Omid Djalili

Omid Djalili was born on 30th September 1965 in London, England. He had wanted to be performance artist since his childhood and took a step in realizing this dream after he picked theatre studies for his higher education from theUniversity of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Even though he studied theatre acting, he chose to perform stand up comedies; a decision which led him to a highly successful career in the film industry. His first professional performance as a stand-up comedian was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He gives the title to his performances and performs his acts based on a theme.His first performance was titled as “Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner’s Son”, in 1995. His performance in the consecutive years gained him worldwide recognition, and he got the opportunity to perform in various countries including Canada, US, Ireland, Australia, etc.

After his successful run as a comedian, Omid decides to try his skills in the field of acting and takes up roles in various popular Hollywood movies. He started his acting career with ‘ The Mummy Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ released in 2000, in which he performed a supporting character. Following the success of his debut venture into an acting career, he signed several contracts for similar roles in various films such as ‘ Gladiator Click to look into! >> Read More... ’, ‘World is Not Enough’, ‘Cassanova’, ‘Over The Hedge’, etc. He has been a part of over forty films and is a popular name in Hollywood, both in films as well as television. Apart from acting, Omid has been a member of the judging panel for the Noor Iranian Film Festival. In 2009, he was voted as one of the top hundred stand-up comedians in Britain. He has received various awards for his comedy performances including the LWT Comedy Award, EMMA Award, etc.

Omid also uses his talents for a social cause, as proven by his ‘Comic Relief’ performance for the victims of the 2004 Tsunami and earthquake victims.