Career
Siddig attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) to study acting and after leaving LAMDA, Siddig did a season of stage work in Manchester. He also worked as a director in a small theatre in London. Siddig first appeared to television audiences as Prince Feisal in the 1990 TV sequel to Lawrence of Arabia titled A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia.
Siddig's performance in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1992) brought him to the attention of Rick Berman who was creating the new series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993). Originally brought in to audition for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko, Berman decided Siddig was too young for the role and cast him as Dr. Julian Bashir instead. The part had to be slightly rewritten for Siddig as the original "bible" had called for an Hispanic male to play the part, named Julian Amoros, although Berman reports that no other actors were considered for the role.
Since the end of the seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Siddig has made prominent appearances in films and television. Highlights include guest-starring as an Algerian secret agent on the trail of Islamic extremists in the controversial episode "Nest of Angels" of the British television show Spooks (known as MI-5 in the US) in 2003. In 2005, he appeared as Saladin's aide, Imad, in Ridley Scott's film Kingdom of Heaven. He gave a critically lauded performance as Prince Nasir in Syriana, alongside George Clooney and Matt Damon. He played the title role in 2006's Hannibal - Rome's Worst Nightmare for the BBC (UK). Early 2007, Siddig joined the cast of Un Homme Perdu aka A Lost Man and he returned to American television in the role of former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad for the sixth season of 24. In 2009, he co-starred with Patricia Clarkson in the award-winning film Cairo Time (2009) as Tareq Khalifa, an Egyptian who battles his attraction to his friend's wife.
Siddig's roles have often called for him to act out many different accents: a Received Pronunciation accent (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), a Cockney accent (Reign Of Fire), and an Algerian accent (Spooks), among others. He has also given performances in Arabic as the role required (Spooks, Syriana, 24, Un Homme Perdu) as well as French (Un Homme Perdu).
Siddig has picked up the role of Phillip Burton in sci-fi TV series Primeval.
In August 2010, he expressed his doubts about resurrecting Deep Space Nine, stating that he has "other ambitions".
Read more about this topic: Alexander Siddig
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