Omid Djalili
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox comedian Omid Djalili (born 30 September 1965) is an English comedian, actor, and writer of Iranian descent. He began his career at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has gone on to become a touring comedian with a substantial list of film and television appearances.
Early life and education
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also a photographer whose pictures ended up in the newspaper Kayhan.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="auto1">Template:Cite news</ref> He attended Holland Park School where he failed A-level exams six times. He subsequently 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.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Djalili cited Jack Lemmon, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and Julia Roberts as influences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Comedy career
Djalili begins his 2014 autobiography, Hopeful, with mention of his success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995 with "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son."<ref name=":1" /> He followed that up with "The Arab and the Jew," which he performed with Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina in 1996.<ref name=":1" />
Djalili took part in a show for Comic Relief after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and also in 2005 he appeared on the British TV show Top Gear as a celebrity driver.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The same year he broke Edinburgh Festival box office records with over 16,500 ticket sales.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2006, Sky Television chose him to be the face of their Saturday night film premières, and he also announced a new tour of the UK called 'No Agenda', from January 2007 until March 2007, covering 23 different dates. The No Agenda tour DVD was released in late 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 26 October 2007, he guest-presented the BBC political quiz show Have I Got News for You.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Omid Djalili Show started on BBC1 on 17 November 2007. The series was a mix of sketches and stand-up material. A second series was recorded in late 2008 and broadcast on BBC 1 on 20 April 2009. He performed on We Are Most Amused on ITV1 to mark Prince Charles's 60th birthday in 2008 and on We Are Most Amused and Amazed to mark his 70th birthday in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2023, Djalili was due to appear in the Omid Djalili and Friends show in Market Drayton at the Festival Drayton Centre. Djalili did not appear in the tour due to threats against Djalili relating to the Gaza war.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Acting career
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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Sex and the City 2 and provides his voice in Over the Hedge.Template:Citation needed
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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Citation needed
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.Template:Citation needed
In 2017, Djalili appeared in an acclaimed performance of Fiddler on the Roof at the Chichester Festival Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.Template:Citation needed
Other activities
In 2008, he was an official festival judge for the Noor Iranian Film Festival. In June 2010, Djalili appeared in a Meltdown Festival concert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> given by the Philharmonia Orchestra at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, performing the part of the narrator in 'Rubaiyat', a tone poem by American classical composer Alan Hovhaness which sets the words of Omar Khayyám to music.Template:Citation needed
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In August 2023, Djalili appeared on ITV's Kate Garraway's Life Stories series 22, episode 3.<ref name=":0" />
As an Iranian Baháʼí, Djalili writes about and supports "the struggle for women's rights in Iran," which he promotes on his website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 2 July 2023, he published an article on The Telegraph denouncing the killing of Baháʼí women by the Iranian state.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In September 2025, Djalili was announced as a headlining act for Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Comedy Festival. The event was characterized by Human Rights Watch as an attempt by the Saudi government to whitewash its human rights abuses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards
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.Template:Citation needed
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.Template:Citation needed
Personal life
In 1992, Djalili married actress Annabel Knight, with whom he has three children. He is a practising Baháʼí.<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto">Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Filmography
Film
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<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 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 |
| The Chase: Celebrity Special | Contestant | Series 10, Episode 5, 2020-10-10 | |
| Sunday Brunch | Guest | Series 9, Episode 41; 22 November 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Celebrity Mastermind | Contestant | Series 18, Episode 1, 19 December 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| Secrets of the Apollo | Guest contributor | 28 December 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2020–21 | Winning Combination | Presenter | |
| 2021 | Michael McIntyre's The Wheel | Celebrity expert | Series 1, Episode 6; 2 January 2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| James Martin’s Saturday Morning | Guest | Series 4, Episode 3; 16 January 2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2022 | Tonight with Omid | Host | Pilot in Persian and English |
| 2023-25 | The Change | Steve | TV series<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2023 | Midsomer Murders | Othello Khan | Episode: "Book of the Dead"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2025 | Blankety Blank | Celebrity panellist | Series 4, Episode 9<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
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 Goold, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 2009<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Fiddler on the Roof, as Tevye, Director Daniel Evans, Chichester Festival Theatre, 2017<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
References
External links
- 1965 births
- Living people
- 20th-century Bahá'ís
- 20th-century English comedians
- 20th-century English male actors
- 21st-century Bahá'ís
- 21st-century English comedians
- 21st-century English male actors
- Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- Alumni of Ulster University
- British Bahá'ís
- Comedians from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
- Edinburgh Comedy Festival
- English Bahá'ís
- English male film actors
- English male television actors
- English male voice actors
- English people of Iranian descent
- English stand-up comedians
- People educated at Holland Park School
- Male actors from London
- People from Chelsea, London