OMID DJALILI

Born: September 30, 1965
Education: Degree in English and Theatre from the University of Ulster in Coleraine


Personal: Born to Iranian parents and an active member of the Bahai faith
Claim to Fame: Stand-up Comedian and Actor appearing in such films as Gladiator and playing the first Persian personality on NBC as Whoopi's handyman. Listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
Biography

Early Years:

Omid Djalili was born on September 30, 1965 to Iranian parents. He attended the University of Ulster in Coleraine, studying English and Theatre. After graduating college, Omid decided to pursue his passion: laughing. As a stand-up comedian and an actor, Omid soon started to act in TV series in England and it was then that a real star was born.



Britain's Top Funny Man:

One of the first appearances for Omid was in 1995's 'Short Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son', which was followed by the 'Arab & The Jew' in 1996. Omid had huge success with his shows at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, selling out more shows than ever before.

In the year to come, Omid finally lent his name to the title of the show in 'Omid Djalili Is Ethnic'. Omid's show was very well received and he was able to sign a major video deal with VVL.

In 2000 Omid decided to go back to Edinburgh and work on his next hit show .Warm to my Winning Smile.. Following the success of that, 2002 brought with it a show titled 'Behind Enemy Lines'. In Edinburgh, both shows were sold out, with the latter receiving a whopping six 5 star reviews.

Omid's colleagues and peers agree that he is one of the funniest, freshest and most original comedians in Britain today. In 2003, The Observer named Omid as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.

Apart from his authentic signature shows, Omid has captured a wide international fan base by performed in recent years in Australia, Austria, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the United States. Not to mention his appearance in numerous hit films and TV shows such as Gladiator, The Calcium Kid, The Mummy, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Modigliani and NBC's sitcom Whoopi.



Film:

The Calcium Kid - 2004

Modigliani - 2004

SkyCaptain and the world of tomorrow - 2004

Deadlines - 2004

Anita & Me - 2002

Spy Game - 2001

Mean Machine - 2001

Gladiator - 2000



Television:

Whoopi - NBC (USA)

Have I Got News For You - BBC Two

Jason & The Argonauts - Channel Four

Bloody Foreigners - Channel Four

They Think It.s All Over - BBC One

Lenny Henry In Pieces - BBC One

Small Potatoes 2 - Channel Four



Awards:

Perrier Award Nominee - Best Comedian

Emma Award - Best Stand Up Comedian

Time Out Award - Best Stand Up Comedian
LWT Comedy Award - Best Stand Up

South Bank Award - Best comedy of the Year 2003 (nominee)

One World Media Award - For his Ch 4 documentary .Bloody Foreigners.

European TV Award Nominee - For his Ch4 documentary .Bloody Foreigners.