Alexander Siddig

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Alexander Siddig

At TrekExpo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 25, 2005
Born Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi
November 21, 1965 (1965-11-21) (age 44)
Sudan
Other name(s) Siddig El Fadil, Alexander Siddig
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Nana Visitor (1997-2001)
Official website

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (Arabic: صدّيق الطاهر الفاضل الصدّيق عبدالرحمن محمد أحمد عبدالكريم المهدي‎; born 21 November 1965) is a Sudanese-born English actor, also known as Siddig El Fadil and Alexander Siddig. He is known for playing Dr. Julian Bashir in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and for his performances as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai in Syriana (2005) and as Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani in Kingdom of Heaven (2005). He has also guest starred on 24 as Hamri Al-Assad. Siddig co-stars in the award-winning film Cairo Time (2009) as Tareq Khalifa.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Siddig was born in Sudan and has spent most of his life in England. He was born to an English mother who worked as a theatrical consultant[1] and a Sudanese father. His maternal uncle is English actor Malcolm McDowell, with whom he appeared in 2008 in Neil Marshall's Doomsday, and his paternal uncle is the former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. He is also descended from Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi. He attended 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 native English speakers than his original name – not to mention a lot quicker than his full name. On set he became known as 'Sid'. In 1996, Siddig and his co-star Nana Visitor became involved – their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, was born in 1996 and the couple married in 1997. They divorced in 2001. In 2005 he was briefly involved with his Whose Life Is It Anyway? co-star (and fellow Star Trek alum) Kim Cattrall.[2]

[edit] Career

Siddig attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to study acting and after leaving LAMDA, Siddig did a season of stage work in Manchester. He also worked as a director in a small theater in London. Siddig first appeared to television audiences as Prince Feisal in the 1990 TV sequel to Lawrence of Arabia entitled A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. Since the end of the seven seasons of 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, Siddig joined the cast of Un Homme Perdu aka A Lost Man and he returned to American television in the role of former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad for the sixth season of 24. In 2009, he co-starred with Patricia Clarkson in the award-winning film Cairo Time (2009) as Tareq Khalifa, an Egyptian who battles his attraction to his friend's wife.

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, Un Homme Perdu) as well as French (Un Homme Perdu).

Siddig is also a keen cricketer, and while at home in Sussex plays for a local team.[citation needed]

[edit] Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1987 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid partygoer
2000 Vertical Limit Kareem Nazir
2002 Reign of Fire Ajay
2005 Kingdom of Heaven Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani
Syriana Prince Nasir Al-Subaai
Poirot: Cards on the Table Mr. Shaitana
2007 The Nativity Story Angel Gabriel
The Last Legion Theodorus Andronikus
2008 Un Homme Perdu Fouad Saleh
Doomsday Hatcher (Prime Minister)
Un Espion(s) Malik
2009 Cairo Time Tareq Khalifa

[edit] Television works

Year Production Role Notes
1990 A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia Emir Feisal TV Movie
1992 Big Battalions Yousef TV miniseries, 1 episode
1993–1999 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Julian Bashir 169 out of 173 episodes
1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation Julian Bashir 1 episode: "Birthright"
2003 Spooks Ibhn Khaldun 1 episode: "Nest of Angels"
2004 The Hamburg Cell Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
2006 Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare Hannibal
2007 24 Hamri Al-Assad 7 episodes
2008 Merlin Kanan 1 episode
2009 Waking the Dead Dr Mohammed 2 episodes ("Endgame, Part 1" and "Endgame, Part 2")[3]

[edit] Other appearances

[edit] References

MI5 as Mohhamad Khaldun With The BBC

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Siddig
  1. ^ Alexander Siddig Biography (1965-)
  2. ^ Cattrall finds love with co-star
  3. ^ "BBC Programme Information: Week 39". BBC Press Office. Retrieved on 10 September 2009.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Siddig"