Omid Djalili
Acting • Born 1965-09-30
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.
Filmography
115 credits
The Mummy
Movie • 1999
Gad Hassan
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Movie • 2004
Kaji
The Calcium Kid
Movie • 2004
Herbie Bush
Over the Hedge
Movie • 2006
Tiger (voice)
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
Movie • 2006
Self
The Love Guru
Movie • 2008
Guru Satchabigknoba
Alien Autopsy
Movie • 2006
Melik
Casanova
Movie • 2005
Lupo
Modigliani
Movie • 2004
Pablo Picasso
The Infidel
Movie • 2010
Mahmud Nasir
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
Movie • 2007
Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili: Live in London
Movie • 2009
Omid Djalili
Mr. Nice
Movie • 2010
Saleem Malik
Grow Your Own
Movie • 2007
Ali
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
Movie • 2011
Jik Jickkles
Dinotopia 3: The Election
Movie • 2002
Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation
Movie • 2002
Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
Movie • 2003
Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
Movie • 2003
Zipeau (voice)
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
Movie • 2003
Zipeau (voice)
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
Movie • 2012
Self
Just Like Us
Movie • 2011
Self
Love Again
Movie • 2023
Mohsen
Journey to Bethlehem
Movie • 2023
Melchior
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
Movie • 2021
Self
The World Is Not Enough
Movie • 1999
Foreman
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Movie • 2015
Trumper (voice)
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
Movie • 2005
Himself
Gladiator
Movie • 2000
Slave Trader
Comic Aid
Movie • 2005
Deep Cover
Movie • 2025
Sagar
We Are Most Amused
Movie • 2008
Self
Sex and the City 2
Movie • 2010
Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
My Family and Other Animals
Movie • 2005
Spiro
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Movie • 2015
Barry Rix
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
Movie • 2015
Self - Voice of Trumper
Dying Laughing
Movie • 2017
Self
Retrospective
Movie • 2014
Nabil Sr
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
Movie • 2021
Self
Deadlines
Movie • 2005
Abdul Sayyaf
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Movie • 2018
Cavalier
Chopratown
Movie • 2005
Ali Ergun
The Egyptian Job
Movie • 2011
Himself (Narrator)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
Movie • 2018
Greek Official
Notting Hill
Movie • 1999
Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
Anita and Me
Movie • 2002
Uncle Amman
Spy Game
Movie • 2001
Doumet
Mad Cows
Movie • 1999
George
Mean Machine
Movie • 2001
Raj
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Movie • 2007
Askay / Pusasn
Dead Man Running
Movie • 2009
Fat Bald Man
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
Movie • 2018
Self
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
Movie • 2016
Himself
New Town
Movie • 2009
Walter
The Way Out
Movie • 2020
Guide
Performance Live: The Way Out
Movie
Guide
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
Movie • 2006
self
Cinema Iran
Movie • 2005
Self - Presenter
Tomorrow Morning
Movie • 2022
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
Movie • 2020
Self
In Your Dreams
Movie • 2025
Sandman (voice)
The Bad Guys 2
Movie • 2025
Mr. Soliman (voice)
Coming Soon
Movie • 1999
Amir Hassan
Top Gear
TV • 2002
Self
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
TV • 2006
Live at the Apollo
TV • 2004
Whoopi
TV • 2003
Nasim Khatenjami
The One Show
TV • 2006
Self - Guest
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
TV • 2001
Self
Room 101
TV • 1994
Self
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
TV • 2006
Lock, Stock...
TV • 2000
Ali Gadaffi
Relic Hunter
TV • 1999
Sayid Ahmed Habris
Would I Lie to You?
TV • 2007
Self
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV • 1993
Self - Guest
Headcases
TV • 2008
The Omid Djalili Show
TV • 2007
One Night Stand
TV • 1989
Comedy World Cup
TV • 2012
Team Captain
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
TV • 2020
Self - Expert
GMTV
TV • 1993
Self
Coming Soon
TV • 1999
Britney
TV • 2021
Dr. Pellis
The Paul Reiser Show
TV • 2011
Habib
The Michael Ball Show
TV • 2010
Self
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
TV • 1998
Winning Combination
TV • 2020
Self - Presenter
The Change
TV • 2023
Steve
Dickensian
TV • 2015
Mr Venus
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
TV • 1987
Mr Kaiafas
The One Show
TV • 2006
Self
Going Forward
TV • 2016
Dave Wilde
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
TV • 2014
Self
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
TV • 2009
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
TV • 2009
Self
Midsomer Murders
TV • 1997
Othello Khan
Jason and the Argonauts
TV • 2000
Castor
Beat the Chasers
TV • 2020
Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
TV • 1996
Self - Team Captain
Insert Name Here
TV • 2016
Self - Panelist
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
TV • 2012
Self - Host
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
TV • 2010
Self - Contestant
Question Time
TV • 1979
Himself - Panellist
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
TV
Self - Presenter
His Dark Materials
TV • 2019
Dr. Martin Lanselius
Dinotopia
TV • 2002
Zipeau
Celebrity Mastermind
TV • 2003
Black Books
TV • 2000
Trebor
Have I Got News for You
TV • 1990
Self - Host
Blankety Blank
TV • 2021
Self - Panellist
Have I Got News for You
TV • 1990
Self
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
TV • 2000
Perfectionist (voice)
Dispatches
TV • 1987
The Siege
TV • 2026