Omid Djalili (Persian: امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is an English comedian, actor, and writer.

[2][3] He attended Holland Park School where he failed A-level exams a record six times[4] and faked his results to gain entry to Ulster University in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, studying English and theatre studies having been turned down by 16 drama schools.

[6] The first significant success of his stand-up comedy career was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1995 with "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son", followed by "The Arab and the Jew" with Jewish comedian Ivor Dembina in 1996.

[7][8] Djalili has performed in numerous countries, including Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Canada, and the United States, where he had his own HBO Special.

[12][13] In 2006, Sky Television chose him to be the face of their Saturday night film premières, and he also announced a new tour of the UK called 'No Agenda', from January 2007 until March 2007, covering 23 different dates.

On 12 February 2009, producer Cameron Mackintosh announced that Djalili would appear as the second Fagin in the new West End production of Oliver!

[21] In 2023, Djalili reprised his role as the voice of Yusuf Amir in the fifth installment of the popular gaming series Grand Theft Auto.

In June 2010, Djalili appeared in a Meltdown Festival concert[22] given by the Philharmonia Orchestra at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, performing the part of the narrator in 'Rubaiyat', a tone poem by American classical composer Alan Hovhaness which sets the words of Omar Khayyám to music.

[3][24] Djalili was present for the Iran Solidarity Rally that took place in Trafalgar Square in January 2023 in support of protests in the wake of Jina (or Mahsa) Amini's custody and death.