Ranjan Ramanayake (born 11 March 1963) is an actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. He rose to fame with a leading role in the commercial film Jaya Kothenada and mainted his status a commercial film star through the 1990s. Ramanayake has occasionally branched out into more serious roles such as in Lester James Peries' Awaragira

Awaragira

Awaragira is a 1990 Sri Lankan film directed by Lester James Peries.-Cast:*Joe Abeywickrama ... K.B. Sethigala*Kamal Addaraarachchi ... Dayaweera*Sanoja Bibile ... Vinitha*Vasanthi Chathurani ... Vasantha*Lucky Dias ... Wickrama...

but continues to be known for his commercial roles. Recently he has taken more control over his commercial film roles working as a director and screenwriter on the popular Parliament Jokes, One Shot and Leader.

Bandu Samarasinghe and Tennyson Cooray are frequent co-stars of Ramanayake.