RADA student wins 2025 Sir Alec Guinness Award

Paddy Cunningham. AKTA Photography

Paddy Cunningham, a final year BA Acting student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) is this year's winner of the Sir Alec Guinness Award. The presentation took place during the Students Evening hosted by CaAPA (the Catholic Association of Performing Arts) at the CAA (Club for Acts and Actors) in Covent Garden.

The evening began with a lively panel discussion chaired by producer and casting director, Esther Charkham, with actors Jeremiah Ivanno and Antonia Salib, Paul Fleming General Secretary of Equity, casting director Georgia Copley and agents: Rachel Briscoe, Imogen Wilde and Josh Woodford.

After receiving the award Paddy said: "I am truly honoured to have been chosen as the recipient of the Sir Alec Guinness Memorial Award. I hope to have the grace and fortune in my future career to be able to follow the example set by Sir Alec: serving the performing arts and community with humility and integrity. The practical support afforded by this generous award will greatly ease my next step out into the industry, and doing so with the support of CaAPA and in memory of Sir Alec is all the more meaningful. My thanks again to the organisers and panel for a lovely evening."

Originally from Liverpool, Paddy came to RADA following a diverse decade of professional experience around the world, which included work as a teacher, delivery driver, a dairy farmer, director, producer, and an actor, touring Hamlet across Europe and Asia.

He is passionate about storytelling, (especially classical theatre and audio work) and aspires to also write and direct. In his future work, Paddy is particularly focused on representing and championing Northern voices and creatives within the industry. He is currently in rehearsals for "Pains of Youth" by Ferdinand Bruckner, playing 11th to 22nd November in the Gielgud Theatre at RADA.

The Sir Alec Guinness Award is given to a student in their final year at drama school and consists of membership of Equity, a year's subscription to The Stage, Membership of the Actors Centre with credit for classes, entry into The Spotlight (casting directory) and a free photography session for a headshot.

For more information about the award see: https://caapa.org.uk/index.php/the-sir-alec-guinness-awards/