Khalid Abdalla

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Khalid Abdalla

Born 1980
Glasgow, Scotland

Khalid Abdalla (born 1980) is a British actor. He came to international prominence after starring in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA Award-winning United 93. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, it chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Abdalla plays Ziad Jarrah, the leader of the four hijackers on board the flight.

Abdalla was born in Glasgow, Scotland of Egyptian heritage, and raised in London.[1][2] Abdalla was educated at King's College School (in the same year group as actor Ben Barnes and comedian Tom Basden) and Cambridge University. He came to acting through his school's thriving drama scene, where his performances included the title role in Macbeth. In 1998, he directed a production of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness, which ended up having a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival and earned five stars in The Scotsman newspaper,[3] making him the youngest director to receive this accolade.

Abdalla read English at Queens' College, Cambridge. He was a fixture on the student drama scene, with performances including the main roles in Othello, Britannicus, and Equus. He was a joint winner with Cressida Trew of the Judges' Award for Acting at the National Student Drama Festival for his performance in Bedbound by Enda Walsh. He played the title role in Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great on the site of the Rose Theatre in 2003. Abdalla's first screen role was in an episode of Spooks, entitled Infiltration of a New Threat.

Abdalla next appeared in the lead role of the film The Kite Runner. In preparation for that he spent a month in Kabul to learn Dari Persian and to learn to fly kites.[4] In 2008, he appeared as Guy Pringle in the Radio 4 adaptation of Fortunes of War. He is currently filming Green Zone with Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass.[5]

[edit] Filmography

  • United 93 - Ziad Jarrah, the leader of the four hijackers on board the flight.
  • The Kite Runner - Amir as adult. Amir struggles to gain the love of his father while trying to cleanse himself of the guilt surrounding his treatment of a childhood friend, Hassan.
  • Green Zone[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ New Movies | Upcoming Movies | Ratings
  2. ^ Fast Chat: Khalid Abdalla - Newsday.com
  3. ^ Island
  4. ^ Thirty years of kites, weddings and funerals in Afghanistan - Film & Cinema, Entertainment - Independent.ie
  5. ^ Khalid Abdalla: My acts of defiance - Features, Film & TV - The Independent
  6. ^ Khalid Abdalla: My acts of defiance - Features, Film & TV - The Independent

[edit] External links