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Amrou Al-Kadhi

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Amrou Al-Kadhi
Al-Kadhi at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Born (1990-06-23) 23 June 1990 (age 34)
London, United Kingdom

Amrou Al-Kadhi (born 23 June 1990) is a British-Iraqi writer, drag performer, and filmmaker whose work primarily focuses on queer identity, cultural representation and racial politics. Al-Kadhi made a cameo appearance in the 2021 Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage as a temporary host of the title character.[1]

Early life and education

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Al-Kadhi was born in London to a tight-knit conservative Iraqi Muslim family. They were brought up in Dubai and Bahrain, before the family moved back to London.[2] Al-Kadhi claims that discovering marine biology and quantum physics helped them understand their queer identity.[3][4] Al-Kadhi has a twin brother.[5]

In 2006, Al-Kadhi was awarded a two-year scholarship to Eton College, where they did their A-levels,[2][6] then graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA and MPhil in the History of Art.[7]

Al-Kadhi's stage name is Glamrou. It was at the University of Cambridge that they discovered drag, organising events and becoming a "drag mother" to their fellow drag queens in the university's first professional drag band. While at Cambridge, they created and led the musical comedy drag troupe Denim,[8] for which they co-wrote and performed in shows.[9] More recently, they have left the troupe in order to concentrate on solo performance in a show called Glamrou: From Quran to Queen.[2]

Career

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Films

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Al-Kadhi's first acting role, at the age of fourteen, was in Steven Spielberg's film Munich, where they played the role of an Islamic terrorist's son. They have commented that, as an Arab actor, they have been approached to play the role of a terrorist almost thirty times.[10]

Al-Kadhi's feature directorial debut Layla, with Film 4 and Fox Cub Films, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. They have another film in development titled Oh, Molly with BBC Films and Sarah Brocklehurst Productions.

In 2021, Al-Kadhi appeared in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage as a temporary host of the alien symbiote Venom after he separates from Eddie Brock.

Television

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Al-Kadhi has three TV series in development: as writer and creator, Targets, with BBC Drama, as star, co-creator and co-writer, Nefertiti, a comedy series in development with Big Talk Productions, and as co-star, co-creator and co-writer, Beards, in development with Playground Entertainment.

Writing

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Al-Kadhi's autobiography, Life as a Unicorn: A Journey From Shame to Pride and Everything In Between, was published in 2019 and tells the story of their estrangement from and final reconciliation with their mother and Islam.[11][12] In 2020, the autobiography won the Society of Authors' Somerset Maugham Award.[13]

They write a fortnightly opinion column for The Independent, and a monthly column in Gay Times.[14] They have also contributed to GQ,[15] The Guardian, Attitude, CNN and Little White Lies.[16] Al-Kadhi writes on topics ranging from queer identity and Islamophobia to the philosophy of marine biology and film criticism.

Personal life

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Al-Kadhi identifies as queer and non-binary.[17]

Filmography

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Film

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Title Year Role Production
Christopher Robin 2018 Actor, Nemir Azizi (London Ticket Attendant)
Anenome 2018 Director and writer BBC films and Film London[18]
Victoria Sin 2017 Director and writer Nowness, Revry[18]
Run(a)way Arab 2017 Director and writer Peccadillo Pictures & Revry[18]
Clash 2017 Director and writer BBC4 Broadcast, BFI, Revry[18]
Nightstand 2016 Writer and performer
Venom: Let There Be Carnage 2021 Actor, Venom (Host Two) Cameo appearance
Layla N/A Director and writer

Television

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Year Title Role Production
2020 The Watch Co-writer, episode 106 BBC America / BBC Studios[19]
2019 Little America Co-writer of "The Son" episode Apple Original Series/Universal Television
2018 Hollyoaks Writer of episodes 5032, 5092, 5180 and 5275 Channel 4
2023 American Horror Stories Anna Rexhia season 3 episode 1 "Bestie" FX on Hulu

Stage

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Books

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  • 2019: Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen[24] (4th Estate, HarperCollins UK)Hardback / ISBN 978-0-00-830606-9
  • 2022: Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between[25](4th Estate, HarperCollins UK)Paperback / ISBN 978-0-00-830610-6

Awards and honours

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In June 2020, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Al-Kadhi among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".[26][27] In 2020 Al-Kadhi won the Polari First Book Prize for their memoir Life as a Unicorn.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Cocozza, Paula (9 October 2019). "Muslim drag queen Amrou Al-Kadhi: 'Whenever the drag came off, I'd have a nervous breakdown'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ Al-Kadhi, Amrou. Unicorn. Waterstones.
  4. ^ Al-Kadhi, Amrou (11 June 2019). "What quantum physics taught me about my queer Islamic identity" – via ted.com.
  5. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi's Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen is the searing autobiography the community needs". Firstpost. 14 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between". The Bookshop Darlinghurst.
  7. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  8. ^ Wood, Heloise (1 March 2018). "Drag queen Glamrou's memoir goes for six figures". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi". United Agents. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  10. ^ "I'm an Arab actor who's been asked to play a terrorist 30 times. If La La Land cleans up at the Oscars, I'm done". The Independent. 23 February 2017. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi interview: 'My mum is a drag queen, but not knowingly'". London Evening Standard. 18 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Amrou Al-Kadhi". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Muslim drag performer wins Society Of Authors award for debut memoir". aol.co.uk. 18 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Human beings aren't products, why try and package us to all be the same?". Gay Times. 31 January 2018.
  15. ^ "How drag helped me come to terms with my gender". British GQ. 11 October 2019.
  16. ^ a b "#EdFringe17 Comedy Q&A: Amrou Al-Kadhi from Denim: The World Tour by Martin Walker". broadwaybaby.com.
  17. ^ Al-Kadhi, Amrou (1 October 2020). "Minorities refusing to debate their right to exist is not 'shutting down free speech'". Attitude. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2021. As a queer, non-binary person of colour...
  18. ^ a b c d "Unicorn - Amrou Al-Kadhi" – via soundcloud.com.
  19. ^ "BBC America Announces Cast for New Series THE WATCH". Broadway World. 11 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  20. ^ "Culture Archives". Gay Times.
  21. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Denim: Juniors - Edinburgh Fringe 2018". British Comedy Guide.
  22. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Denim: The Reunion Tour". chortle.co.uk.
  23. ^ "Glamrou: From Quran to Queen".
  24. ^ "Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen".
  25. ^ "Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between".
  26. ^ "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  27. ^ Gremore, Graham (21 July 2020). "These queer writers are giving voice to our diversity one word at a time". Queerty. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  28. ^ "Davies, Al-Kadhi win 2020 Polari Prizes". Books+Publishing. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
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