Bio
Omid Djalili is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his role as Nasim in the television comedy series Whoopi, from 2003-2004.
He has also featured in films including The Mummy, Gladiator, Spy Game, Modigliani, Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow, Casanova and Pirates of the Caribbean.
On TV he did two seasons of Small Potatoes on Channel 4. In the States he signed a talent holding deal with NBC in 2002 and co-starred with Whoopi Goldberg in her sitcom Whoopi, which ran from 2003-2004. He later starred in his own series for BBC1, The Omid Djalili Show.
After great success at the Edinburgh Festivals of 1993 and 1994 with a one-man theatre piece, Omid became a festival favourite with a string of sell-out comedy shows. It started in 1995 with Short Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son, then in 1996 in Arab & The Jew.
In 1997 it was Omid Djalili Is Ethnic, his least favourite year spawning the legendary lines from his manager Nigel: "There's no business like no business".
In 1999 he went back to Edinburgh and had another hit show, The Iranian Ceilidh with Kamal Mazlumi. Warm to my Winning Smile then followed in 2000, and in 2002 Behind Enemy Lines, which received six 5-star reviews.
In 2005 Omid returned to the festival with his most successful show to date, No Agenda, with record breaking sales on the fringe totalling 16,500; this show then transferred to a total sell-out nationwide 40 date tour, including two shows at the London Palladium in 2006.
He has performed in Australia, Austria, the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia and Qatar for the Emir where he shared a stage with Bill Clinton.
2006 saw Omid playing major parts in Alien Autopsy with Ant & Dec and in Over The Hedge alongside Bruce Willis, William Shatner and Wonder Sykes playing Tiger, and was in a film for the BBC, My Family & Other Animals, starring alongside Imelda Staunton.
In 2005 he was invited to perform at the televised Tsunami Benefit alongside comedy luminaries Jonathan Ross, Lee Evans, Johnny Vegas, Dawn French and Alistair McGowan to name but a few.
He also performed a half hour special on Jack Dee Live At The Apollo for BBC One at the end of 2004, which was repeated in 2005.
In June 2004 he recorded an HBO special in New York, the first British comic to do one since Eddie Izzard.
In 2011 he co-starred in the short-lived sitcom The Paul Reiser Show.