'Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig El Abderahman El Mohammed Ahmed El Abdel Karim El Mahdi' (
Arabic: صدّيق الطاهر الفاضل الصدّيق عبدالرحمن محمد أحمد عبدالكريم المهدي) (born
21 November,
1965) is an
English actor, also known as 'Siddig El Fadil' and 'Alexander Siddig'. He is known for playing
Dr Julian Bashir in the television series '', and for his performance as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai in the film ''
Syriana'' (2005). He recently guest starred on ''
24'' as
Hamri Al-Assad.
Biography
Personal life
Siddig was born in
Sudan, and spent most of his life in
England. Born to an English mother who worked as a theatrical consultant
[1] and a Sudanese father. Siddig describes himself as being a
Muslim.
[2] His maternal uncle is English actor
Malcolm McDowell, and his paternal uncle is the former Sudanese Prime Minister
Sadiq al-Mahdi. He studied at
St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate. He was credited under the shortened name 'Siddig El Fadil' until October 1995 (three seasons into his run on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), when he changed his stage name to Alexander Siddig, as he thought it would be less confusing and easier to pronounce by American tongues. In 1997, Siddig married his co-star
Nana Visitor; they had a son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, who was born in 1996. Siddig and Visitor eventually divorced in 2001. In 2005 he was briefly involved with his ''
Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' co-star
Kim Cattrall.
[3]
Career
Since the end of the long-running ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Siddig has made prominent appearances in films and television. Highlights include guest-starring as an Algerian secret agent on the trail of Islamic extremists in a controversial episode of the British television show ''
Spooks'', entitled "Nest of Angels", in 2003. In 2005, he appeared as Saladin's aide, Nasir, in
Sir Ridley Scott's film ''
Kingdom of Heaven'' and gave a critically-lauded performance as Prince Nasir in ''
Syriana'', alongside
George Clooney and
Matt Damon. He played the title role in 2006's ''
Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare'' for the BBC (UK). Early 2007 brought him back to American television in the role of former
terrorist Hamri Al-Assad for the
sixth season of ''
24''.
Siddig's roles have often called for him to act out many different accents: an English '
RP' accent (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), a cockney accent (''Reign Of Fire''), and an Algerian accent (''Spooks''), among others. He has also given performances in Arabic as the role required (''Spooks'', ''Syriana'', ''24'').
Filmography and television appearances
★ ''
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' (1987) – partygoer
★ '', TV movie (1990) – Emir Feisal
★ ''
Big Battalions'', TV
miniseries (1992) – Yousef
★ '', TV (1993) – Dr. Julian Bashir
★ '', TV (1993–1999) – Dr. Julian Bashir
★ ''
Vertical Limit'' (2000) – Kareem
★ ''
Reign of Fire'' (2002) – Ajay
★ ''
Spooks'' (aka ''MI-5''), TV guest appearance (2003) – Ibhn Khaldun
★ ''
The Hamburg Cell'', TV (2004) – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
★ ''
Kingdom of Heaven'' (2005) – Nasir
★ ''
Syriana'' (2005) – Prince Nasir Al-Subaai
★ ''
Poirot: Cards on the Table'' (2005) – Mr. Shaitana
★ ''
Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare'', TV (2006) – Hannibal
★ ''
The Nativity Story'' (2006) – Angel Gabriel
★ ''
24'' (2007) –
Hamri Al-Assad
★ ''
The Last Legion'' (2007) – Theodorus Andronikus
★ ''
Un Homme Perdu'' (2007) – Fouad Saleh
★ ''
Doomsday'' (2008) – Hatcher
Other appearances
★
Whose Life Is It Anyway?'', stage play (2005) in
London – Dr. Scott
★
James Cameron's Titanic Explorer''
video game (1997) – various voices
★
Family Guy Season 4, Episode 2, "Patriot Games" (2006) - Voice of one of the London Silly Nannies
Directing credits
★ ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993) episodes "
Business as Usual" and "
Profit and Lace"
References
1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/80/Alexander-Siddig.html
2. Alexander Siddig: Living Without Borders
3. Cattrall finds love with co-star
External links
★
Sid City, Siddig's official fan website
★
★
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