Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili | |
---|---|
امید جلیلی | |
Tribeca Film Festival | |
Born | , England | 30 September 1965
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1991–present |
Spouse |
Annabel Knight (m. 1992) |
Children | 3 |
Comedy career | |
Medium |
|
Subject(s) |
|
Omid Djalili (Persian: امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is an Iranian-British actor, comedian, and writer.
Early life and education
Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents.[1][2] He attended Holland Park School where he failed A-level exams a record six times[3] 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.[4][3]
Comedy career
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.[5][6]
Djalili has performed in numerous countries, including Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, and the United States, where he had his own HBO Special.[7]
Djalili took part in a show for
In 2006,
On 26 October 2007, he guest-presented the BBC political quiz show
In 2023, Djalili was due to appear in the Omid Djalili and Friends show in
Acting career
Djalili has appeared in a number of films, most notably
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
On 12 February 2009, producer Cameron Mackintosh announced that Djalili would appear as the second Fagin in the new West End production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. Omid took over from Rowan Atkinson, who had been contracted until 18 July 2009.[18]
In 2009, Djalili became the voice of Yusuf Amir in the popular gaming series Grand Theft Auto. He took up the role in the Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony spin-off game. In 2010, he starred in the David Baddiel-scripted film The Infidel.
In 2017, Djalili appeared in an acclaimed performance of Fiddler on the Roof at the Chichester Festival Theatre.[19]
In 2023, Djalili reprised his role as the voice of Yusuf Amir in the fifth installment of the popular gaming series Grand Theft Auto. He reprised the role as part of the Grand Theft Auto Online DLC, The Chop Shop.
Other activities
In 2008, he was an official festival judge for the
In February 2022 he shot two pilots of a chat show called Tonight With Omid for the BBC, one version in Persian (for BBC Persian) and another in English.[21]
In August 2023, Djalili appeared on ITV's Kate Garraway's Life Stories series 22, episode 3.[3]
Awards
Djalili has won awards for his comedy. These include the EMMA Award, documentary, Bloody Foreigners.
He has also been nominated for awards, such as the
Controversy
In 2019, Djalili was criticized by some Twitter users for a joke about the Welsh language after he posted a photograph of a road sign written in Welsh.[22][23]
Personal life
In 1992, Djalili married actress Annabel Knight, with whom he has three children. He is a practising Baháʼí.[1][2]
Djalili was present for the Iran Solidarity Rally that took place in Trafalgar Square in January 2023 in support of protests in the wake of Jina (or Mahsa) Amini's custody and death.[24]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | The Mummy | Warden Gad Hassan | |
Notting Hill | Cashier at Coffee Shop | ||
Mad Cows | George | ||
The World Is Not Enough | Foreman | ||
2000 | Gladiator | Slave Trader | |
2001 | Spy Game | Beirut: Doumet | |
Mean Machine | Raj | ||
2002 | Anita and Me | Uncle Amman | |
2003 | Cross My Heart | Riz | |
2004 | Deadlines | Abdul Sayyaf | |
The Calcium Kid | Herbie Bush | ||
Modigliani | Pablo Picasso | ||
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | Kaji | ||
2005 | Casanova | Lupo | |
2006 | Alien Autopsy | Melik | |
Over the Hedge | Tiger | Voice role | |
2007 | Grow Your Own
|
Ali | |
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Askay / Pusasn | ||
2008 | The Love Guru | Guru Satchabigknoba | |
2009 | Dead Man Running | "Bald Fat Fuck" | |
2010 | The Infidel | Mahmud Nasir | |
Sex and the City 2 | Mr Safir | ||
Animals United | Bongo | Voice role | |
Mr. Nice
|
Saleem Malik | ||
2011 | Big Fat Gypsy Gangster | Jik Jickkles | |
2015 | Shaun the Sheep Movie | Trumper | Voice role |
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism | Barry Rix | ||
2016 | The Comedian's Guide to Survival | Himself | |
2018 | Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again | Greek customs officer | |
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms | Cavalier | ||
2023 | Love Again | Mohsen | |
Journey to Bethlehem | Melchior |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Dressing for Breakfast | Turkish Man | Series 1 episode 4 |
1996 | The Friday Night Armistice
|
Himself | |
1998 | Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round | Various | |
Barking | Various Role | 2 episodes | |
1999 | The Ruth Rendell Mysteries | Mr Kaiafas | Episode: "The Lake of Darkness" |
The Bill | Yilmaz Demirtas | ||
Cleopatra | Storemaster | 2 episodes | |
Coming Soon | Amir Hassan | TV movie | |
1999–2001 | Small Potatoes | Hoss | 13 episodes |
2000 | Black Books | Trebor | |
Jason and the Argonauts | Castor | 2 episodes | |
2001 | So What Now? | Ken | |
Baddiel's Syndrome | Chef | ||
2002 | Relic Hunter | Ahmid | |
2002–03 | Dinotopia: the Series | Zipeau (voice) | 10 episodes |
Lenny Henry in Pieces | 2 episodes | ||
2003 | Between Iraq and a Hard Place | Iraqi Television Host | TV movie |
2003–04 | Whoopi | Nasim Khatenjami | 22 episodes |
2004 | Live at the Apollo | Himself | |
2005 | Chopra Town | Ali Ergun | TV movie |
One Night Stand | Himself | HBO | |
My Family and Other Animals | Spiro | TV movie | |
2006 | Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive | Himself | |
Jack Dee's Lead Balloon | Mr Tilak | ||
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
|
Perfectionist (voice) | 1 episode | |
2007 | TV Heaven, Telly Hell | Guest | |
Have I Got News for You | Himself | ||
Premier League All Stars | Chelsea Celebrity player | ||
Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy | Himself | ||
2007–09 | The Omid Djalili Show | Himself, presenter, various roles | 12 episodes |
2008 | Never Mind the Buzzcocks | Guest panellist | |
Headcases | Mohamed Al Fayed (voice) | 1 episode | |
2009 | Would I Lie To You? | Guest panellist | 1 episode |
2011 | The Paul Reiser Show | Habib | 7 episodes |
2012 | Omid Djalili's Little Cracker | Tobacconist | |
2013 | Splash! | Contestant | |
Moonfleet | Aldobrand | 2 episodes | |
2014 | The Great Sport Relief Bake Off | Guest presenter | 1 episode |
Question Time
|
Guest panellist | ||
2015–16 | Dickensian | Mr Venus | 11 episodes |
2016 | Insert Name Here | Guest panellist | |
The One Show | Guest presenter | 1 episode | |
2016–18 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Kamil | 9 episodes |
2017 | Thunderbirds Are Go | Horse Williams (voice) | 1 episode[25] |
2018 | All Together Now Celebrities | Contestant | 2nd Place |
2019 | Queens of Mystery | Guy Ashton | 2 episodes |
2019-2020 | His Dark Materials | Dr Lanselius | S1&2, Episodes: "Armour" & "The Cave" |
2020 | The Letter for the King | Sir Fantumar | 6 episodes |
2020 | The Chase: Celebrity Special | Contestant | Series 10, Episode 5, 2020-10-10 |
2020–21 | Winning Combination | Presenter | |
2020 | Sunday Brunch | Guest | Series 9, Episode 41; 22 November 2020[26] |
2020 | Celebrity Mastermind | Contestant | Series 18, Episode 1, 19 December 2020[27] |
2020 | Secrets of the Apollo | Guest contributor | 28 December 2020[28] |
2021 | Michael McIntyre's The Wheel | Celebrity expert | Series 1, Episode 6; 2 January 2021[29] |
James Martin’s Saturday Morning | Guest | Series 4, Episode 3; 16 January 2021[30] | |
2022 | Tonight with Omid | Host | Pilot in Persian and English |
2023 | The Change | Steve | TV series[31] |
2023 | Midsomer Murders | Othello Khan | Episode: "Book of the Dead[32] |
Video games
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2009 | 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand | Eddie |
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony | Yusuf Amir | |
2023 | Grand Theft Auto Online: The Chop Shop |
Selected theatre
- Oliver!, as Fagin, Director Rupert Gould, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 2009[33]
- Fiddler on the Roof, as Tevye, Director Daniel Evans, Chichester Festival Theatre, 2017[34]
Stand-up DVDs
- No Agenda: Live at the London Palladium (26 November 2007)
- Live in London (16 November 2009)
- Tour of Duty (19 November 2012)
See also
References
- ^ a b "Omid Djalili: Everybody's fool". The Independent. 12 February 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ Payvand's Iran News. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ a b c "ITV Kate Garraway's Life Stories". itv.com. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Djalili, Omid (20 August 2007). "TV Heaven, Telly Hell" (Interview). Interviewed by Sean Lock.
- ^ "Comedian Ivor Dembina". Chortle Comedy Website. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
- ^ "Scottish Theatre Archive - Event Details". University of Glasgow Scottish Theatre Archive. 23 August 1990. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (24 October 2011). "NBC Developing Comedy Series Version Of British Film 'The Infidel' Starring Omid Djalili". Deadline. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "extract on Youtube - Comic Aid 2005 Compilation". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021.
- ^ "Top Gear: Series 6, Episode 4 – TopGearbox". Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Omid Djalili: Live 2008 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Omid Djalili - Hire & Book For Parties & Events - Classique". www.classiquepromotions.co.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ "Welcome to the Omid Djalili Website..." www.omidnoagenda.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- BBC Programmes. BBC. 26 October 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ "Royal family pictures of the week". The Telegraph. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Omid Djalili show cancelled over 'personal threats over Israel situation'". BBC News. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Crossley, Becki (20 September 2018). "Omid Djalili brings 'Schmuck For A Night' to Wilton's Music Hall, London". The List. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "Djalili cuts out Iran jokes. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "Fiddler on the Roof". Chichester Festival Theatre. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ "Philharmonia Orchestra: Hovhaness". Southbank Centre. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Guide, British Comedy (3 February 2022). "Omid Djalili pilots BBC chat show in English and Farsi". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Omid Djalili causes anger with Welsh language joke". BBC News. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ Owens, Nigel (6 July 2019). "Omid Djalili's joke about the Welsh language just wasn't funny". WalesOnline. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ O'Reilly, Luke (8 January 2023). "Iran protesters told they are 'bringing down the patriarchy'". The Independent.
- ^ "News".
- ^ "Sunday Brunch". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "Celebrity Mastermind". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ "Secrets of the Apollo". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "Michael McIntyre's The Wheel". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ "James Martin's Saturday Morning". itv.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ "Bridget Christie comedy reveals cast". Comedy.co.uk. 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Omid Djalili". televisionstats.com. 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Interview: Omid Djalili". The Jewish Chronicle. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Gardner, Lyn (19 July 2017). "Fiddler on the Roof review – Omid Djalili delivers the laughs as a terrific Tevye". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
External links
- Official website
- Omid Djalili at IMDb
- Omid Djalili at Rotten Tomatoes
- Omid Djalili on Twitter
- Omid Djalili on Instagram
- Omid Djalili on Facebook