – wanted to play soccer in big stadiums, become the next Ronaldo. Football, rugby – sports took up all his free time. In 2002, his rugby team performed at Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee, and Damson even shook her hand. But after a serious knee injury, he had to think: what if he tried acting for real?

After enrolling at Brunel University London following high school, Damson chose a major related to theatre, film, and television, and graduated with honors a few years later. Years down the line, when he'd become a famous actor, the university would present him with an honorary alumni award – for bringing glory to his alma mater.

During his college years, he had a meeting that changed everything. Actress Cathy Tyson noticed the talented guy and suggested he connect with playwright Ade Solanke – she was looking for a performer for her new play "Pandora's Box." He auditioned, got the part, and with it – his first theatrical agent and stage debut.

But he wasn't about to stop there. After university, he enrolled in London's Identity School of Acting, where John Boyega, Letitia Wright, and Malachi Kirby had studied. He performed at the Royal National Theatre, and that's when he knew: time to take a shot at film.

Acting Career

Damson's first on-screen steps were modest – mostly bit parts in British TV series. He popped up in the comedy "Miranda" in 2013, appeared in the medical dramas "Doctors" and "Casualty" in 2015.

Damson Idris in the series "Doctors"

Source: imdb.com

His feature film debut came in 2016 – a small role in the British thriller "City of Tiny Lights," starring Riz Ahmed.

Then 2017 hit, and everything changed. FX's "Snowfall" premiered – a project he'd started working on back in 2015. The story of how the cocaine epidemic swept through 1980s Los Angeles launched Damson to a new level. His Franklin Saint – a nineteen-year-old drug dealer with ambition and sharp intelligence, building his criminal empire in the South Central ghetto.

Damson talked about landing the role:

Audition number eight. Singleton [writer and director] drives me to South Central, stops the car, opens the door and says: 'Survive – you get the part.' And it was for real. I was walking around South Central, had to stay in character, couldn't speak British.

Damson Idris

The whole thing nearly fell apart when he got too polite with the director's mom: "Oh, your hair looks lovely today. Let me throw that away for you," and she immediately got suspicious: "John, he's not from around here, is he?" But in the end, Idris played this character for six seasons.

To sound convincing, Damson worked with rapper WC – who coached him on the accent and mannerisms of real South Central guys. Critics wrote about his performance simply: "Absolutely mesmerizing."

Damson Idris in a blue prison shirt sits in a prison cell — Damson Idris in the series "Snowfall"

Working with John Singleton became something bigger than just a job for Damson. He was only 23 when he got cast. Singleton became both mentor and older friend. So when the director died in 2019 from a stroke – he was only 51 – it really knocked the young actor off balance. Before the final season of "Snowfall," he admitted: "Singleton's still with me through this show. So it's also a final goodbye to him. Very deep. Very tough."

"Snowfall" became an FX hit. Sure, Damson didn't get an Emmy, but who cares? Former inmates would approach him on the street saying the show helped them get through prison time. And at the Vanity Fair party after the first season, P. Diddy, Naomi Campbell, Seal, and Mary J. Blige rushed him screaming: "Franklin! We love you!"

While working on his main project of those years, Damson tried different genres. In 2017, he first appeared in the American military drama "Megan Leavey" with Kate Mara. A year later, he played an FBI agent in the action thriller "The Commuter" with Liam Neeson.

The role in the 2018 film Farming was a challenging one. This semi-autobiographical story came from actor and director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Damson played Enitan, based on the director himself – a Nigerian boy given to a white British family who ended up becoming the leader of a skinhead gang. For this work, Damson won an award at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 2019.

Poster for Farming featuring Damson Idris, whose face is painted with white paint — Damson Idris on the poster for Farming

That same year, he appeared in the "Smithereens" episode of Black Mirror's fifth season and in Jordan Peele's rebooted The Twilight Zone.

In 2021, Netflix released the sci-fi action thriller Outside the Wire, starring Anthony Mackie. Damson spoke warmly about working with the actor: "Anthony's like a big brother to me. A soldier from New Orleans, and he's the best. Working with him was dope. He really took me under his wing."

Damson Idris Now

2025 became a triumph year for Damson Idris. In June, director Joseph Kosinski's F1 hit theaters and became one of the highest-grossing films in recent years. Damson plays Joshua Pearce, a promising young driver who becomes the teammate of veteran Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), returning to the sport.

Damson Idris in a white racing suit — Damson Idris in F1

The prep was serious – nearly two years of training, and both actors ended up logging around 6,000 miles in real race cars. The director emphasized: "When you see Brad or Damson behind the wheel – those aren't stunt drivers and that's not CGI. They're actually driving real F1 cars on real F1 tracks."

Damson won't forget his first day of shooting:

I turn my head left – Brad Pitt. Right – Javier Bardem. Look at my hands – they're shaking… Today I sat in the car for 45 minutes. Sounds normal? Hell no. It's hot as hell in there. Strapped in tight, sweating through your helmet. The weight just melts off you.

Damson Idris

Damson Idris's Personal Life

Damson keeps his personal life pretty private. In 2023, he dated well-known model Lori Harvey. They split that fall, but nearly two years later, in September 2025, they were spotted together vacationing in Mexico.

Damson Idris in a grey shirt and Lori Harvey in a yellow blouse — Damson Idris and Lori Harvey

Back in the day, Damson dabbled in rap – he'd record at Unit 10 studio in Walworth, the same place where famous rapper Giggs got his start. "We all wanted to be like Giggs," he laughs. "My voice was squeaky, of course."

He still loves football and supports London's Arsenal. He listens to hip-hop and R&B, and he's all about Nigerian food – jollof rice and fried plantains.

In 2025, the actor launched his jewelry brand Didris. The idea came from his family history:

My mom used to bring gold from Nigeria to the UK, sell it at a markup, and invest the money in Nigerian real estate. That's how she was able to bring the whole family over. Then she had to stop – it was too hard raising kids in a foreign country, in Peckham in the late '80s and early '90s. I decided to continue what my mom started.

Damson Idris

Since 2023, Idris has been the face of Tommy Hilfiger's menswear line.

At the 2025 Met Gala, Damson put on quite a show – he arrived in a race car wearing a Tommy Hilfiger racing suit, then changed into a red tuxedo right in front of the cameras.

Damson Idris at Met Gala 2025

Damson Idris Now

From February through June 2025, Damson filmed the fantasy epic Children of Blood and Bone – directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, with a screenplay based on Nigerian-American writer Tomi Adeyemi's novel.

Production took place in Cape Town and Lagos, with a cast that included Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cynthia Erivo, Thuso Mbedu, and Amandla Stenberg.

Damson Idris wearing a black t-shirt smiles broadly — Damson Idris in 2025

Damson plays Prince Inan, who joins his sister Amari in siding with the main character Zélie in the fight against their cruel father, the king. The film is set to premiere on January 15, 2027.

In May 2025, it was also announced that Damson will play legendary jazz musician Miles Davis in the romantic drama Miles and Juliet, directed by Bill Pohlad. The film tells the story of 22-year-old Davis's 1949 trip to Paris, where he falls for French singer and actress Juliette Gréco (Anamaria Vartolomei). Mick Jagger is producing through his company Jagged Films, with Grammy winner Robert Glasper handling the music.