Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor and director best known for playing Samir in Office Space. He also made guest appearances in The West Wing and The Sopranos. Naidu was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the film SubUrbia.
Early life and education Naidu was born in Evanston, Illinois. His parents came from India to the United States in 1964. His mother was from Kerala. He attended Evanston Township High School. He trained with the American Repertory Theater's Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
Career Naidu's first professional acting job, which he won from an open call, was a leading role opposite Michael Keaton in the 1986 film Touch and Go. This was followed by an ABC Afterschool Special episode, "No Greater Gift" (1985), where he played Nick Santana, a 12-year-old boy with a terminal illness. Naidu then appeared in the MacGyver TV series' first-season episode, "To Be a Man" in 1986.
Other early film credits include Where the River Runs Black (1986) opposite Charles Durning and Vice Versa (1988). Between 1988 and 1995 he worked extensively in classical theatre.
Naidu returned to film acting in 1996 with Richard Linklater's SubUrbia, for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and competed against the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Roy Scheider and Jason Lee.
On screen, Naidu starred in the cult film Office Space, as well as appearing in films such as K-Pax, Subway Stories, π, Requiem for a Dream, Bad Santa, The War Within, The Guru, Waterborne, and Loins of Punjab Presents. He co-starred as a series regular in the sitcom LateLine and had guest starring roles on the television dramas The Sopranos, The West Wing and Bored to Death.
Naidu has been working extensively with musicians from the Asian underground music movement for many years as a breakdancer and an M.C. His vocals have appeared on many records, most notably Talvin Singh's Mercury Award winner OK and Vijay Iyer's In What Language?
In 2006, Naidu directed his first feature film Ashes which had its release in 2010 and for which he won Best Actor accolades from the MIACC Film Festival in New York and the London Asian Film Festival.
Naidu's most recent theatre credits include The Kid Stays in the Picture at the Royal Court Theatre, The Master and Margarita with Complicite, a world tour of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with Complicite, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui alongside Al Pacino, directed by Simon McBurney, The Little Flower of East Orange alongside Ellyn Burstyn at New York's Public Theater directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Waiting for Godot at TFANA directed by Arin Arbus. In 2001 Naidu's solo theatre piece Darwaza was a sold-out hit at New York's Labyrinth Theatre, where he is also a member of the company.
In 2019, Naidu was awarded the Excellence in Performing Arts Award by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.
Personal life Naidu is married to actress Heather Burns. The couple has a son, Jaan Burns.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1986Touch and GoLouis DeLeon1986Where the River Runs BlackSegundo1988Vice VersaDale1996SubUrbiaNazeer Choudhury1997Once We Were StrangersApu1998ShopkeepingAsif1998MontanaIves1998My GiantHot Dog Vendor1998Scotch and MilkArmand1998PiFarrouhk1999Office SpaceSamir Nagheenanajar1999Chutney PopcornRaju2000You Are Here*Sanjay2000Dinner RushAdemir the Matre'd2000Requiem for a DreamMailman2000More Dogs Than BonesAndy2001American ChaiHari2001HannibalPerfume Expert2001K-PAXDr. Chakraborty2002Bomb the SystemMoses Mundhra2002The GuruSanjay2003JusticeMohammed2003Scary Movie 3Sayaman2003Bad SantaHindustani Troublemaker2005PerceptionKamal2005212Vincent2005WaterborneVikram Bhatti2005AlchemyBest Man2005Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?Prince Omar2005The HoneymoonersVivek2005The War WithinNaved2005ConfessAccount Executive2006Hiding DivyaDivya's husband2007Loins of Punjab PresentsTurbanotorious B.D.G.2008Righteous KillDr. Chadrabar2008The WrestlerMedic2008The Accidental HusbandDeep2009Hotel for DogsACO Jake2009Today's SpecialMunnamia2009Falling UpPaco2009The Hungry GhostsLaurence2010AshesAshesDirector, writer20123 Days of NormalVik Donowitz2013Gods Behaving BadlyThe Producer2017Lost Cat CoronaAmir2017Crazy FamousDr. Manning2018The Kindergarten TeacherNikhil Roy2020The Dark End of the StreetGraham2020AntarcticaPrincipal Pepp2020ThorpPat2020The SleeplessVivek2021AmericanishJawad2021The Magnificent MeyersonsMohammed2022The Good NurseDr. Robert Hind 2025 Bunny Officer Cellestino
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1985Lady BluePaquitoEpisode: "Pilot"1985ABC Afterschool SpecialsNick SantanaEpisode: "No Greater Gift"1986MacGyverAhmedEpisode: "To Be a Man"1996New York UndercoverManuelEpisode: "Brown Like Me"1997SUBWAYStories: Tales from the UndergroundPrashantTV movie1998–1999LateLineRaji BakshiMain role2000The SopranosOmarEpisode: "Big Girls Don't Cry"2001The Gene PoolPaul PatelTV movie2001The West WingRakim AliEpisode: "Isaac and Ishmael"2004Fillmore!SanjayEpisode: "Field Trip of the Just"2004MonkMasul the CabbieEpisode: "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan"2004The JuryGeorge EdmondsEpisode: "Pilot"2005King of the HillDelivery Guy / MalikEpisode: "Mutual of Omabwah"2008StrokesSanjay LallTV movie2009Cop HouseSkip MalhotraTV movie200930 RockAsifEpisode: "Larry King"2009KingsDr. Nayar2 Episodes2009MercyMattEpisode: "Pulling the Goalie"2010FuturestatesRakeshEpisode: "Pia"2010Bored to DeathVikram2 Episodes2014DeadbeatAttendant / The Taxi Man2 Episodes2014Manhattan Love StoryBrianEpisode: "Pilot"2016World's EndKarlTV movie2016Odd Mom OutDoctorEpisode: "40 Is the New 70"2017Friends from CollegeHowie WexlerEpisode: "Second Wedding"2018God Friended MeEricEpisode: "The Good Samaritan"2019BillionsKulbinder DarchaEpisode: "Arousal Template"2019The Brooding Barista JackassCustomerEpisode: "Hot or Not"2020The BlacklistMahmoud IqbalEpisode: "Cornelius Ruck (No. 155)"2016–2020BlindspotShohid Akhtar5 Episodes2020Social DistanceDanEpisode: "Delete All Future Events"2021Dr. DeathDr. Sasani3 Episodes2022WeCrashedRandallEpisode: "This Is Where It Begins"2022UncoupledRaffiEpisode: "Episode #1.5"2024ElsbethMartin WaliRecurring character
References
External links
An Interview with Ajay Naidu on Closely Observed Frames Ajay Naidu: Taking Up the Slack on Backstage