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