Alexander Siddig

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 an English-Sudanese 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.

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 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.

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".

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

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

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).

Film

At TrekExpo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 25 June 2005

Television series

Other appearances

• ExtraOrdinary as King Tut (1979, uncredited and non-speaking role)
• James Cameron's Titanic Explorer video game (1997) – various voices
• Whose Life Is It Anyway?, stage play (2005) in London – Dr Scott
• Family Guy season 4, episode 2, "Patriot Games" (2006) – Voice of one of the London Silly Nannies
• Doctor Who audioplays "Sisters of the Flame" and "Vengeance of Morbius" (both 2008) – Rosto; "The Wreck of the Titan" (2010) – Captain ; "1001 Nights" (2012) – Sultan
• Holy Warriors, stage play (2014) in London - Saladin
• Bar Rescue (2015) – Guest in season 4 episode "Brokedown Palace"
• Tumanbay, radio drama (2015) on BBC Radio 4 – Wolf

• "BBC Programme Information: Week 39". BBC Press Office. Retrieved on 10 September 2009.
• "Primeval is back on ITV1 – ITV Press Centre". Itv.com. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
• Friedlander, Whitney (25 July 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Announces New Cast Members". Variety. Retrieved 4 September 2014. 
• "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott".