Omid Djalili
Known for Acting · 116 credits
- Born
- 1965-09-30 (age 60)
- Place of birth
- Chelsea, London, England, UK
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
TV Shows (52)
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Othello Khan
The Graham Norton Show
2007
as Self
Top Gear
2002
as Self
The One Show
2006
as Self - Guest
Have I Got News for You
1990
as Self - Host
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
GMTV
1993
as Self
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
1996
as Self - Team Captain
Have I Got a Bit More News for You
as Self - Presenter
Question Time
1979
as Himself - Panellist
Relic Hunter
1999
as Sayid Ahmed Habris
His Dark Materials
2019
as Dr. Martin Lanselius
Would I Lie to You?
2007
as Self
Dispatches
1987
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries
1987
as Mr Kaiafas
Room 101
1994
as Self
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
2001
as Self
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
2000
as Perfectionist (voice)
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
2020
as Self - Expert
Celebrity Mastermind
2003
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
2014
as Self
Black Books
2000
as Trebor
Kate Garraway's Life Stories
2009
Blankety Blank
2021
as Self - Panellist
Jason and the Argonauts
2000
as Castor
Dickensian
2015
as Mr Venus
One Night Stand
1989
Whoopi
2003
as Nasim Khatenjami
Live at the Apollo
2004
Lock, Stock...
2000
as Ali Gadaffi
The Michael Ball Show
2010
as Self
Insert Name Here
2016
as Self - Panelist
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
2006
The Paul Reiser Show
2011
as Habib
The Great Sport Relief Bake Off
2012
as Self - Host
Beat the Chasers
2020
as Self
Let's Dance for Sport Relief
2010
as Self - Contestant
The Change
2023
as Steve
Headcases
2008
Comedy World Cup
2012
as Team Captain
The Omid Djalili Show
2007
TV Heaven, Telly Hell
2006
All the Queen's Horses with Alan Titchmarsh
2009
as Self
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round
1998
Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up
2021
as Self - Guest
The Siege
2026
Britney
2021
as Dr. Pellis
Coming Soon
1999
Going Forward
2016
as Dave Wilde
Winning Combination
2020
as Self - Presenter
Chandshanbeh Ba Sina
as Guest
Dinotopia
2002
as Zipeau
Movies (64)
The Mummy
1999
as Gad Hassan
Gladiator
2000
as Slave Trader
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2007
as Askay / Pusasn
The Bad Guys 2
2025
as Mr. Soliman (voice)
Over the Hedge
2006
as Tiger (voice)
In Your Dreams
2025
as Sandman (voice)
Sex and the City 2
2010
as Mr. Safir, Hotel Manager
Notting Hill
1999
as Coffee Shop Cashier (uncredited)
Deep Cover
2025
as Sagar
The World Is Not Enough
1999
as Foreman
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
2018
as Greek Official
Spy Game
2001
as Doumet
Mean Machine
2001
as Raj
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
2018
as Cavalier
Shaun the Sheep Movie
2015
as Trumper (voice)
Casanova
2005
as Lupo
Love Again
2023
as Mohsen
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004
as Kaji
The Love Guru
2008
as Guru Satchabigknoba
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
2015
as Barry Rix
Alien Autopsy
2006
as Melik
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
2015
as Self - Voice of Trumper
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball in the Hall
2006
as Self
Journey to Bethlehem
2023
as Melchior
Comic Aid
2005
Mr. Nice
2010
as Saleem Malik
Dead Man Running
2009
as Fat Bald Man
Modigliani
2004
as Pablo Picasso
The Infidel
2010
as Mahmud Nasir
Anita and Me
2002
as Uncle Amman
The Calcium Kid
2004
as Herbie Bush
Dinotopia 2: The Temptation
2002
as Zipeau (voice)
The Comedian's Guide to Survival
2016
as Himself
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster
2011
as Jik Jickkles
Grow Your Own
2007
as Ali
My Family and Other Animals
2005
as Spiro
Dying Laughing
2017
as Self
We Are Most Amused and Amazed
2018
as Self
We Are Most Amused
2008
as Self
Tomorrow Morning
2022
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
2021
as Self
Dinotopia 6: The Exit
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
Coming Soon
1999
as Amir Hassan
Deadlines
2005
as Abdul Sayyaf
Mad Cows
1999
as George
World's Greatest Stand Up: Volume One
2006
as self
Dinotopia 3: The Election
2002
as Zipeau (voice)
Just Like Us
2011
as Self
Dinotopia 5: The Virus
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
Retrospective
2014
as Nabil Sr
Dinotopia 4: New Horizons
2003
as Zipeau (voice)
Cold War Steve Meets the Outside World
2020
as Self
Chopratown
2005
as Ali Ergun
New Town
2009
as Walter
Christmas Comedy Club with Lost Voice Guy
2021
as Self
Cinema Iran
2005
as Self - Presenter
The Egyptian Job
2011
as Himself (Narrator)
Omid Djalili: Tour of Duty
2012
as Self
About A Bell
as Sami Shehadi
Omid Djalili: Live in London
2009
as Omid Djalili
The Way Out
2020
as Guide
One-Night Stand: Omid Djalili
2005
as Himself
Omid Djalili: No Agenda
2007
as Omid Djalili
Performance Live: The Way Out
as Guide
About Omid Djalili
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 ne… With 116 credits spanning from 1979 to 2026, Omid Djalili has appeared in 64 films and 52 TV shows.
Fans searching for Omid Djalili movies, Omid Djalili filmography, or the latest projects starring Omid Djalili can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Omid Djalili Movies
- The Mummy (1999) — as Gad Hassan
- Gladiator (2000) — as Slave Trader
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) — as Askay / Pusasn
- The Bad Guys 2 (2025) — as Mr. Soliman (voice)
- Over the Hedge (2006) — as Tiger (voice)
Where to Watch Omid Djalili Films
Most Omid Djalili movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Omid Djalili, check our movies catalogue and browse page.