Omid Djalili
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- September 30, 1965 (age 61)
- Birthplace
- Chelsea, London, England, UK
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.
Known For
Filmography
Performance Live: The Way Out
Movie · as Guide
About A Bell
Movie · as Sami Shehadi
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
TV · as Self - Presenter · 1 ep
The Siege
TV · 1 ep
Chandshanbeh Ba Sina
TV · as Guest · 1 ep
Deep Cover
Movie · as Sagar
In Your Dreams
Movie · as Sandman (voice)
The Bad Guys 2
Movie · as Mr. Soliman (voice)
Love Again
Movie · as Mohsen
Journey to Bethlehem
Movie · as Melchior
The Change
TV · as Steve · 9 eps
Tomorrow Morning
Movie
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
Movie · as Self
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
Movie · as Self
Britney
TV · as Dr. Pellis · 1 ep
Blankety Blank
TV · as Self - Panellist · 1 ep
Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
The Way Out
Movie · as Guide
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
Movie · as Self
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
TV · as Self - Expert · 2 eps
Winning Combination
TV · as Self - Presenter · 6 eps
Beat the Chasers
TV · as Self · 1 ep
His Dark Materials
TV · as Dr. Martin Lanselius · 2 eps
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Movie · as Cavalier
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Movie · as Greek Official
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
Movie · as Self
Dying Laughing
Movie · as Self
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
Movie · as Himself
Going Forward
TV · as Dave Wilde · 3 eps
Insert Name Here
TV · as Self - Panelist · 1 ep
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Movie · as Trumper (voice)
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Movie · as Barry Rix
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
Movie · as Self - Voice of Trumper
Dickensian
TV · as Mr Venus · 20 eps
Retrospective
Movie · as Nabil Sr
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
Movie · as Self
Comedy World Cup
TV · as Team Captain · 2 eps
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
Movie · as Jik Jickkles
Just Like Us
Movie · as Self
The Egyptian Job
Movie · as Himself (Narrator)
The Paul Reiser Show
TV · as Habib · 4 eps
The Infidel
Movie · as Mahmud Nasir
Mr. Nice
Movie · as Saleem Malik
Sex and the City 2
Movie · as Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
The Michael Ball Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
TV · as Self - Contestant · 2 eps
Little Crackers
TV · as Tobacconist · 1 ep
Omid Djalili: Live in London
Movie · as Omid Djalili
Dead Man Running
Movie · as Fat Bald Man
New Town
Movie · as Walter
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
TV · 1 ep
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Love Guru
Movie · as Guru Satchabigknoba
We Are Most Amused
Movie · as Self
Headcases
TV · 8 eps
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
Movie · as Omid Djalili
Grow Your Own
Movie · as Ali
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Movie · as Askay / Pusasn
Would I Lie to You?
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Omid Djalili Show
TV · 12 eps
The Graham Norton Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy
TV · as Self · 3 eps
Over the Hedge
Movie · as Tiger (voice)
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
Movie · as Self
Alien Autopsy
Movie · as Melik
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
Movie · as self
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
TV · 12 eps
The One Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
TV · 1 ep
Casanova
Movie · as Lupo
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
Movie · as Himself
Comic Aid
Movie
My Family and Other Animals
Movie · as Spiro
Deadlines
Movie · as Abdul Sayyaf
Chopratown
Movie · as Ali Ergun
Cinema Iran
Movie · as Self - Presenter
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Movie · as Kaji
The Calcium Kid
Movie · as Herbie Bush
Modigliani
Movie · as Pablo Picasso
Live at the Apollo
TV · 1 ep
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
Movie · as Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
Movie · as Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
Movie · as Zipeau (voice)
Whoopi
TV · as Nasim Khatenjami · 22 eps
Celebrity Mastermind
TV · 1 ep
Dinotopia 3: The Election
Movie · as Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation
Movie · as Zipeau (voice)
Anita and Me
Movie · as Uncle Amman
Top Gear
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dinotopia
TV · as Zipeau · 13 eps
Spy Game
Movie · as Doumet
Mean Machine
Movie · as Raj
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Gladiator
Movie · as Slave Trader
Lock, Stock...
TV · as Ali Gadaffi · 1 ep
Jason and the Argonauts
TV · as Castor · 2 eps
Black Books
TV · as Trebor · 1 ep
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
TV · as Perfectionist (voice) · 1 ep
The Mummy
Movie · as Gad Hassan
The World Is Not Enough
Movie · as Foreman
Notting Hill
Movie · as Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
Mad Cows
Movie · as George
Coming Soon
Movie · as Amir Hassan
Relic Hunter
TV · as Sayid Ahmed Habris · 1 ep
Coming Soon
TV · 3 eps
Small Potatoes
TV · as Hoss · 13 eps
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
TV · 1 ep
Midsomer Murders
TV · as Othello Khan · 1 ep
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
TV · as Self - Team Captain · 1 ep
Room 101
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
GMTV
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Have I Got News for You
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
One Night Stand
TV · 1 ep
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
TV · as Mr Kaiafas · 1 ep
Dispatches
TV · 1 ep
Question Time
TV · as Himself - Panellist · 1 ep