Alexander Siddig

Infobox actor

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caption = Siddig at TrekExpo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 25, 2005
birthname = Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi
birthdate = birth date and age|1965|11|21
birthplace = Sudan
othername = Siddig El Fadil
occupation = Actor
yearsactive =
spouse = Nana Visitor (1997-2001)
partner =
website = http://sidcity.net/

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 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 "", 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 [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/80/Alexander-Siddig.html Alexander Siddig Biography (1965-) ] ] and a Sudanese father, Siddig is a Muslim. His maternal uncle is English actor Malcolm McDowell, and his paternal uncle is the former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. He is also descendant from Muhammad Ahmad 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 than his original name - not to mention a lot quicker than his "full" name; on set, however, 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 eventually divorced in 2001. In 2005 he was briefly involved with his "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" co-star Kim Cattrall, a fellow LAMDA and Star Trek alumna. [ [http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/cattrall%20finds%20love%20with%20costar Cattrall finds love with co-star] ]

Career

Siddig attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to study acting and theater. 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 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, Siddig joined the cast of "Un Homme Perdu" aka A Lost Man and he returned 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", "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.

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
*"" (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 (Prime Minister)
*"Un simple espion" (2008) - Malik

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

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0796502|name=Alexander Siddig
* [http://www.sidcity.net Official Fansite]
*tvtome person|id=15911|name=Alexander Siddig