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.
Photos
Films (65)
Dans tes rêves
2025 · Sandman (voice)
Les Bad Guys 2
2025 · Mr. Soliman (voice)
Infiltration en profondeur
2025 · Sagar
Voyage vers Bethléem
2023 · Melchior
Love Again : Un peu, beaucoup, passionnément
2023 · Mohsen
Tomorrow Morning
2022
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
2021 · Self
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
2021 · Self
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
2020 · Self
The Way Out
2020 · Guide
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
2018 · Self
Casse-Noisette et les quatre royaumes
2018 · Cavalier
Mamma Mia ! Here We Go Again
2018 · Greek Official
Dying Laughing
2017 · Self
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
2016 · Himself
Au cœur de l'animation Aardman
2015 · Self - Voice of Trumper
Molly Moon et le livre magique de l'hypnose
2015 · Barry Rix
Shaun le Mouton, le film
2015 · Trumper (voice)
Retrospective
2014 · Nabil Sr
We Are Many
2014 · Executive Producer
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
2012 · Self, Writer, Executive Producer
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
2011 · Jik Jickkles
The Egyptian Job
2011 · Himself (Narrator)
Just Like Us
2011 · Self
Mr. Nice
2010 · Saleem Malik
Sex and the City 2
2010 · Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
The Infidel
2010 · Mahmud Nasir, Executive Producer
Omid Djalili: Live in London
2009 · Omid Djalili, Writer, Executive Producer
New Town
2009 · Walter
Dead Man Running
2009 · Fat Bald Man
We Are Most Amused
2008 · Self
Love Gourou
2008 · Guru Satchabigknoba
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
2007 · Omid Djalili
Grow Your Own
2007 · Ali
Pirates des Caraïbes : Jusqu'au bout du monde
2007 · Askay / Pusasn
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
2006 · Self
Nos voisins, les hommes
2006 · Tiger (voice)
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
2006 · self
Autopsia de Alien
2006 · Melik
My Family and Other Animals
2005 · Spiro
Giacomo Casanova
2005 · Lupo
Chopratown
2005 · Ali Ergun
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
2005 · Himself
Deadlines
2005 · Abdul Sayyaf
Cinema Iran
2005 · Self - Presenter
Comic Aid
2005
Capitaine Sky et le monde de demain
2004 · Kaji
Modigliani
2004 · Pablo Picasso
Calcium Kid
2004 · Herbie Bush
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
2003 · Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
2003 · Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
2003 · Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia, téléfilm partie 3
2002 · Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia, téléfilm partie 2
2002 · Zipeau (voice)
Anita and Me
2002 · Uncle Amman
Carton rouge - Mean machine
2001 · Raj
Spy game, jeu d'espions
2001 · Doumet
Gladiateur
2000 · Slave Trader
Le monde ne suffit pas
1999 · Foreman
Mad Cows
1999 · George
Coming Soon
1999 · Amir Hassan
Coup de foudre à Notting Hill
1999 · Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
La Momie
1999 · Gad Hassan
Performance Live: The Way Out
· Guide
About A Bell
· Sami Shehadi
Séries (55)
The Change
2023 · Steve
Britney
2021 · Dr. Pellis
Blankety Blank
2021 · Self - Panellist
Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up
2021 · Self - Guest
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
2020 · Self - Expert
Winning Combination
2020 · Self - Presenter
Beat the Chasers
2020 · Self
His Dark Materials : À la croisée des mondes
2019 · Dr. Martin Lanselius
Going Forward
2016 · Dave Wilde
Insert Name Here
2016 · Self - Panelist
Dickensian
2015 · Mr Venus
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
2014 · Self
Comedy World Cup
2012 · Team Captain
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
2012 · Self - Host
The Paul Reiser Show
2011 · Habib
Little Crackers
2010 · Tobacconist, Writer, Director
The Michael Ball Show
2010 · Self
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
2010 · Self - Contestant
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
2009 · Self
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
2009
Headcases
2008
Dawn French's Boys Who Do Comedy
2007 · Self
The Omid Djalili Show
2007 · Creator
Would I Lie to You?
2007 · Self
El show de Graham Norton
2007 · Self
The One Show
2006 · Self - Guest, Self
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
2006
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
2006
Live at the Apollo
2004
Celebrity Mastermind
2003
Whoopi
2003 · Nasim Khatenjami
Dinotopia
2002 · Zipeau
Top Gear
2002 · Self
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
2001 · Self
Harvey Birdman, Abogado
2000 · Perfectionist (voice)
Black Books
2000 · Trebor
Lock, Stock...
2000 · Ali Gadaffi
Jason et les Argonautes
2000 · Castor
Small Potatoes
1999 · Hoss
Sydney Fox, l'aventurière
1999 · Sayid Ahmed Habris
Coming Soon
1999
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
1998
Inspecteur Barnaby
1997 · Othello Khan
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996 · Self - Team Captain
Room 101
1994 · Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · Self - Guest
GMTV
1993 · Self
Have I Got News for You
1990 · Self - Host, Self
One Night Stand
1989
Dispatches
1987
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987 · Mr Kaiafas
Question Time
1979 · Himself - Panellist
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
· Self - Presenter
The Siege
Chandshanbeh Ba Sina
· Guest