When he was 10 years old, an archbishop decided to open a religious seminary in Üsküdar, Istanbul, with the intention of taking in the poor children of Armenian parents from various parts of Turkey and bringing them up as priests.
[1] Malikyan graduated from the Surp Haç Armenian High School[2] in Istanbul, then moved to London in 1963 for acting education.
Malikyan made his first television appearance in an episode of the British historical drama The Portrait of a Lady in 1968, playing the role of ‘servant’.
Throughout the last years of the 1960s Malikyan made other numerous television appearances including Doctor Who, The Saint, and The Avengers.
The show was very successful and at its height attracted 18 million viewers,[4] Malikyan appeared in 29 episodes from 1977 to the series conclusion in 1979.
The film was directed by Alan Parker and starred Brad Davis, Irene Miracle and Bo Hopkins.
Malikyan also played in a number of roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, Arabian Nights (December 2009 – January 2010), at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
Two years later Malikyan appeared in the epic biblical film Exodus: Gods and Kings in which he played Jethro.
The same year he starred alongside Tahar Rahim and Simon Abkarian in the internationally co-produced drama film The Cut.