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Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig El Abderahman El Mohammed Ahmed El Abdel Karim El Mahdi (born 21 November 1965) is an 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 performance as Prince Nasir Al-Subaai in the film Syriana (2005). He recently guest starred on 24 as Hamri Al-Assad. Slender, dashingly handsome actor of Sudanese-English parentage (his mother is the sister of actor Malcolm McDowall) who first made an appearance on the big screen in Stephen Frears' "Sammie and Rosie Get Laid" (1987). He subsequently recreated Alec Guinness' role as Emir Feisal from the 1962 film "Lawrence of Arabia" for the "Great Performances" TV drama, "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia", as it continued the story of English adventurer T.E. Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes). Siddig, is however, best known for his quietly suave and sensitively appealing Dr. Bashir on the popular sci-fi spin-off series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-99). He changed his name from Siddig El Fadil to Alexander Siddig at the beginning of the fourth season. It seems that after three years, fans were still having trouble with his name. Siddig was born in Sudan, and spent most of his life in England. Born to an English mother who worked as a theatrical consultant and a Sudanese father, Siddig describes himself as 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. Siddig was raised in England and attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) where he studied acting and theater. Immediately after leaving LAMDA, Sid did a season of theater in Manchester (northern England), in addition to performing in various shows in pubs and small theaters. Later, Siddig worked as a director in a small theater in London. "I was in a situation where I pretty much had a theater company at my disposal and a theater at my disposal and could do anything I liked. . .as long as I did it for nothing. Which is sort of a step before charging and not being able to do what you like. I was at a point where I could have just gone on and become a director in London, as a trainee at the Royal Shakespeare Company or something like that, and ended up being a bona fide director. It was quite a big struggle because for a year and a half, which is the time I spent directing immediately after I left acting school, you just have no money so you're just living on welfare and you're trying to make it. . ." During this time of financial struggle Sid was offered the part of Emir Feisal in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990) (TV), the sequel to Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Sid co-starred with Ralph Fiennes who played T. E. Lawrence. Siddig's performance in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990) (TV) 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 Captain 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 an Hispanic male to play the part, named Julian Amoros, although Berman reports that no other actors were considered for the role. During his time on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993), Siddig and co-star Nana Visitor had a son (Django) and were married in 1997. They divorced in 2001, although they remain friends. After a successful seven-year run on television, Siddig began working in feature films, quickly accumulating roles in movies such as Vertical Limit (2000), Reign of Fire (2002), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and the critically acclaimed Syriana (2005). Early 2005 saw Siddig return to the stage opposite Kim Cattrall in the West End production of Whose Life Is It Anyway?. Following a controversial guest turn on Spooks (2003), the title role in _Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare (2006 in 2006 and a recurring role on "24" (2001) in 2007 brought Siddig back to the small screen. 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 Star Trek alumnus. 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 brought him back to American television in the role of former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad for the sixth season of 24. Son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, born. 16 September 1996, Grew up in England where he Attended London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Originally credited as "Siddig El Fadil", he changed his professional name to "Alexander Siddig" because (as reported by him at Star Trek conventions) nobody could pronounce "El Fadil". One of his uncles (his father's brother) was the Sudanese prime minister. Another one (his mother's brother) is Malcolm McDowell. He was at one time considered for the role of Benjamin Sisko, the station commander of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993). However, he was apparently considered too young. The role eventually went to Avery Brooks. However, the producers were impressed enough with Siddig and offered him the role of Dr. Julian Bashir. Cousin of Lilly McDowell and Charlie McDowell. Son Django was born around 11pm. After spending all night with his son and wife, Siddig went to work at "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) the following day at 5:30am to continuing filming the episode "Let He Who Is Without Sin". Fellow "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) cast member Andrew Robinson is the godfather of Siddig's son Django. Shares a birthday with Björk, Goldie Hawn, Rachel Rogers, Nicollette Sheridan, & Juliet Mills. In 2005, he appeared in two films set in the Middle East, Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Syriana (2005). In both films, he played a character named Nasir. Ex-brother-in-law of Ian Tucker and Zan Charisse. Ex-son-in-law of Robert Tucker. His "Star Trek: DS9" character Dr. Bashir has been seen as having similar high moral values as the real life Middle Eastern Doctor Bashar, featured in Time Magazine, in 2003. 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). He is also a keen cricketer and plays for a village cricket team called Wisborough Green. |
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