Acting · Chelsea, London, England, UK · Born September 30, 1965
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.
MovieIn Your Dreams
2025
as Sandman (voice)
MovieThe Bad Guys 2
2025
as Mr. Soliman (voice)
MovieDeep Cover
2025
as Sagar
MovieJourney to Bethlehem
2023
as Melchior
TVThe Change
2023
as Steve
MovieLove Again
2023
as Mohsen
MovieTomorrow Morning
2022
MovieChristmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
2021
as Self
TVBritney
2021
as Dr. Pellis
TVBlankety Blank
2021
as Self - Panellist
TVPaul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up
2021
as Self - Guest
MovieLes Dawson Lost Tapes
2021
as Self
TVMichael McIntyre's The Wheel
2020
as Self - Expert
MovieCold War Steve Meets the Outside World
2020
as Self
TVWinning Combination
2020
as Self - Presenter
TVBeat the Chasers
2020
as Self
MovieThe Way Out
2020
as Guide
TVHis Dark Materials
2019
as Dr. Martin Lanselius
MovieWe Are Most Amused and Amazed
2018
as Self
MovieThe Nutcracker and the Four Realms
2018
as Cavalier
MovieMamma Mia! Here We Go Again
2018
as Greek Official
MovieDying Laughing
2017
as Self
MovieThe Comedian's Guide to Survival
2016
as Himself
TVGoing Forward
2016
as Dave Wilde
TVInsert Name Here
2016
as Self - Panelist
MovieA Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
2015
as Self - Voice of Trumper
TVDickensian
2015
as Mr Venus
MovieMolly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
2015
as Barry Rix
MovieShaun the Sheep Movie
2015
as Trumper (voice)
MovieRetrospective
2014
as Nabil Sr
TVAlan Davies: As Yet Untitled
2014
as Self
MovieOmid Djalili: Tour of Duty
2012
as Self
TVComedy World Cup
2012
as Team Captain
TVThe Great Sport Relief Bake Off
2012
as Self - Host
MovieBig Fat Gypsy Gangster
2011
as Jik Jickkles
MovieThe Egyptian Job
2011
as Himself (Narrator)
MovieJust Like Us
2011
as Self
The Paul Reiser Show
2011
as Habib
MovieMr. Nice
2010
as Saleem Malik
The Michael Ball Show
2010
as Self
MovieSex and the City 2
2010
as Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
2010
as Self - Contestant
MovieThe Infidel
2010
as Mahmud Nasir
MovieOmid Djalili: Live in London
2009
as Omid Djalili
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
2009
as Self
MovieNew Town
2009
as Walter
TVKate Garraway's Life Stories
2009
MovieDead Man Running
2009
as Fat Bald Man
MovieWe Are Most Amused
2008
as Self
MovieThe Love Guru
2008
as Guru Satchabigknoba
TVHeadcases
2008
MovieOmid Djalili: No Agenda
2007
as Omid Djalili
TVThe Omid Djalili Show
2007
TVWould I Lie to You?
2007
as Self
MovieGrow Your Own
2007
as Ali
MoviePirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2007
as Askay / Pusasn
TVThe Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
2006
as Self
TVThe One Show
2006
as Self - Guest
TVRob Brydon's Annually Retentive
2006
MovieOver the Hedge
2006
as Tiger (voice)
MovieWorld's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
2006
as self
MovieAlien Autopsy
2006
as Melik
TVTV Heaven, Telly Hell
2006
MovieMy Family and Other Animals
2005
as Spiro
MovieCasanova
2005
as Lupo
MovieChopratown
2005
as Ali Ergun
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
2005
as Himself
MovieDeadlines
2005
as Abdul Sayyaf
Cinema Iran
2005
as Self - Presenter
Comic Aid
2005
MovieSky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004
as Kaji
TVLive at the Apollo
2004
MovieModigliani
2004
as Pablo Picasso
MovieThe Calcium Kid
2004
as Herbie Bush
TVCelebrity Mastermind
2003
TVWhoopi
2003
as Nasim Khatenjami
MovieDinotopia 6: The Exit
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
MovieDinotopia 5: The Virus
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
MovieDinotopia 4: New Horizons
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
MovieDinotopia 3: The Election
2002
as Zipeau (voice)
MovieDinotopia 2: The Temptation
2002
as Zipeau (voice)
TVDinotopia
2002
as Zipeau
MovieAnita and Me
2002
as Uncle Amman
TVTop Gear
2002
as Self
MovieMean Machine
2001
as Raj
MovieSpy Game
2001
as Doumet
TVFriday Night with Jonathan Ross
2001
as Self
TVHarvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
2000
as Perfectionist (voice)
TVBlack Books
2000
as Trebor
TVLock, Stock...
2000
as Ali Gadaffi
TVJason and the Argonauts
2000
as Castor
MovieGladiator
2000
as Slave Trader
MovieThe World Is Not Enough
1999
as Foreman
MovieMad Cows
1999
as George
TVRelic Hunter
1999
as Sayid Ahmed Habris
Coming Soon
1999
as Amir Hassan
Coming Soon
1999
MovieNotting Hill
1999
as Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
MovieThe Mummy
1999
as Gad Hassan
TVAlexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
1998
TVMidsomer Murders
1997
as Othello Khan
TVNever Mind the Buzzcocks
1996
as Self - Team Captain
TVRoom 101
1994
as Self
TVLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
TVGMTV
1993
as Self
TVHave I Got News for You
1990
as Self - Host
TVOne Night Stand
1989
TVDispatches
1987
TVThe Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
as Mr Kaiafas
TVQuestion Time
1979
as Himself - Panellist
Performance Live: The Way Out
as Guide
About A Bell
as Sami Shehadi
TVHave I Got a Bit More News for You
as Self - Presenter
The Siege
Chandshanbeh Ba Sina
as Guest
