Early life

Born and brought up in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, he played semi-professional football before turning to an acting career. At 18 Maza gained a place at Central School of Speech and Drama

Central School of Speech and Drama

The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...

; however, he turned down his place in order to continue working as an actor.

Career

Maza's career started within the UK TV industry with guest lead appearances in ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

's Touch of Frost, Whitechapel

Whitechapel

Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...

series 2 and most noteworthy in "Tracks", an episode of crime series Trial & Retribution

Trial & Retribution

Trial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...

, where he gained glowing reviews from The Independent on Sunday for his role as a gay teenage misfit.

Maza had lead parts in Channel Four's The Unsinkable Titanic. Building a platform in TV he then went onto film, appearing in Life and Lyrics

Life and Lyrics

Life and Lyrics is a 2006 British film directed by Richard Laxton and starring Ashley Walters, a former member of the garage band So Solid Crew....

, Rise of the Footsoldier

Rise of the Footsoldier

Rise of the Footsoldier is a 2007 English crime film released on 7 September, 2007. It is the third film from BAFTA award winning director Julian Gilbey...

, Special People, Bafta-nominated Shifty

Shifty

Seth Brooks Binzer , better known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock is an American music artist, best known as founder and front man of Crazy Town...

, Dolphins, Bafta-nominated Fish Tank, 2010 saw Maza in several films including Anuvahood

Anuvahood

Anuvahood is an urban comedy film directed by Adam Deacon. Starring Adam Deacon, Paul Kaye, Wil Johnson, Ollie Barbieri, Femi Oyeniran, Jocelyn Jee Esien and Ashley Walters as the lead stars, Anuvahood was released on March 18, 2011...

, Tribe (film)

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

with David Essex

David Essex

David Essex OBE is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK , and sixteen Top 40 albums...

, horror film The Tapes

The Tapes

The Tapes is a 2011 horror film in the “found footage” filmmaking style. The film concerns three students who run afoul of devil worshipers.-Plot:...

, and urban thriller Victime (film)

Victim

- In fiction :* The Victim , a 1947 Saul Bellow novel* Victim , a 1961 film featuring Dirk Bogarde* The Victim , a 1980 Hong Kong film directed by and starring Sammo Hung...

.

2010 also saw Maza move into producing, co-founding the production company Pure Films. In one year he produced four films, including Terry (film)

Terry

Terry is:* A surname from the medieval Norman given name Thierry, cognate of the English Derek* A male given name transferred back from the surname, or a diminutive of Terence or of any of its alternative forms...

, which he made for £500 and is being distributed in March 2011 by Lionsgate. Suicide Kids, in which he stars alongside Robert Sheehan and Reggie Yates

Reggie Yates

Reginald "Reggie" Yates is a British actor, television presenter and radio DJ of Ghanaian descent. He went to Central Foundation Boys' School.-Early career:...

, came out in cinemas in 2011 as did his film The Tapes which he also stars in.

Maza's theatrical career includes Flight Path at The Bush Theatre

Bush Theatre

The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...

 and the Evening Standard Award-nominated play Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch (play)

Sucker Punch is a play by the award-winning British playwright Roy Williams. It was first staged in 2010 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play was nominated for the Evening Standard Award and the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play.-Plot:...

by Roy Williams

Roy Williams (playwright)

Roy Samuel Williams, OBE is an award-winning English playwright. Williams has many awards including the George Devine Award for Lift Off, the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for his play Clubland, the 2002 BAFTA Award for Best Schools Drama for Offside and 2004 South Bank...

 at the Royal Court Theatre

Royal Court Theatre

The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...

.

Theatre

Year	Title	Theatre
2010	Sucker Punch Sucker Punch (play) Sucker Punch is a play by the award-winning British playwright Roy Williams. It was first staged in 2010 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play was nominated for the Evening Standard Award and the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best New Play.-Plot:...  by Roy Williams Roy Williams (playwright) Roy Samuel Williams, OBE is an award-winning English playwright. Williams has many awards including the George Devine Award for Lift Off, the 2001 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for his play Clubland, the 2002 BAFTA Award for Best Schools Drama for Offside and 2004 South Bank...	Royal Court Theatre Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
2009	Mad Blud by Philip Osmont	Theatre Royal Stratford East Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company.-History:...
2008	Flight Path by David Watson David Watson David Watson may refer to:*Dave Watson , actor and playwright*David Watson , anarchist author*David Watson *David Watson , Australian Senator...	Bush Theatre Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...

Film

Year	Title	Character
2010	The Tapes	Danny
2010	KickOff	Adam
2010	Fit	Tyler
2009	Fishtank	Liam
2009	Shifty Shifty (film) Shifty is a British urban thriller, from writer/director Eran Creevy. Set on the outskirts of London, it follows themes of friendship and loyalty over the course of 24 hours in the life of a young drug dealer, the charismatic "Shifty", who is based on the original Shifty from...	Malik
2009	Ten Dead Men Ten dead men Ten Dead Men is the follow-up to the cult independent action film Left for Dead. Produced by the same company, Ten Dead Men features many of the same actors as its predecessor. Ten Dead Men was directed by Ross Boyask and produced by Phil Hobden...	Franklin Boulder
2008	Rise of the Footsoldier Rise of the Footsoldier Rise of the Footsoldier is a 2007 English crime film released on 7 September, 2007. It is the third film from BAFTA award winning director Julian Gilbey...	Rob
2008	Special People	Dave
2008	Dolphins Dolphins (2007 film) Dolphins is a music-driven, action romance film written and directed by Mark Jay and starring Karl Davies. The film follows the lives of a group of boy racers living in Brighton who struggle to coexist with the indie scene that the town is famous for....	Kelvin
2007	Life and Lyrics Life and Lyrics Life and Lyrics is a 2006 British film directed by Richard Laxton and starring Ashley Walters, a former member of the garage band So Solid Crew....	Ant

TV

Year	Title	Character
2010	Whitechapel Whitechapel Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...	Dan Street
2010	The Bill The Bill The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...	Dean Pollit
2009	Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...	"H"
2009	The Unsinkable Titanic	Harold Bride
2009	Touch of Frost	John Heal
2009	Trial and Retribution	Darren Lewis
2005	Casualty@Holby City Casualty@Holby City Casualty@Holby City is the name given to special crossover episodes of BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City. While Casualty was launched on 6 September 1986, and its spin-off Holby City was first aired on 12 January 1999, the first full crossover episode between the two programmes was not...	Kris Burrows

External links

• Official website
• Interview at London Theatre.co.uk 11 June 2010, Retrieved 13 September 2010