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