Aswan Reid’s debut was the titular role in Warwick Thornton’s film, The New Boy. Starring Cate Blanchett, the film premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Aswan won the Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts (AACTA) Award for Best Lead Actor in Film for his performance, and also received nominations for best actor from both the FCCA (Film Critics Circle of Australia) and AFCA (Australian Film Critics Association). 

Aswan played a supporting role in Kiah Roche-Turner’s 2025 film Beast of War and performed the role of Swayze in the latest ABC series of Mystery Road Origin. He also has a cameo in Warwick Thornton’s new film Wolfram. Aswan was born in Alice Springs, but now lives in Adelaide. His family is from Warakurna and Kiwirrkurra Aboriginal communities, in Central and Western Australia.