Omid Djalili
Acting
Biography
Omid Djalili is a British stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer. Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents Ahmad and Parvaneh Djalili. His parents emigrated from Tehran to London in 1958. He has a brother and sister. His mother was a dressmaker who at one point assisted Iranian singer Googoosh. His father was a liaison officer at the Iranian embassy in which he would provide medical assistance. He was also a photographer whose pictures ended up in the newspaper Kayhan. He attended Holland Park School where he failed A-level exams a record six times and faked his results to gain entry to Ulster University in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, studying English and theatre studies having been turned down by 16 drama schools. Djalili cited Jack Lemmon, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Julia Roberts as influences. The first significant success of his stand-up comedy career was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995 with "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son", followed by "The Arab and the Jew" with Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina in 1996. Djalili has appeared in a number of films, most notably Gladiator, The Mummy, Mean Machine, The World Is Not Enough, Alien Autopsy, Spy Game, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Grow Your Own, Notting Hill, Mr Nice, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Sex and the City 2 and provides his voice in Over the Hedge. He has observed that he usually appears as a generic Middle Eastern background character in many of these films, often commenting that he appears in the James Bond film as the "Second Azerbaijani oil pipe attendant". He appeared as Nasim in 22 episodes of the U.S. sitcom Whoopi, starring Whoopi Goldberg, and picked up an international film award for Best Supporting Actor in Casanova, starring alongside Heath Ledger and Jeremy Irons. Djalili has won awards for his comedy. These include the EMMA Award, Time Out Award, and LWT Comedy Award for Best Stand-up Comedian, Spirit of the Fringe Award as well as the One World Media Award for his Channel 4 documentary, Bloody Foreigners. He has also been nominated for awards, such as the Perrier Award for Best Comedian, the Gemini Award for Best Comedy Performance of 2003, the South Bank Award for Best Comedy of 2003, the Royal Television Society Award for Best Stand-up, and the European TV Award for his Bloody Foreigners.
Born: September 30, 1965
Place of Birth: Chelsea, London, England, UK
Known For
Filmography
as Sandman (voice)
as Mr. Soliman (voice)
as Sagar
as Melchior
as Steve
as Mohsen
as Dr. Pellis
as Self - Panellist
as Self
as Self - Expert
as Self - Presenter
as Self
as Guide
as Dr. Martin Lanselius
as Cavalier
as Greek Official
as Self
as Himself
as Dave Wilde
as Self - Panelist
as Mr Venus
as Self - Voice of Trumper
as Barry Rix
as Trumper (voice)
as Nabil Sr
as Self
as Omid Djalili
as Team Captain
as Self - Host
as Himself (Narrator)
as Jik Jickkles
as Self
as Saleem Malik
as Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
as Self - Contestant
as Mahmud Nasir
as Omid Djalili
as Walter
as Fat Bald Man
as Self
as Guru Satchabigknoba
as Omid Djalili
as Self
as Ali
as Askay / Pusasn
as Self
as Self - Guest
as Self
as Tiger (voice)
as Melik
as Spiro
as Lupo
as Ali Ergun
as Abdul Sayyaf
as Pablo Picasso
as Herbie Bush
as Nasim Khatenjami
as Zipeau (voice)
as Zipeau (voice)
as Zipeau (voice)
as Zipeau (voice)
as Zipeau (voice)
as Zipeau
as Uncle Amman
as Self
as Raj
as Doumet
as Perfectionist (voice)
as Trebor
as Ali Gadaffi
as Castor
as Slave Trader
as Foreman
as George
as Sayid Ahmed Habris
as Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
as Gad Hassan
as Othello Khan
as Self - Team Captain
as Self
as Self - Guest
as Self
as Self - Host
as Self
as Mr Kaiafas
as Himself - Panellist
as Self - Presenter