Mays graduated from RADA in 2000.Mike Leigh cast him in both All or Nothing and Vera Drake and Mays has said that working with Leigh was decisive in making him the kind of actor he wanted to be. "You leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of truthful, believable characters." In 2005 he was cast in the BBC drama Rehab and in 2008 played the role of Michael Myshkin in Channel 4's adaptation of David Peace's Red Riding trilogy. His appearance in the independent British filmShifty, co-starring Riz Ahmed, earned him a nomination for best supporting actor at the British Independent Film Awards. Mays starred as Eddie O'Grady in the 2010 film Made in Dagenham. In the same year, he played DCI Jim Keats in the third series of "Ashes to Ashes", in which he portrayed a character that was the antagonist of Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt. Mays appeared in the BBC sci-fi series Outcasts. He had roles in No One Gets Off in This Town and a supporting role in the Steven Spielberg film . He then played a criminal on a curfew after serving a 10-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend when he was 19 in the programme Public Enemies, which aired on BBC One in early January 2012. He played Ronnie Biggs in a 5-part drama called Mrs Biggs. For much of the latter half of 2013, Mays performed on stage. Performing in Nick Payne's Same Deep Water As Me at the Donmar Warehouse alongside Nigel Lindsay and in the first major revival of Jez Butterworth's debut play Mojo at the Harold Pinter Theatre. He starred alongside Ben Whishaw, Brendan Coyle, Rupert Grint and Colin Morgan. Mays starred in Series 3 of BBC drama Line of Duty as Sergeant Danny Waldron, an armed response officer whose troubled and abusive childhood comes under investigation following his death in episode one as part of wider investigation of police corruption throughout the serial. He was nominated for a BAFTA Television Award for Supporting Actor for his role. In 2016 Mays played the part of Aston in Harold Pinter's play The Caretaker directed by Matthew Warchus at The Old Vic Theatre in London opposite Timothy Spall and George MacKay. Mays portrayed Tivik in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Personal life
Mays has a son and a daughter with makeup artist Louise Burton. As of 2005, he was living in Crouch End, an area in the London Borough of Haringey. A keen football fan, he is a supporter of Leyton Orient. He is a friend of Grant Nicholas, lead singer of rock band Feeder, and appeared in the 2012 music video for the band's single "Idaho".
