His credits include playing pathologist Marcus Summer in ITV's Vera (2014–2018), private detective Karim Washington on Netflix's The OA (2019), Colonel Ben Younger in the BBC drama Peaky Blinders (2017–2019), and Gravik in the superhero miniseries Secret Invasion (2023).

[3] His paternal grandparents were born in England; his surname is Hebrew, meaning son of the strong or mighty.

[8] In 2012, he played Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

[15] He played private detective Karim Washington on Netflix's The OA (2019),[16] In 2020, Ben-Adir starred as Malcolm X in the Amazon Studios film One Night in Miami... directed by Regina King.

[20] In 2023, he appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Secret Invasion as Gravik, a Skrull rebel plotting to conquer Earth.