Alexander Siddig

Alexander Siddig

Born Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi
(1965-11-21) 21 November 1965
Sudan
Other names Siddig El Fadil
Occupation Actor
Years active Since 1987
Spouse(s) Nana Visitor (m. 1997; div. 2001)
Website sidcity.net

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi (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; born 21 November 1965) is a Sudanese-born British actor. He is known by the stage names Siddig El Fadil through the mid-1990s and Alexander Siddig since. He is known for playing Dr. Julian Bashir in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Philip Burton in Primeval, Carthaginian general Hannibal in Hannibal – Rome's Worst Nightmare, King Minos in Atlantis, and Prince Doran Martell in Game of Thrones, and for his performances as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai in Syriana (2005), Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and Tareq Khalifa in Cairo Time.

Personal life

Siddig was born in Sudan but 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 attended St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, Kent. 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 (stating in an interview that 'Alexander' was chosen at random). On set, he became known as Sid. In 1996, Siddig and his co-star Nana Visitor started dating and the couple were married June 1997; their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, was born on 16 September 1996. They divorced in 2001.

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 theatre in London. Siddig first appeared to television audiences as Prince Feisal in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, the 1990 TV sequel to Lawrence of Arabia.

Siddig's performance in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992) brought him to the attention of Rick Berman who was creating the new series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). Originally brought in to audition for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko, Berman decided Siddig was too young for the role and cast him as Dr. Julian Bashir instead. The part had to be slightly rewritten for Siddig as the original "bible" had called for a Hispanic male to play the part, named Julian Amoros, although Berman reports that no other actors were considered for the role.

Since the end of the seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Siddig has made prominent appearances in films and television. Highlights include appearing as 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) in 2003. In 2005, he appeared as Saladin's aide, Imad, in Ridley Scott's film Kingdom of Heaven. He 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.

In August 2010, he expressed his doubts about resurrecting his character, Dr. Julian Bashir, from Deep Space Nine, stating that he has "other ambitions".[2]

In 2013, Siddig appeared as a Syrian-Canadian in the IFC film Inescapable with Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson,[3] and as King Minos in the BBC show Atlantis.[4]

In 2015 he joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in season 5 as Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne.[5]

Siddig's roles have often called for him to act out many different accents: he used Received Pronunciation (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Cockney (Reign of Fire), and an Algerian accent (Spooks) among others. He has also given performances in Arabic as the role required (Spooks, Syriana, 24, Inescapable, Un Homme Perdu) as well as French (Un Homme Perdu).

Filmography

Film

At TrekExpo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 25 June 2005
Year Film Role Notes
1987 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid Partygoer
1990 A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia Emir Feisal 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 – Rome's Worst Nightmare 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 Miral's father
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

Television series

Year Production Role Notes
1992 Big Battalions Yousef TV miniseries, 1 episode
1993–1999 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dr Julian Bashir
1993 Star Trek: The Next Generation Dr Julian Bashir Episode: "Birthright"
2003 Spooks
(titled MI-5 in the US and France)		 Ibhn Khaldun Episode: "Nest of Angels"
2005 Agatha Christie's Poirot Mr. Shaitana Episode: "Cards on the Table"
2007 24 Hamri Al-Assad 7 episodes
2008 Merlin Kanan Episode: "The Moment of Truth"
2009 Waking the Dead Dr Mohammed 2 episodes ("Endgame, Part 1" and "Endgame, Part 2")[6]
2010 Strike Back Zahir Sharq 2 episodes ("Part 5" and "Part 6", Sky1 TV series)
2011 Primeval Philip Burton Episode 24–36 (series 4 & 5)[7]
2012 True Love Ismail Episode: "Sandra"
2013–2014 Da Vinci's Demons Al-Rahim 13 episodes
2013 Wild Arabia Narrator Documentary
2013 Atlantis Minos 8 episodes
2015–2016 Game of Thrones Doran Martell 6 episodes
Season 5-6[8]
2015 Tut Amun
2015 Bar Rescue Himself Episode: "Brokedown Palace"
2016 Peaky Blinders Ruben Oliver

Other appearances

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Siddig.
  1. ↑ "Alexander Siddig Biography (1965–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Siddig: No More Deep Space Nine". Collider.com. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Mintzer, Joshua (11 September 2012). "Inescapable: Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "BBC One programme information". Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Game of Thrones season five cast announced at Comic Con!". Watchers On The Wall. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "BBC Programme Information: Week 39". BBC Press Office. Retrieved on 10 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Primeval is back on ITV1 – ITV Press Centre". Itv.com. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Friedlander, Whitney (25 July 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Announces New Cast Members". Variety. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott".

External links

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