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Omid Djalili (pronounced "Omeed Jaleelee", , born September 30, 1965 in Chelsea, London) is a British born Iranian stand-up comedian, born to Iranian Bahá'í parents. He prides himself as being the only Iranian comedian which, he says, is "technically three more than Germany".

Background

He attended the University of Ulster in Coleraine, studying English and Theatre studies and is a member of the Bahá'í Faith. He is seen to be a critic of the Iranian Revolution but shows a lot of nationalism towards Iran.

Comedy career

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" in 1996.

His stand-up routines and jokes focus primarily on multiculturalism and ethnic particularities. His hyperactive and energetic manner of imitating accents, undercutting political humour with absurd bellydances and singing has earned him a significant worldwide following.

He has performed in numerous countries, including Australia, Ireland, Denmark, Canada, Germany and the United States, where he had his own HBO Special and did 22 episodes of the NBC sitcom 'Whoopi' with Whoopi Goldberg. Fans of his work include the Emir of Qatar, the late Robin Cook and Bill Clinton.

In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. He did his part for Comic Relief after the 2005 Indian Ocean earthquake and also in 2005 he appeared on the British TV show Top Gear as a celebrity driver. The same year he broke Edinburgh Festival box office records with over 16,500 ticket sales. His subsequent 'No Agenda' tour was filmed on DVD scheduled for release in 2007.

In 2006 Sky Television picked him to be the face of their Saturday night movie premieres, and he has also announced a new tour of the UK, from January 2007 until March 2007, covering 23 diffrent dates.

He is currently writing for his own TV show on BBC1 for 2007.

Film career

Djalili has also appeared in a number of films, most notably Gladiator, The Mummy, Mean Machine, 'Spy Game' and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. He is probably best-known to American audiences as Nasim from the US sitcom Whoopi, starring alongside actress Whoopi Goldberg. He recently picked up an international film award for Best Supporting Actor in 'Casanova'

Filmography

Cinema:

• The Mummy (1999)
• Notting Hill (1999)
• Mad Cows (1999)
• The World Is Not Enough (1999)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Spy Game (2001)
• Mean Machine (2001)
• Anita and Me (2002)
• Cross My Heart (2003)
• Deadlines (2004)
• The Calcium Kid (2004)
• Modigliani (2004)
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
• Casanova (2005)
• Alien Autopsy (2006)
• Over the Hedge (2006)
• The Allotment (2007)
• Pirates of the Caribbean III (2007)

Television:

• Barking (1998)
• The Lake of Darkness (1999)
• Cleopatra (1999)
• Coming Soon (1999)
• Small Potatoes (1999)
• Black Books (2000)
• Jason and the Argonauts (2000)
• Lenny Henry in Pieces (2000)
• Dinotopia: The Series (2002)
• Between Iraq and a Hard Place (2003)
• Whoopi (2003)
• Live At the Apollo (2004)
• Chopra Town (2005)
• One Night Stand (HBO) (2005)
• My Family and Other Animals (2005)
• Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive (2006)
• Jack Dee's Lead Balloon (2006)

Awards

Djalili has won numerous 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.

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External links

• Omid Djalili's official web site

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