Alexander Siddig

Early life

Siddig el-Tahir el-Fadil el-Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim el-Mahdi () was born on 21 November 1965 in Omdurman, Republic of Sudan (present-day, Sudan) to a Sudanese father, Tahir El Mahdi, and Gloria Birkett (née Taylor; d. 2001), an English model and theatrical press agent.

Through his father, Siddig is the nephew to Sadiq al-Mahdi, Prime Minister of Sudan during 19661967 and 19861989, and the filmmaker, poet and painter Hussein Shariffe. Siddig is the great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ahmad, a Nubian religious leader and founder of the Mahdist State who was proclaimed the Mahdi by his disciples.

Siddig's parents met in the 1960s when his mother travelled to Sudan with a friend, who introduced her to Siddig's father. Initially living in Sudan, in 1967 the family relocated to London. Siddig initially spoke Arabic when he was a child, but by his second year of living in Britain, he had forgotten much of it. On the subject of his childhood, he stated in 2024, "I had a tough time at school and in my teens because being not-white in the UK during the 70s was prickly and you had to sort of negotiate that. I tried to push it aside, my race and my heritage … I would have had to go out of my way to be ethnic." In 1978, Siddig's mother married film director and producer Michael Birkett, who adopted Siddig. Thomas Birkett (b. 1982) is Siddig's half-brother.

Siddig attended St Lawrence College, Ramsgate. He also studied geography and anthropology for a year at University College London before enrolling at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Career

Siddig's first acting role was at the age of 14 in a non-speaking role, playing King Tut in a BBC children's production. Siddig's first television role was a Palestinian man in a British six-part miniseries called The Big Battalions (filmed in 1989 but released in 1992), and shortly afterward, he won the role of Prince Feisal in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, a 1990 telefilm sequel to Lawrence of Arabia starring Ralph Fiennes.

Siddig's role in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia brought him to the attention of Rick Berman, executive producer of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993). In 1995, Siddig also changed his stage name from Siddig El Fadil to Alexander Siddig.

After the completion of Deep Space Nine in 1999, Siddig began directing a film about the Soviet Night Witches. The film was never completed. Siddig told Bidoun magazine that demand for Islamic and Arabic character roles was increasing in both film and television after the September 11 attacks and that people began to approach him with projects within six months of the event. Siddig appeared in a cameo role as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in the film The Hamburg Cell that premiered the following year.

In 2005, Siddig returned to the live stage, playing the role of Doctor Scott in a production of Whose Life Is It Anyway? starring Kim Cattrall that played at the Comedy Theatre in London. That same year, Siddig appeared as Saladin's aide Imad in Ridley Scott's 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven, and starred alongside George Clooney and Matt Damon as Prince Nasir in the film Syriana.

Siddig played the title role in the BBC's 2006 telefilm Hannibal. In 2007, he starred in A Lost Man (French title Un Homme Perdu) a French-language film that screened at the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he played the role of former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad in the sixth season of 24.

In 2009, he co-starred with Patricia Clarkson in the award-winning film Cairo Time as Tareq Khalifa, an Egyptian who battles his attraction to his friend's wife. Directed by Canadian director Ruba Nadda, the film won the prize for "Best Canadian Feature Film" at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. He also played Jamal in Julian Schnabel’s 2010 film Miral.

Siddig played Philip Burton in series four and five of the ITV science-fiction drama programme Primeval; both series aired in 2011. In 2012, Siddig again worked with director Nadda and played the starring role as a Syrian-Canadian businessman in the film Inescapable, which also starred Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson.

In 2013, Siddig narrated the BBC Two nature documentary series Wild Arabia and played the role of Minos in the first series of the BBC fantasy-adventure programme Atlantis.

From 2013 to 2015, Siddig played Aslan Al-Rahim ("the Turk") in the BBC historical fantasy drama series Da Vinci's Demons. In 2015 and 2016, he appeared in the HBO series Game of Thrones; Siddig played the role of Doran Martell, the ruling Prince of Dorne, in the series' fifth and sixth seasons. He also played Reuben Oliver, an artist and suitor of Polly Shelby, in the third season of the British series Peaky Blinders. Siddig also provided the voice of Wolf, a character in the historical fantasy drama Tumanbay that aired on BBC Radio 4 between December 2015 and February 2016.

In 2017, Siddig joined the cast of the televisions series Gotham as League of Shadows leader Ra’s al Ghul and also played the part of Aristotle Onassis in the drama miniseries The Kennedys: After Camelot.

In 2019, he appeared in the Netflix series The Spy as Ahmed Suidani, a Syrian security officer. That same year, he appeared as Issouf Al Moctar in the second season of the Fox (UK and Ireland) thriller series Deep State, and voiced Avi Singh in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Personal life

Siddig began a relationship with Nana Visitor whilst working on the set of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Their son, Django El Tahir El Siddig, was born on 16 September 1996 and Visitor's pregnancy was written into the storyline of Deep Space Nine.

Siddig met his second wife, Shana Collier, while filming Cairo Time, for which she was an assistant producer; the couple married in 2015.

Siddig stated he was neither Christian nor Muslim in a 2001 letter to his fanclub, but in a 2004 letter described himself as having "quite recently (after nearly 40 years) discovered that he was Muslim".

In an April 2024 interview, Siddig described his sexuality as "not quite straight". He has described his hobbies as cooking, woodworking, gardening and computer games.

While filming Deep Space Nine he resided in Los Angeles; afterwards he relocated to New York City with his family. As of 2018, he resides in Massachusetts with his wife.

Filmography

Film

Television series

References

Notes

Citations

References

1. Mahjoub, Jamal. (Summer 2009). "Alexander Siddig: The Accidental Arab".
2. Rothe, E. Nina. (3 February 2011). "Alexander Siddig — Discovering the Uncommon Hero".
3. Spelling, Ian. (31 December 1993). "El Fadil having time of his life as a jerk". [[Chicago Tribune]].
4. Cole, Maxine. (2 August 1998). "Your Page". [[The Daily Oklahoman]] TV This Week.
5. Harris, Will. (19 July 2015). "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott". [[The A.V. Club]].
6. Burton, Humphrey. (18 May 2015). "Lord Birkett obituary". [[The Guardian]].
7. . (21 July 2015). ["Lord Birkett: Film producer who trained at Ealing Studios and championed the arts"](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/lord-birkett-x9ws8pqzp3p). *[[The Times]]*.
8. Keegan, Simon. (15 May 2015). "Game of Thrones star Alexander Siddig is descendant of real dynasty of despots". [[Daily Mirror]].
9. Mack, Peter. (1981). "A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Review of the Production".
10. Messer, Ron. (9 August 2010). "Alexander Siddig Exclusive Interview".
11. Harris, Will. (19 July 2015). "Alexander Siddig on being Bashir, quitting 24, and getting saddle-sore for Ridley Scott". [[The A.V. Club]].
12. Handlen, Zack. (16 January 2014). "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: "Valiant"/"Profit And Lace"". [[The A.V. Club]].
13. (27 October 2008). "Letters from Siddig: July 1999". Sid City.
14. (22 March 2018). "GOTHAM: Alexander Siddig talks the return of Ra al Ghul – exclusive interview".
15. . (10 June 2003). ["Viewers upset by Muslim plot"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2978414.stm). *[[BBC News Online]]*.
16. Inverne, James. (7 January 2005). "Kim Cattrall Starts London Previews Jan. 7 in Whose Life Is It Anyway?".
17. . (25 October 2004). [""Whose Life is it Anyway?"Full cast confirmed!"](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatre-news/news/whose-life-is-it-anywayfull-cast-confirmed).
18. Moore, Roger. (6 May 2005). "Thrills but not enough soul". [[Orlando Sentinel]].
19. (9 May 2006). "Hannibal". [[BBC News]].
20. Ouzounian, Richard. (10 October 2009). "Stars sparkle on Cairo Time". [[Toronto Star]].
21. Taylor, Ella. (5 August 2010). "Looking For Love On 'Cairo Time'? Prepare To Wait". [[NPR]].
22. "2009 Toronto International Film Festival Winners".
23. (26 December 2010). "'Primeval' Week: Q&A with Alexander Siddig".
24. Arrazola, Luis-Enrique. (16 March 2012). "All surprisingly calm on the set of Inescapable". [[National Post]].
25. Schneller, Johanna. (14 September 2012). "Inescapable: Anatomy of a DIY blockbuster". [[The Globe and Mail]].
26. Wollaston, Sam. (22 February 2013). "Last night's TV: Wild Arabia – review". [[The Guardian]].
27. Gelt, Jessica. (27 November 2013). "BBC America picks up second season of fantasy show 'Atlantis'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
28. Robinson, Joanna. (23 September 2016). "Game of Thrones Actor Gives Scorching Exit Interview". [[Condé Nast]].
29. Hughes, Sarah. (5 May 2016). "Peaky Blinders recap: series three, episode one – welcome back boys!". [[The Guardian]].
30. Phillips, Jevon. (2 March 2017). "'Gotham' finds its Ra's Al Ghul in 'Game of Thrones' actor Alexander Siddig". [[Chicago Tribune]].
31. Bryant, Jacob. (2 March 2017). "'Gotham' Casts 'Star Trek' Alum Alexander Siddig as Ra's al Ghul".
32. Shanahan, Mark. (13 June 2016). "Katie Holmes on the set of 'The Kennedys: After Camelot'". [[The Boston Globe]].
33. Rabinowitz, Dorothy. (5 September 2019). "'The Spy' Review: A Life Undercover". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
34. Sepinwall, Alan. (3 September 2019). "'The Spy' Review: Sacha Baron Cohen Goes Undercover — This Time Not for Laughs".
35. "Senator Avi Singh Voice".
36. O'Hare, Kate. (15 June 1997). "Love, marriage and baby carriage on 'Star Trek'". [[The Times]], TV Times (insert).
37. . (10 July 2016). ["Original to Enterprise: 50 Years of 'Star Trek' Crews"](https://www.newsweek.com/star-trek-crew-came-beyond-478205).
38. (14 February 2020). "Alexander Siddig Met His Wife on the Set of Cairo Time". Sid City.
39. (27 October 2008). "Letters from Siddig: September 2001". Sid City.
40. (27 October 2008). "Letters from Siddig: December 2004". Sid City.
41. Lloyd, Kelas. (2024-04-09). "Interview: STAR TREK's Alexander Siddig celebrates Arab-American Heritage Month".
42. (31 December 2018). "Alexander Siddig Answers Fan Questions: 2018 Edition". Sid City.
43. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2009/wk39/sun.shtml "BBC Programme Information: Week 39"]. BBC Press Office. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
44. "Primeval is back on ITV1 – ITV Press Centre". Itv.com.
45. (25 July 2014). "'Game of Thrones' Announces New Cast Members". Variety.
46. East, Michael (24 September 2021). [https://winteriscoming.net/2021/09/24/foundation-review-episodes-emperors-peace-preparing-to-live/ Foundation premiere review: "The Emperor's Peace" and "Preparing to Live"]. ''FanSided'', Minute Media, 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.