[3][1] He was educated at Bedford Modern School, where he excelled at drama, and joined the National Youth Theatre in 2006.

[7][8] He has subsequently acted in a number of television series including The Mill, Utopia, Humans, The Casual Vacancy, Siblings, and Undercover.

[12] In 2023, Dirisu played the role of Sean Donovan in the third season of the Apple TV series Slow Horses.

From 6 October to 3 December 2016, Dirisu played Cassius Clay in One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers, at Donmar Warehouse in London, alongside David Ajala as Jim Brown, Arinzé Kene as Sam Cooke, and Francois Battiste as Malcolm X.

[citation needed] Other theatre includes The Whipping Man, Tory Boyz, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Red Riding Hood, Our Days of Rage, Fallujah, and Pericles with the RSC.