Paul Chahidi
Giv Paul Khatib-Chahidi[1] (born 22 August 1969), known professionally as Paul Chahidi (Persian: پل شهیدی), is an Iranian-born British Theatre World Award and Clarence Derwent Award winning and Tony and Olivier award nominated actor.
Early life
[edit]Paul Chahidi was born in Iran to an Iranian father and a British mother. His parents met while they were students studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. Chahidi was raised in Iran until the family left during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and settled in the United Kingdom. Chahidi grew up in Summertown, Oxford[2] and attended the Dragon School and Winchester College, before enrolling at University of Cambridge where he studied Arabic and Persian and wished to become a foreign correspondent. After graduating from Cambridge, he attended the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.[1]
Career
[edit]Chahidi is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.[3] He appeared at Shakespeare's Globe[4] and on Broadway in all-male productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III.[5] He was nominated for both an Olivier award and a Tony Award and won a Theatre World Award and Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Maria in Twelfth Night, where he appeared alongside Mark Rylance's Olivia in 2013.[6][7][8] He played defence minister Nikolai Bulganin in Armando Iannucci's 2017 historical comedy The Death of Stalin.[9]
He had a recurring role in the BBC Three television comedy series This Country (2017–2020), in which he played the Rev. Francis Seaton, a vicar who tries to help the characters created and played by siblings Charlie Cooper and Daisy May Cooper.[10] For this role, he was nominated for the Royal Television Society Award for best Comedy Performance (Male).[2]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Stella Does Tricks | Chris | |
| 1999 | Notting Hill | Loud Man in Restaurant | |
| 2004 | The Libertine | Barrillon | |
| 2006 | Venus | Period Film Director | |
| 2011-2012 | The Hour | Ron | |
| 2014 | The Voices | Dennis Kowalski | |
| 2015 | And Then There Were None | Isaac Morris | |
| 2016 | Hot Property | Headmaster | |
| Boyka: Undisputed | Kiril | ||
| 2017 | The Death of Stalin | Nikolai Bulganin | |
| 2017–2020 | This Country | Rev. Francis Seaton | |
| 2018 | Christopher Robin | Cecil Hungerford | |
| 2019 | Good Omens | Sandalphon | |
| 2021 | Chad | Hamid Amani | |
| 2022 | See How They Run | Fellowes | |
| The Serpent Queen | Charles de Bourbon | ||
| 2023 | Wicked Little Letters | Chief Constable Spedding | |
| Good Boy | Doctor | Short film[11] | |
| 2024 | Ludwig | Adrian Tate | 1 episode |
Other work
[edit]Paul Chahidi has appeared on a number of popular podcasts, including The QuaranTea Break Podcast[12] with Simon Ward, and Seven Stages[13] the podcast from The Stage.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "From Shakespeare to Stalin: Actor Paul Chahidi Stars on Film and Stage". Kayhan Life. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Paul Chahidi". Dragon School. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Welcome to the National Theatre".
- ^ "Treading the broads". Independent.co.uk. 11 January 2014.
- ^ Dziemianowicz, Joe (20 October 2013). "Paul Chahidi is set to steal scenes in two New York stage productions – NY Daily News". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Paul Chahidi on Hugh Jackman's Soft Hands & Falling Head Over Heels for London's Shakespeare in Love – Broadway Buzz – Theatre.com". www.theatre.com.
- ^ "Rylance gets Tony nomination double". BBC News. 30 April 2014.
- ^ Hemley, Matthew (13 September 2013). "Fenella Woolgar and Paul Chahidi win Clarence Derwent awards". The Stage. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Armando Iannucci's The Death Of Stalin a dazzling black Russian comedy". The Irish News. 18 October 2017.
- ^ "This Country star Paul Chahidi: All the characters have a lot of underlying pain". 8 March 2018.
- ^ Goldbart, Max (May 19, 2023). "Ben Whishaw Unveils First Project Since BAFTA TV Win; Toby Jones ITV Drama; 'Back To Reality' Boarded; Pact Retirement – Global Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "The QuaranTea Break Podcast: Ep 4: Paul Chahidi – talking This Country ending, performing in online plays and the vicar's advice for lockdown on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ^ "Seven Stages Podcast: Episode 7, Paul Chahidi". The Stage. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
- 1969 births
- Alumni of the University of Cambridge
- Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
- Living people
- 21st-century British male actors
- British male stage actors
- British male television actors
- People educated at The Dragon School
- Royal Shakespeare Company members
- British people of Iranian descent
- Theatre World Award winners