Laughing it up
Interview | Sophy Grimshaw What makes Omid Djalili Britain’s hottest comedian? The fact that he’s Iranian, the top stand-up and movie actor says, as he prepares to go on tour this month OMID DJALILI LIKES to joke that he’s the only Iranian comedian in the world – “and that’s three more than Germany”. What is [...]
Interview | Sophy Grimshaw
What makes Omid Djalili Britain’s hottest comedian? The fact that he’s Iranian,
the top stand-up and movie actor says, as he prepares to go on tour this month
OMID DJALILI LIKES to joke that
he’s the only Iranian comedian
in the world – “and that’s three
more than Germany”. What is
true is that there has never
been an Anglo-Iranian with
his own television comedy show
on BBC One before (Djalili
sang “I’m an Iranian in the UK” to the tune of Sting’s
Englishman In New York on the series’ promotional trailer).
Neither has there been an Iranian with a reputation as
one of the Britain’s premier stand-ups, who has a track
record of sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Although more widely known as a comic, the
42-year-old has a lengthy CV of supporting roles in
Hollywood movies, including Gladiator, The Mummy,
Pirates Of The Caribbean and this summer’s The Love
Guru, the new, highly-anticipated film project from
Austin Powers’ star, the screwball American comic
Mike Myers.
“It’s timely to have someone in the media who
has Middle Eastern roots and is funny,” says
Djalili. “That’s a good thing. Some
people think Middle Easterners
don’t have much of a sense of
Interview | Sophy Grimshaw
humour and are so uptight about religion and politics that
you can’t talk to them. But my comedy shows that we’re
like everybody else, just people trying to get by.”
The Omid Djalili Show, an hilarious blend of character
sketches and topical stand-up, aired to critical acclaim
at the end of last year. It was then given the ultimate
compliment in TV, of being rubber-stamped for another
series. “We’re about to begin shooting the second series, and
I’ve got to get it right,” Djalili says with determination.
In the meantime, there’s his continuing movie career
and British tour to get right, too. This month he plays live
stand-up gigs in cities around the UK, including Leeds,
Liverpool, Salford in Manchester and London.
“The process of stand-up comedy is that some things
work straightaway but others don’t. It takes a while to
massage things, develop them,” he explains. “It’s gruelling
and it’s absolutely terrifying, but the rewards are great.
You and a couple of thousand people are sharing a moment
that will never happen again. That’s why comics
like the live experience and that’s why
people come, because it’s unique.”
So how do his audiences differ?
“Leeds and Liverpool are places where
I really seem to take off. I get an
especially warm reaction up north. The
laughs are a lot more intense up there. In London,
there’s a feeling from the audience that they’ve
seen everything before, so you have to show them
something different.”
Although born and raised in London, Djalili has built
his comedy around his Iranian identity. His parents came
to London from Tehran in the 1960s because his mother,
a dressmaker, had an interest in British fashion.
alt="As well as his many TV appearances, Omid Djalili has acted in numerousHollywood movies,including alongside the late Heath Ledger in
2005’s Casanova" src="http://www.bmivoyager.com/images/2008/apr/voyager_apr_042.jpg">
“I speak Farsi, the Iranian language, with my dad and all
my family members. I visited Iran as a child and that part of
my identity is very alive for me,” he says. “But in my show
I also talk about how I’m proud to be British. It’s made me
question, who am I? It sounds unfunny, but actually it’s a
very fertile ground to develop comedy from.”
Although based in the UK, Omid travels frequently for
his roles in Hollywood movies, and his high profile as a
stand-up definitely hasn’t dampened his acting ambitions.
“The most amazing thing about making films is the
people you meet. When I was in the movie Casanova, I was
on set for four months and became very close to Heath
Ledger [the Australian star who recently died aged 27].
He was an extraordinary talent and one of the sweetest,
loveliest people. He had a kind of spiritual generosity. Now
that he’s gone, you think, wow, I was just so lucky that I did
a film with him.”
Looking to the future, Djalili says: “There are two exciting
movies in which I’ve been offered lead roles – the first time
it’s happened. It’s been supporting roles until now.” At such
an early stage of the projects, that’s all he will say for now.
But he will confirm that he’s finished filming his scenes for
Mike Myers’ flamboyant new comedy The Love Guru,
out this July. Djalili and Sir Ben Kingsley play a pair of
gurus with Myers as their student.
“Justin Timberlake and Jessica Alba are in it,” Djalili
reveals. “Kevin Spacey even appears in a non-speaking
cameo. I’ve got lots of gossip about them all but it’s far
too scandalous for print.”
One person he will share some gossip about is former
US president Bill Clinton, who Djalili says has been
retelling his jokes.” We were the two main speakers at
a charity event in Qatar,” explains Djalili before imitating
Clinton’s drawl. “He said: ‘I like that man’s jokes and I shall
be using some of those jokes.’ Apparently since then, he’s
been getting some massive laughs with my material!”
The professional stand-up actually thinks quite highly
of Clinton’s comedic chops. “He had a great opening joke
of his own,” Djalili recalls. “He said: ‘Ladies and gentleman,
it’s bad enough not being the President anymore, but how
must I feel being so low on the pecking order that I have
to follow an Iranian comedian?’”
This month, Omid Djalili brings his award-winning
stand-up show to a host of UK cities including Leeds,
Salford (Manchester), Liverpool, Brighton and London.
For more details see www.omidnoagenda.com
