Nawazuddin Siddiqui ([nəˈwaːzʊdːiːn sɪdːiːqi:]; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema.

[5] After studying acting at the National School of Drama, Siddiqui had minor roles in films such as Sarfarosh (1999), Shool (1999), and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S (2003).

Siddiqui first gained recognition for his role in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004) and the 2012 Gangs of Wasseypur duology.

Siddiqui was born on 19 May 1974[3] in Budhana, a small town in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India,[8][9] into a zamindari Muslim family of Lambardars.

[15] He made his Bollywood debut in the year 1999 with a small role in the Aamir Khan starrer Sarfarosh.

[19] Beyond that, between 2002 and 2005, he was largely out of work and lived in a flat that he shared with four other people, surviving by conducting occasional acting workshops.

[20] Between 2004 and 2007, Siddiqui had a few minor roles, including in the film Black Friday, which came out in 2007 and was a nominee for the Golden Leopard.

However, it was his role of a journalist in Anusha Rizvi's 2010 film Peepli Live, that first got him wide recognition as an actor.

Siddiqui's performance was praised by film critic Roger Ebert,[22] who stated that the role "transformed his acting style"[23] and he awarded the actor the 'Thumbsup Trophy'.

The film was subsequently released in the U.S. and Canada and garnered much attention, with rave reviews from The New York Times.

[30] The Lunchbox premiered as part of the Critics' Week section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won him multiple awards.

[6] In 2018, Siddiqui starred alongside Saif Ali Khan in Netflix's first original Indian series, Sacred Games, based on Vikram Chandra's novel of the same name.