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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
September 30, 1965
Place of Birth
Chelsea, London, England, UK
Omid Djalili
1.1 Popularity
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
6.9
Sandman (voice)
In Your Dreams
2025
7.7
Mr. Soliman (voice)
The Bad Guys 2
2025
6.7
Sagar
Deep Cover
2025
7.8
Melchior
Journey to Bethlehem
2023
7.1
Steve
The Change
2023
6.7
Mohsen
Love Again
2023
0.0
Tomorrow Morning
2022
0.0
Self
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
2021
0.0
Dr. Pellis
Britney
2021
7.0
Self - Panellist
Blankety Blank
2021
Credits
In Your Dreams
as Sandman (voice)
2025
6.9
The Bad Guys 2
as Mr. Soliman (voice)
2025
7.7
Deep Cover
as Sagar
2025
6.7
Journey to Bethlehem
as Melchior
2023
7.8
The Change
as Steve
2023
7.1
Love Again
as Mohsen
2023
6.7
Tomorrow Morning
2022
0.0
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
as Self
2021
0.0
Britney
as Dr. Pellis
2021
0.0
Blankety Blank
as Self - Panellist
2021
7.0
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
as Self
2021
0.0
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
as Self - Expert
2020
6.3
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
as Self
2020
0.0
Winning Combination
as Self - Presenter
2020
5.0
Beat the Chasers
as Self
2020
7.6
The Way Out
as Guide
2020
0.0
His Dark Materials
as Dr. Martin Lanselius
2019
7.9
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
as Self
2018
8.0
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
as Cavalier
2018
6.1
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
as Greek Official
2018
7.1
Dying Laughing
as Self
2017
6.4
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
as Himself
2016
4.4
Going Forward
as Dave Wilde
2016
7.0
Insert Name Here
as Self - Panelist
2016
6.7
Dickensian
as Mr Venus
2015
7.4
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
as Self - Voice of Trumper
2015
7.0
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
as Barry Rix
2015
5.3
Shaun the Sheep Movie
as Trumper (voice)
2015
7.0
Retrospective
as Nabil Sr
2014
0.0
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
as Self
2014
7.1
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
as Self
2012
6.1
Comedy World Cup
as Team Captain
2012
0.0
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
as Self - Host
2012
0.0
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
as Jik Jickkles
2011
3.2
The Egyptian Job
as Himself (Narrator)
2011
7.5
Just Like Us
as Self
2011
6.8
🎬
The Paul Reiser Show
as Habib
2011
6.0
Mr. Nice
as Saleem Malik
2010
6.1
🎬
The Michael Ball Show
as Self
2010
0.0
Sex and the City 2
as Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
2010
6.1
🎬
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
as Self - Contestant
2010
0.0
The Infidel
as Mahmud Nasir
2010
6.2
Omid Djalili: Live in London
as Omid Djalili
2009
5.7
🎬
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
as Self
2009
0.0
New Town
as Walter
2009
0.0
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
2009
5.9
Dead Man Running
as Fat Bald Man
2009
5.8
We Are Most Amused
as Self
2008
7.2
The Love Guru
as Guru Satchabigknoba
2008
4.1
Headcases
2008
5.5
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
as Omid Djalili
2007
6.0
The Omid Djalili Show
2007
7.7
Would I Lie to You?
as Self
2007
7.8
Grow Your Own
as Ali
2007
6.5
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
as Askay / Pusasn
2007
7.3
The Graham Norton Show
as Self
2007
7.2
🎬
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
as Self
2006
5.3
The One Show
as Self - Guest
2006
4.4
The One Show
as Self
2006
4.4
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
2006
7.1
Over the Hedge
as Tiger (voice)
2006
6.6
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
as self
2006
0.0
Alien Autopsy
as Melik
2006
5.6
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
2006
7.5
My Family and Other Animals
as Spiro
2005
6.3
Casanova
as Lupo
2005
6.4
Chopratown
as Ali Ergun
2005
0.0
🎬
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
as Himself
2005
0.0
Deadlines
as Abdul Sayyaf
2005
0.0
🎬
Cinema Iran
as Self - Presenter
2005
5.5
🎬
Comic Aid
2005
5.0
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
as Kaji
2004
5.9
Live at the Apollo
2004
7.1
Modigliani
as Pablo Picasso
2004
7.0
The Calcium Kid
as Herbie Bush
2004
5.5
Celebrity Mastermind
2003
6.0
Whoopi
as Nasim Khatenjami
2003
8.7
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
as Zipeau (voice)
2003
5.9
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
as Zipeau (voice)
2003
6.1
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
as Zipeau (voice)
2003
6.1
Dinotopia 3: The Election
as Zipeau (voice)
2002
6.2
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation
as Zipeau (voice)
2002
6.1
Dinotopia
as Zipeau
2002
4.9
Anita and Me
as Uncle Amman
2002
5.9
Top Gear
as Self
2002
7.5
Mean Machine
as Raj
2001
6.2
Spy Game
as Doumet
2001
6.9
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
as Self
2001
6.0
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
as Perfectionist (voice)
2000
8.0
Black Books
as Trebor
2000
8.0
Lock, Stock...
as Ali Gadaffi
2000
5.8
Jason and the Argonauts
as Castor
2000
6.3
Gladiator
as Slave Trader
2000
8.2
The World Is Not Enough
as Foreman
1999
6.3
Mad Cows
as George
1999
3.4
Relic Hunter
as Sayid Ahmed Habris
1999
6.7
🎬
Coming Soon
as Amir Hassan
1999
0.0
🎬
Coming Soon
1999
0.0
Notting Hill
as Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
1999
7.3
The Mummy
as Gad Hassan
1999
7.0
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
1998
6.0
Midsomer Murders
as Othello Khan
1997
7.5
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
as Self - Team Captain
1996
7.0
Room 101
as Self
1994
6.3
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest
1993
7.2
GMTV
as Self
1993
5.6
Have I Got News for You
as Self - Host
1990
7.1
Have I Got News for You
as Self
1990
7.1
One Night Stand
1989
8.0
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
as Mr Kaiafas
1987
6.3
Question Time
as Himself - Panellist
1979
5.5
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
as Self - Presenter
N/A
7.0
🎬
Performance Live: The Way Out
as Guide
N/A
0.0