Omid Djalili (born September 30, 1965) is a British stand-up comedian, born to Iranian parents. He attended the University of Ulster in Coleraine, studying English and Theatre studies and is an active member of the Bahá'à Faith. He prides himself as being the only Iranian comedian, which, he says, is "three more than Germany".
Starting his stand-up comedy career with amazing success at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, he followed up his comedic performances with even more successful, sell-out shows, starting with "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son" in 1995, following up with "The Arab and the Jew" in 1996, "Omid Djalili is Ethnic" in 1997, "Warm to My Winning Smile" in 2000, "Behind Enemy Lines" in 2002, and his most-recent "No Agenda" in October of this year.
His stand-up routines and jokes focus primarily on multiculturalism and ethnic particularities. His hyperactive and energetic manner of imitating accents, doing bellydances, and singing songs earned him a significant fanbase all over the globe.
He has performed in over 12 countries worldwide, including Australia, Denmark, Canada, Germany, and the United States.
Omid Djalili has also appeared in a number of motion pictures, most notably Gladiator, The Mummy, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. He is probably best-known to American audiences as Nasim from the US sitcom Whoopi, starring alongside actress Whoopi Goldberg.
In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
His latest movie, Alien Autopsy, is currently in production and is slated for release in the UK in the first quarter of 2006.
