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Omid Djalili

Omid Djalili is Britain's funniest Iranian stand-up comedian and actor. After great success at the Edinburgh Festival in 1995, Omid has become a festival fringe favourite with a string of sell-out shows. It started in 1995 with 'Short Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son', then in 1996 in 'Arab & The Jew' on to 1997 with 'Omid Djalili Is Ethnic'. In 2000 he went back to Edinburgh and had another hit show, 'Warm to my Winning Smile' and in 2002, 'Behind Enemy Lines'. Both of these shows became Edinburgh's hottest ticket. 'Behind Enemy Lines' received an astonishing six 5-star reviews. In 2005 Omid returned to the festival with his most successful show to date, 'No Agenda', with record breaking sales on the fringe totalling 16,500; this show then transferred to a total sell-out nationwide 36 date tour, including 2 shows at the London Palladium in 2006. He is definitely one of the funniest, freshest and most original comedians in Britain today.

His international appeal is vast, having performed in recent years in Australia, Austria, the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Slovakia and most recently he performed for the King of Qatar.

2006 saw Omid playing major parts in 'Alien Autopsy' with Ant & Dec and in 'Over The Hedge' alongside Bruce Willis, William Shatner and Wonder Sykes playing 'Tiger', and last year Omid was in a film for the BBC of 'My Family & Other Animals' starring alongside Imelda Staunton.

In 2005 he was invited to perform at the televised Tsunami Benefit alongside comedy luminaries Jonathan Ross, Lee Evans, Johnny Vegas, Dawn French and Alistair McGowan to name but a few. He also performed a half hour special on 'Jack Dee Live At The Apollo' for BBC One at the end of 2004 which was repeated in 2005. In June 2004 he recorded an HBO special in New York, the first British comic to do one since Eddie Izzard.

AWARDS
Perrier Award Nominee ~ Best Comedian
South Bank Award Nominee ~ Best Comedy of the Year
Gemini Award Nominee (Canada) ~ Best Comedy Performance
Emma Award ~ Best Stand Up Comedian
Time Out Award ~ Best Stand Up Comedian
LWT Comedy Award ~ Best Stand Up
One World Media Award ~ For his Channel 4 documentary 'Bloody Foreigners'
European TV Award Nominee ~ For his Channel 4 documentary 'Bloody Foreigners'
Royal Television Society Award Nominee
Spirit of the Fringe Award ~ Edinburgh Festival

FILMS
Over The Hedge
Alien Autopsy
Casanova
Deadlines
Modigliani
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
Calcium Kid
Cross My Heart
Anita & Me
Spy Game
Mean Machine
Gladiator
The Mummy
Notting Hill
James Bond - The World Is Not Enough
Mad Cows

TELEVISION
'Lead Balloon' with Jack Dee
'Annually Retentive' with Rob Brydon
Little Britain ~ BBC
My Family and Other Animals ~ BBC
Chopratown ~ BBC
Frank Skinner Show ~ ITV
London Today ~ ITV
Breakfast News ~ BBC
Top Gear ~ BBC
HBO Comedy Special ~ HBO (America)
Jack Dee, Live at the Apollo ~ BBC One
One Night Stand ~ US TV
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ~ BBC One
Comic Relief (Celebrity University Challenge) ~ BBC Two
Comic Aid ~ BBC One
Room 101 ~ BBC Two
Late Night with Conan O'Brien ~ NBC (USA)
Whoopi ~ NBC (USA)
Have I Got News For You ~ BBC Two
Jason & The Argonauts ~ Channel Four
Bloody Foreigners ~ Channel Four
They Think It's All Over ~ BBC One
The Royal Variety Performance ~ BBC
Lenny Henry In Pieces ~ BBC One
Small Potatoes 2 ~ Channel Four
Small Potatoes ~ Channel Four
Coming Soon ~ Channel Four
Heaven and Earth ~ ITV
Edinburgh Nights ~ BBC 2
Black Books ~ BBC 1 & 2
Merry-Go-Round ~ Channel Four
Barking ~ Channel Four
The Comedy Store ~ Channel Five
The Stand Up Show ~ BBC One
Live at Jongleurs ~ Cable

RADIO
Being Mussolini ~ Radio 4
Jonathan Ross Show ~ Radio 2
Steve Wright in the Afternoon ~ Radio 2
Five Live ~ Radio 5
Loose Ends ~ Radio 4
Festival News ~ Forth FM
Christian O'Connell Show ~ XFM

QUOTES
'Omid Djalili is simply magnificent' - Daily Mail

'Hilarious and painfully funny, Omid Djalili is unmissable' - Independent

'His explosive and wide-eyed humour comes bursting out of nowhere, sending the audience into fits' - The Scotsman

'By far the most entertaining comedy night' -The Times

'His jokes are remarkable' - The Daily Telegraph

'Djalili blows you away with a blizzard of gags' - The Observer

'Demonstrates a confiding intelligence, a rare and warm sense of self-mockery and the distinctive outsider's view of our culture. One felt very happy to be in his engaging, off-beat presence.' - Daily Mail

'Burly but surprisingly athletic' - The Scotsman

'His Show's about cultural bridges. Omid builds 'em up, knocks 'em down and we fall about' - The Herald

'Cult favourite' - The Times