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Alexander Siddig

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Alexander Siddig
صدّيق الطاهر الفاضل الصدّيق عبدالرحمن محمد أحمد عبدالكريم المهدي (Arabic)
Siddig at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Born
Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi

(1965-11-21) 21 November 1965 (age 59)
Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan
Other namesSiddig El Fadil
Alma materLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actor, director
Years active1987–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2001)​
Shana Collier
​
(m. 2015)​
Children1
RelativesMalcolm McDowell (uncle)
Charlie McDowell (cousin)
Sadiq al-Mahdi (uncle)
Muhammad Ahmad (great-great-grandfather)
Websitewww.sidcity.net Edit this at Wikidata

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (born 21 November 1965) is a British actor and director known professionally as Siddig El Fadil and subsequently as Alexander Siddig.

Siddig is best known for his roles as Dr. Julian Bashir in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad in the sixth season of the series 24, Doran Martell in Game of Thrones, Ra's al Ghul in Gotham, and Philip Burton in Primeval. He also starred in the films Syriana (2005), Hannibal (2006), A Lost Man (2007), Cairo Time (2009), and Inescapable (2012).

Early life and education

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Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi[1][2][nb 1] was born on 21 November 1965[3][4] in Omdurman, Sudan.[5] His father, Tahir El Mahdi, was Sudanese; his mother, Gloria (née Taylor; d. 2001) was English.[1][2][6][7] She was the older sister of actor Malcolm McDowell.[1][8]

Siddig's parents met in the 1960s when his mother travelled to Sudan with a friend who introduced her to Siddig's father.[1] Siddig's father was a student at Cambridge University in the 1950s and was proficient in English.[1] Siddig's uncle Sadiq al-Mahdi was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966–1967 and again from 1986–1989.[1][9] Siddig is also the great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ahmad, a Nubian religious leader who was proclaimed the Mahdi by his disciples.[1][9]

Siddig's mother remained in Sudan for three years and returned to London with Siddig and his father.[1][3] Siddig was two years old at the time.[3] Siddig initially spoke Arabic when he was a child, but by his second year of living in Britain he had forgotten much of it.[1] In 1978, his mother married film director and producer Michael Birkett, and in 1982, the two had a son together named Thomas.[6] Siddig's mother worked as a model and theatrical press agent.[7]

Siddig attended St Lawrence College, Ramsgate.[10] He also studied geography and anthropology for a year at University College London before enrolling at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[3][11]

Career

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After leaving LAMDA, Siddig worked in theatre as both an actor and director.[3][11][12] Siddig's first television role was a Palestinian man in a British six-part miniseries called The Big Battalions (filmed in 1989 but released in 1992) and shortly afterward he won the role of Prince Feisal in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, a 1990 telefilm sequel to Lawrence of Arabia starring Ralph Fiennes.[3][12]

Siddig's role in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia brought him to the attention of Rick Berman, executive producer of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).[3] Berman originally considered Siddig for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko, but decided in the end that Siddig was too young for the role and cast him as Dr. Julian Bashir.[3] Siddig remained with Deep Space Nine for all seven seasons of the series.[1] He also directed the episodes "Business as Usual" (1997) and "Profit and Lace" (1998).[13][14] In 1995, Siddig also changed his stage name from Siddig El Fadil to Alexander Siddig.[4]

Siddig told Bidoun magazine that there was an increased demand for Islamic and Arabic character roles in both film and television after the September 11 attacks and that people began to approach him with projects within six months of the event.[1] He played a mountain guide in the thriller film Vertical Limit (2000), starring Chris O'Donnell, and Ajay in the post-apocalyptic science fantasy film Reign of Fire (2002) starring Christian Bale.[1][12] In 2003 Siddig played the role of an Algerian secret agent on the trail of Islamists in the controversial episode "Nest of Angels" of the British television show Spooks (known as MI-5 in the US).[15][16] Siddig appeared in a cameo role as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the film The Hamburg Cell that premiered the following year.[1]

In 2005 Siddig returned to the live stage, playing the role of Doctor Scott in a production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? starring Kim Cattrall that played at the Comedy Theatre in London.[17][18] That same year Siddig appeared as Saladin's aide Imad in Ridley Scott's 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven[12][19] and starred alongside George Clooney and Matt Damon as Prince Nasir in the film Syriana.[1][20]

Siddig played the title role in the BBC's 2006 tele-film Hannibal.[21] In 2007 he starred in A Lost Man (French title Un Homme Perdu) a French language film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival.[12][22] That same year Siddig played the role of former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad in the sixth season of 24.[23][12]

In 2009, he co-starred with Patricia Clarkson in the award-winning film Cairo Time as Tareq Khalifa, an Egyptian who battles his attraction to his friend's wife.[23][24] Directed by Canadian director Ruba Nadda, the film won the prize for "Best Canadian Feature Film" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.[25] He also played Jamal in Julian Schnabel’s 2010 film Miral.[2]

Siddig played Philip Burton in series 4 and 5 of the ITV science-fiction drama programme Primeval; both series aired in 2011.[2][26] In 2012, Siddig again worked with director Nadda and played the starring role as a Syrian-Canadian businessman in the film Inescapable, which also starred Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson.[27][28]

In 2013, Siddig narrated the BBC Two nature documentary series Wild Arabia and played the role of Minos in the first series of the BBC fantasy-adventure programme Atlantis.[29][30]

From 2013 to 2015, Siddig played Aslan Al-Rahim (aka "The Turk") in the BBC historical fantasy drama series Da Vinci's Demons.[12][31] In 2015 and 2016 he appeared in the HBO series Game of Thrones; Siddig played the role of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, in the series' fifth and sixth seasons.[32] He also played Reuben Oliver, an artist and suitor of Polly Shelby, in the third season of the British series Peaky Blinders.[33] Siddig also provided the voice of Wolf, a character in the historical fantasy drama Tumanbay that aired on BBC Radio 4 between December 2015 and February 2016.

In 2017, Siddig joined the cast of the televisions series Gotham as League of Shadows leader Ra’s al Ghul[34][35] and also played the part of Aristotle Onassis in the drama miniseries The Kennedys: After Camelot.[36]

In 2019, he appeared in the Netflix series The Spy as Ahmed Suidani, a Syrian security officer.[37][38] That same year he appeared as Issouf Al Moctar in the second season of the Fox (UK and Ireland) thriller series Deep State, and voiced Avi Singh in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.[39]

Personal life

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Siddig began a relationship with Nana Visitor whilst working on the set of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.[40] Their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, was born on 16 September 1996 and Visitor's pregnancy was written into the storyline of Deep Space Nine.[8][40] Django is Siddig's first child and Visitor's second son.[40] The couple married in 1997 and later divorced in 2001.[40][41]

In an April 2024 interview, Siddig described his sexuality as "not quite straight".[42]

Filmography

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Film

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At TrekExpo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2005
Year Film Role Notes
1987 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid Partygoer
1992 A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia Emir Faisal I TV film
2000 Vertical Limit Kareem Nazir
2002 Reign of Fire Ajay
2004 The Hamburg Cell Khalid Sheikh Mohammed TV film
2005 Kingdom of Heaven Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani
2005 Syriana Prince Nasir Al-Subaai
2006 Hannibal Hannibal TV movie
2007 The Nativity Story Angel Gabriel
2007 The Last Legion Theodorus Andronikus
2008 A Lost Man Fouad Saleh
2008 Doomsday Hatcher
2008 Espion(s) Malik
2009 Cairo Time Tareq Khalifa
2010 Miral Jamal
2010 4.3.2.1. Robert
2010 Clash of the Titans Hermes
2012 Inescapable Adib Abdel-Kareem
2013 The Fifth Estate Dr. Tarek Haliseh
2013 May in the Summer Ziad
2017 Submergence Dr. Shadid
2019 21 Bridges Adi
2020 Skylines General Radford
2023 Deliver Us Cardinal Russo

Television series

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Year Production Role Notes
1992 Big Battalions Yousef Miniseries, 4 episodes
1993–1999 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dr. Julian Bashir Credited as Siddig El Fadil (1993–1995)
1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode: "Birthright"
2003 Spooks Ibhn Khaldun Episode: "Nest of Angels"
2005 Agatha Christie's Poirot Mr. Shaitana Episode: "Cards on the Table"
2006 Family Guy Silly Nannies Player (voice) Episode: "Patriot Games"
2007 24 Hamri Al-Assad 7 episodes
2008 Merlin Kanen Episode: "The Moment of Truth"
2009 Waking the Dead Dr Mohammed 2 episodes (Endgame)[43]
2010 Strike Back Zahir Sharq 2 episodes
2011 Primeval Philip Burton Episode 24–36 (series 4–5)[44]
2012 True Love Ismail Episode: "Sandra"
2013–2014 Da Vinci's Demons Al-Rahim 13 episodes
2013 Wild Arabia Narrator Documentary
2013 Atlantis King Minos 8 episodes
2015–2016 Game of Thrones Doran Martell 6 episodes (season 5–6)[45]
2015 Tut Amun Miniseries
2015 Bar Rescue Himself Episode: "Brokedown Palace"
2016 Peaky Blinders Ruben Oliver 6 episodes
2017 The Kennedys: After Camelot Aristotle Onassis
2017–2018 Gotham Ra's al Ghul 12 episodes (season 3–4)
2019 The Spy Ahmed Suidani Miniseries
Deep State Issouf Al Moctar Season 2
2021 Star Wars: The Bad Batch Senator Avi Singh Episode: "Common Ground"
2021 Foundation Advocate Xylas[46] Episode: "The Emperor's Peace" (S01E01)
2022 Shantaram Khader Khan Lead role
2024 Star Trek: Lower Decks Holographic Julian Bashir (voice) Episode: "Fissure Quest"

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Arabic: صدّيق الطاهر الفاضل الصدّيق عبدالرحمن محمد أحمد عبدالكريم المهدي Ṣiddīq aṭ-Ṭāhir al-Fāḍil aṣ-Ṣiddīq ʿAbd ar-Raḥman Muḥammad ʾAḥmad ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Mahdī

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mahjoub, Jamal (Summer 2009). "Alexander Siddig: The Accidental Arab". Bidoun. No. 18. Brooklyn, New York, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Rothe, E. Nina (3 February 2011). "Alexander Siddig — Discovering the Uncommon Hero". HuffPost. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Spelling, Ian (31 December 1993). "El Fadil having time of his life as a jerk". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b Cole, Maxine (2 August 1998). "Your Page". The Daily Oklahoman TV This Week. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. p. 17. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Harris, Will (19 July 2015). "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020. So I did that, and then I was also born in Omdurman, which is in Sudan, which is where the confluence of the Nile, where this great river passes through, so I'm intimately acquainted with the most important thing about ancient Egypt, which is the river.
  6. ^ a b Burton, Humphrey (18 May 2015). "Lord Birkett obituary". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Lord Birkett: Film producer who trained at Ealing Studios and championed the arts". The Times. London, United Kingdom. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  8. ^ a b Lipton, Michael A. (15 July 1996). "A Family Enterprise". People. Vol. 43, no. 3. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  9. ^ a b Keegan, Simon (15 May 2015). "Game of Thrones star Alexander Siddig is descendant of real dynasty of despots". Daily Mirror. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  10. ^ Mack, Peter (1981). "A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Review of the Production". The Lawrentian, Vol.LXXXI, No.1. Ramsgate, Kent, UK. Siddig El Fadil as Puck was full of energy and mischief.
  11. ^ a b Messer, Ron (9 August 2010). "Alexander Siddig Exclusive Interview". Collider. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Harris, Will (19 July 2015). "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  13. ^ Spelling, Ian (3 April 1997). "Directing 'DS9' Takes Siddig To A Higher Plane". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Chicago Tribune.
  14. ^ Handlen, Zack (16 January 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Valiant"/"Profit And Lace"". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  15. ^ Leonard, Tom (11 June 2003). "Bomber on Spooks upsets 1,000 viewers". The Daily Telegraph. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Viewers upset by Muslim plot". BBC News Online. London, United Kingdom. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  17. ^ Inverne, James (7 January 2005). "Kim Cattrall Starts London Previews Jan. 7 in Whose Life Is It Anyway?". Playbill. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  18. ^ ""Whose Life is it Anyway?"Full cast confirmed!". londontheatre.co.uk. 25 October 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  19. ^ Moore, Roger (6 May 2005). "Thrills but not enough soul". Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  20. ^ McCarthy, Todd (19 November 2005). "Syriana". Variety. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Hannibal". BBC News. London, United Kingdom. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  22. ^ Jaafar, Ali (1 May 2007). "'Lost Man' finds Cannes slot". Variety. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  23. ^ a b Ouzounian, Richard (10 October 2009). "Stars sparkle on Cairo Time". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  24. ^ Taylor, Ella (5 August 2010). "Looking For Love On 'Cairo Time'? Prepare To Wait". NPR. Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  25. ^ "2009 Toronto International Film Festival Winners". tiff.net. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013.
  26. ^ Wightman, Catriona; Mansell, Tom (26 December 2010). "'Primeval' Week: Q&A with Alexander Siddig". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  27. ^ Arrazola, Luis-Enrique (16 March 2012). "All surprisingly calm on the set of Inescapable". National Post. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  28. ^ Schneller, Johanna (14 September 2012). "Inescapable: Anatomy of a DIY blockbuster". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  29. ^ Wollaston, Sam (22 February 2013). "Last night's TV: Wild Arabia – review". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  30. ^ Gelt, Jessica (27 November 2013). "BBC America picks up second season of fantasy show 'Atlantis'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  31. ^ Truitt, Brian (7 October 2015). "Sneak peek: Da Vinci, mom in 'Demons'". USA Today. McLean, Virginia, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  32. ^ Robinson, Joanna (23 September 2016). "Game of Thrones Actor Gives Scorching Exit Interview". Vanity Fair. New York City, New York, United States: Condé Nast. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  33. ^ Hughes, Sarah (5 May 2016). "Peaky Blinders recap: series three, episode one – welcome back boys!". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  34. ^ Phillips, Jevon (2 March 2017). "'Gotham' finds its Ra's Al Ghul in 'Game of Thrones' actor Alexander Siddig". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  35. ^ Bryant, Jacob (2 March 2017). "'Gotham' Casts 'Star Trek' Alum Alexander Siddig as Ra's al Ghul". Variety. Los Angeles, California, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  36. ^ Shanahan, Mark (13 June 2016). "Katie Holmes on the set of 'The Kennedys: After Camelot'". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  37. ^ Rabinowitz, Dorothy (5 September 2019). "'The Spy' Review: A Life Undercover". The Wall Street Journal. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  38. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (3 September 2019). "'The Spy' Review: Sacha Baron Cohen Goes Undercover — This Time Not for Laughs". Rolling Stone. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  39. ^ "Senator Avi Singh Voice". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  40. ^ a b c d O'Hare, Kate (15 June 1997). "Love, marriage and baby carriage on 'Star Trek'". The Times, TV Times (insert). Munster, Indiana, United States. Tribune Media Services. p. 19. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "Original to Enterprise: 50 Years of 'Star Trek' Crews". Newsweek. New York City, New York, United States. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  42. ^ Lloyd, Kelas (9 April 2024). "Interview: STAR TREK's Alexander Siddig celebrates Arab-American Heritage Month". The Beat. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  43. ^ "BBC Programme Information: Week 39". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  44. ^ "Primeval is back on ITV1 – ITV Press Centre". Itv.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  45. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (25 July 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Announces New Cast Members". Variety. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  46. ^ East, Michael (24 September 2021). Foundation premiere review: "The Emperor's Peace" and "Preparing to Live". FanSided, Minute Media, 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
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