Giv Paul Khatib-Chahidi (born 22 August 1969), known professionally as Paul Chahidi (Persian: پل شهیدی), is an Iranian-born British actor. He has won a Theatre World Award and a Clarence Derwent Award along with having Tony and Olivier nominations.
Early life Paul Chahidi was born in Iran to an Iranian father and a British mother. His parents met while they were students studying at the Sorbonne in Paris. Chahidi was raised in Iran until the family left during the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and settled in the United Kingdom. Growing up in a mixed-heritage home — his Iranian father was raised as a Muslim, but was later “verging on atheist”; his English mother became a Roman Catholic — he experienced both Catholic and Anglican schools. Chahidi grew up in Summertown, Oxford and attended the Dragon School and Winchester College. He went on to graduate with a masters in Arabic and Persian from Trinity College, Cambridge. He went on to train as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career Chahidi is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He appeared at Shakespeare's Globe and on Broadway in all-male productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III. He was nominated for both an Olivier award and a Tony Award and won a Theatre World Award and Clarence Derwent Award for his portrayal of Maria in Twelfth Night, where he appeared alongside Mark Rylance's Olivia in 2013. He played defence minister Nikolai Bulganin in Armando Iannucci's 2017 historical comedy The Death of Stalin.
He had a recurring role in the BBC Three television comedy series This Country (2017–2020), in which he played the Rev. Francis Seaton, a vicar who tries to help the characters created and played by siblings Charlie Cooper and Daisy May Cooper. For this role, he was nominated for the Royal Television Society Award for best Comedy Performance (Male).
Filmography +YearTitleRoleNotes1995BlissMikeEpisode: "In Memoriam"1996Stella Does TricksChris1999Murder Most HorridHitmanEpisode: "Whoopi Stone"1999The Blonde BombshellReporterEpisode 21999Notting HillLoud Man in Restaurant2000Peak PracticePharmacistEpisode: "Turning Tides"2001Murder in MindMike StottEpisode: "Teacher"2004The LibertineBarrillon2004BlackpoolRegistrarEpisode 62006VenusPeriod Film Director2006Fear of FannyDirectorTelevision film2007Oliver TwistThe Quack2 episodes2008Filth: The Mary Whitehouse StorySir Barnett CocksTelevision film2009-2010Ladies of LettersAnthony11 episodes2009, 2012-2013CasualtyDoug/Mehmet Aslan5 episodes2009The Day of the Triffids (2009 TV series)Vronsky2 episodes2010HustleTamir Abu-AlsaudEpisode: "And This Little Piggy Had Money"2010National Theatre Live: NationCox2011Holy Flying CircusHarry Balls/News VendorTelevision film2011-2012The HourRon8 episodes2013What RemainsAnthonyEpisode 12013Globe on Screen: Twelfth NightMaria2013The TunnelPathologistSeries 1, Episode 62013Him & HerNicholas2 episodes2014The VoicesDennis Kowalski2015The VoteHoward RobertsLive stage broadcast2015 And Then There Were NoneIsaac Morris2 episodes2016National Theatre Live: As You Like ItJacquesHot PropertyHeadmasterBoyka: UndisputedKiril2017MaigretMichonnetEpisode: "Night at the Crossroads"2017National Theatre Live: SalomeHerod2017The Death of StalinNikolai Bulganin2017–2020This CountryRev. Francis Seaton17 episodes2018Christopher RobinCecil Hungerford2019WarrenClairevoyantEpisode: "The Pond"2019, 2025, 2026Good OmensSandalphon5 episodes2019BritanniaDomitius8 episodes2019A Christmas CarolSpirit/Business Man2 episodes2020SoulmatesPastor RobertsEpisode: "Break on Through"2021Too ClosePhil CookEpisode 12021-2024ChadHamid Amani18 episodes2022The Other HalfFarhadTelevision pilot2022See How They RunFellowesThe Serpent QueenCharles de Bourbon5 episodesNational Theatre at Home: PhaedraHugoMidsomer MurdersGabriel ArnsonEpisode: "A Grain of Truth"2023Wicked Little LettersChief Constable SpeddingGood BoyDoctor Short film 2024 Ludwig Adrian Tate Series 1, Episode 32026 The Night Manager Basil Karapetian 5 episodesPoniesAlan Salek5 episodes Can You Keep a Secret? Clive Trunge 5 episodes Ladies First Harry Guinness UpcomingThe WitnessProfessor Paul Britton Upcoming 2027 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Septon Sefton Season 2
Other work Paul Chahidi has appeared on a number of popular podcasts, including The QuaranTea Break Podcast with Simon Ward, and Seven Stages the podcast from The Stage.
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