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Omid Djalili picture

Omid Djalili

Acting
Known For

59 Years Old

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

Chelsea, London, England, UK on 30th September 1965

All Credits

Would I Lie to You? Image
Would I Lie to You?
Self
Midsomer Murders Image
Midsomer Murders
Othello Khan
The Graham Norton Show Image
The Graham Norton Show
Self
Have I Got News for You Image
Have I Got News for You
Self - Host
Question Time Image
Question Time
Himself - Panellist
Late Night with Conan O'Brien Image
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
Top Gear Image
Top Gear
Self
Celebrity Mastermind Image
Celebrity Mastermind
Have I Got a Bit More News for You Image
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
Self - Presenter
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Image
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Self
Deep Cover Image
Deep Cover
Sagar
Room 101 Image
Room 101
Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks Image
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Self - Team Captain
His Dark Materials Image
His Dark Materials
Dr. Martin Lanselius
One Night Stand Image
One Night Stand
Live at the Apollo Image
Live at the Apollo
Kate Garraway's Life Stories Image
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
The One Show Image
The One Show
Self
The One Show Image
The One Show
Self - Guest
No Image
The Michael Ball Show
Self
Black Books Image
Black Books
Trebor
Insert Name Here Image
Insert Name Here
Self - Panelist
Relic Hunter Image
Relic Hunter
Sayid Ahmed Habris
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel Image
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
Self - Expert
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Image
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
Mr Kaiafas
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Image
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Askay / Pusasn
Gladiator Image
Gladiator
Slave Trader
Blankety Blank Image
Blankety Blank
Self - Panellist
The Bad Guys 2 Image
The Bad Guys 2
Mr. Soliman (voice)
The Mummy Image
The Mummy
Gad Hassan
No Image
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
Himself - Contestant
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Image
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
Self
GMTV Image
GMTV
Self
Beat the Chasers Image
Beat the Chasers
Self
The Change Image
The Change
Steve
Jason and the Argonauts Image
Jason and the Argonauts
Castor
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off Image
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
Self - Host
Over the Hedge Image
Over the Hedge
Tiger (voice)
Notting Hill Image
Notting Hill
Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
Dickensian Image
Dickensian
Mr Venus
The World Is Not Enough Image
The World Is Not Enough
Foreman
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Image
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Greek Official
Going Forward Image
Going Forward
Dave Wilde
TV Heaven, Telly Hell Image
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
Sex and the City 2 Image
Sex and the City 2
Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
Britney Image
Britney
Dr. Pellis
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Image
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Cavalier
Love Again Image
Love Again
Mohsen
Shaun the Sheep Movie Image
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Trumper (voice)
Whoopi Image
Whoopi
Nasim Khatenjami
The Omid Djalili Show Image
The Omid Djalili Show
Winning Combination Image
Winning Combination
Self - Presenter
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive Image
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Casanova Image
Casanova
Lupo
Spy Game Image
Spy Game
Doumet
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Image
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Kaji
Mean Machine Image
Mean Machine
Raj
The Love Guru Image
The Love Guru
Guru Satchabigknoba
Headcases Image
Headcases
Lock, Stock... Image
Lock, Stock...
Ali Gadaffi
Journey to Bethlehem Image
Journey to Bethlehem
Melchior
No Image
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
Self
Dying Laughing Image
Dying Laughing
Self
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism Image
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Barry Rix
No Image
Coming Soon
Dead Man Running Image
Dead Man Running
Fat Bald Man
Modigliani Image
Modigliani
Pablo Picasso
In Your Dreams Image
In Your Dreams
Sandman (voice)
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation Image
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation
Zipeau (voice)
No Image
The Paul Reiser Show
Habib
Dinotopia Image
Dinotopia
Zipeau
My Family and Other Animals Image
My Family and Other Animals
Spiro
Dinotopia 6: The Exit Image
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
Zipeau (voice)
Comedy World Cup Image
Comedy World Cup
Team Captain
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round Image
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
Alien Autopsy Image
Alien Autopsy
Melik
Anita and Me Image
Anita and Me
Uncle Amman
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman Image
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
Self - Voice of Trumper
New Town Image
New Town
Walter
The Infidel Image
The Infidel
Mahmud Nasir
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons Image
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
Zipeau (voice)
Mr. Nice Image
Mr. Nice
Saleem Malik
Dinotopia 3: The Election Image
Dinotopia 3: The Election
Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 5: The Virus Image
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
Zipeau (voice)
The Calcium Kid Image
The Calcium Kid
Herbie Bush
Grow Your Own Image
Grow Your Own
Ali
No Image
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
Self
Mad Cows Image
Mad Cows
George
The Comedian's Guide to Survival Image
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
Himself
No Image
Comic Aid
We Are Most Amused and Amazed Image
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
Self
Tomorrow Morning Image
Tomorrow Morning
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One Image
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
self
Retrospective Image
Retrospective
Nabil Sr
The Egyptian Job Image
The Egyptian Job
Himself (Narrator)
We Are Most Amused Image
We Are Most Amused
Self
Omid Djalili: Live in London Image
Omid Djalili: Live in London
Omid Djalili
Just Like Us Image
Just Like Us
Self
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World Image
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
Self
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster Image
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
Jik Jickkles
Deadlines Image
Deadlines
Abdul Sayyaf
Les Dawson Lost Tapes Image
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
Self
The Way Out Image
The Way Out
Guide
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy Image
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty Image
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
Omid Djalili
Chopratown Image
Chopratown
Ali Ergun
Omid Djalili: No Agenda Image
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
Omid Djalili
No Image
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
Himself
No Image
Cinema Iran
Self - Presenter
No Image
Performance Live: The Way Out
Guide