 Dotun Adebayo was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved with his family to England at the age of six.His younger brother Diran Adebayo is a novelist and his nephew Tobi Adebayo-Rowling is a professional footballer.As a young boy, Adebayo joined the National Youth Theatre, where he starred in "Killing Time" by Barrie Keeffe, "Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare, and several other productions.