| Alexander Siddig | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birthdate: | November 21, 1965 |
| Birthplace: | Sudan |
| Role: | Hamri Al-Assad |
Alexander Siddig played Hamri Al-Assad during Season 6 of 24. He is best known, however, for playing Doctor Julian Bashir on all seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Although born in the Sudan in Northern Africa, Siddig spent most of his life in Great Britain where he attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). When he began acting, he went by the name of Siddig El Fadil (a shortened version of his much longer Sudanese name, Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi) but ultimately changed it to Alexander Siddig, reportedly because people had difficulty pronouncing his real name. He claimed at a Star Trek convention the late 1990s that he picked up a book of names and settled on "Alexander" because he didn't feel like going through the entire book.
His television debut was as Prince Fesal in the 1990 made-for-TV sequel to Lawrence of Arabia entitled A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. Following his success on Deep Space Nine, Siddig turned to films, although he still makes regular appearances on television in both America and Britain.
Siddig was married to his Deep Space Nine co-star Nana Visitor from 1997 through 2001. They had a son together, Django, nearly a year before being married.
Selected filmography
- Clash of the Titans (2010)
- Doomsday (2008)
- The Last Legion (2007)
- The Nativity Story (2006)
- Syriana (2005)
- Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
- Reign of Fire (2002)
- Vertical Limit (2000)
Television appearances
- 24 (2007)
- Hannibal (2006)
- Family Guy (voice) (2006)
- Agatha Christie's Poirot (2005)
- Spooks (2003)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993)
- The Big Betallions (1992)
- A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990)
- Master Illusionists: 24's Special Effects Make-Up, Season 6 DVD
Background information and notes
- He goes by the nickname of "Sid".
- He is 6'0" tall.
- As well as acting, he also aspires to be a director, and has directed two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. For the episodes he directed, he was listed as Siddig El Fadil.
- Interestingly, his character in Vertical Limit was named Kareem Nazir while his character in Kingdom of Heaven is called Nasir. In Syriana, he starred as an unrelated character also named Nasir. Both of the latter films were set in the Middle East.
- He is the nephew of Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) and his paternal uncle is former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq al Mahdi.
- He co-starred with Jayne Atkinson (Karen Hayes) in Syriana, although they never appear together on-screen. In the film, Atkinson's character supplies Bob Barnes (played by George Clooney) with information regarding Siddig's character in a projection room while images of Siddig run on the projector screen.
- At least four other 24 cast members previously appeared with Siddig on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Penny Johnson Jerald played a recurring role as Kasidy Yates, the girlfriend and later wife of Captain Sisko; Leslie Hope made one guest appearance as Kira Meru, the mother of station XO Kira Nerys; Gregory Itzin made two guest appearances on the show playing different characters; Megan Gallagher also played separate roles on the series; James Cromwell has appeared in episode across the "Star Trek" universe, appearing on DS9 with Siddig.
- Michelle Forbes, another Star Trek alum who starred on 24, was approached to reprise her Next Generation role of Ro Laren for Deep Space Nine. She turned it down, however, and the character instead became Kira Nerys as played by Nana Visitor, who would become Siddig's wife a few years later.
