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Ajay Naidu

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Ajay Naidu
Naidu at SXSW 2024
Born
Ajay Kalahastri Naidu

(1972-02-12) February 12, 1972 (age 52)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1985–present
SpouseHeather Burns
Children1

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 such critically acclaimed television shows as 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

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Naidu was born in Evanston, Illinois. His parents came from India to the United States in 1964.[1] He attended Evanston Township High School. He trained with the American Repertory Theater's Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.[1]

Career

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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,[2] and Waiting for Godot at TFANA directed by Arin Arbus.[3] 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.[4]

In 2019, Naidu was awarded the Excellence in Performing Arts Award by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.[5]

Personal life

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Naidu is married to actress Heather Burns.[6] The couple has a son, Jaan Burns.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 Touch and Go Louis DeLeon
1986 Where the River Runs Black Segundo
1988 Vice Versa Dale
1996 SubUrbia Nazeer Choudhury
1997 Once We Were Strangers Apu
1998 Shopkeeping Asif
1998 Montana Ives
1998 My Giant Hot Dog Vendor
1998 Scotch and Milk Armand
1998 Pi Farrouhk
1999 Office Space Samir Nagheenanajar
1999 Chutney Popcorn Raju
2000 You Are Here* Sanjay
2000 Dinner Rush Ademir the Matre'd
2000 Requiem for a Dream Mailman
2000 More Dogs Than Bones Andy
2001 American Chai Hari
2001 Hannibal Perfume Expert
2001 K-PAX Dr. Chakraborty
2002 Bomb the System Moses Mundhra
2002 The Guru Sanjay
2003 Justice Mohammed
2003 Scary Movie 3 Sayaman
2003 Bad Santa Hindustani Troublemaker
2005 Perception Kamal
2005 212 Vincent
2005 Waterborne Vikram Bhatti
2005 Alchemy Best Man
2005 Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy? Prince Omar
2005 The Honeymooners Vivek
2005 The War Within Naved
2005 Confess Account Executive
2006 Hiding Divya Divya's husband
2007 Loins of Punjab Presents Turbanotorious B.D.G.
2008 Righteous Kill Dr. Chadrabar
2008 The Wrestler Medic
2008 The Accidental Husband Deep
2009 Hotel for Dogs ACO Jake
2009 Today's Special Munnamia
2009 Falling Up Paco
2009 The Hungry Ghosts Laurence
2010 Ashes Ashes Director, writer
2012 3 Days of Normal Vik Donowitz
2013 Gods Behaving Badly The Producer
2017 Lost Cat Corona Amir
2017 Crazy Famous Dr. Manning
2018 The Kindergarten Teacher Nikhil Roy
2020 The Dark End of the Street Graham
2020 Antarctica Principal Pepp
2020 Thorp Pat
2020 The Sleepless Vivek
2021 Americanish Jawad
2021 The Magnificent Meyersons Mohammed
2022 The Good Nurse Dr. Robert Hind

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Lady Blue Paquito Episode: "Pilot"
1985 ABC Afterschool Specials Nick Santana Episode: "No Greater Gift"
1986 MacGyver Ahmed Episode: "To Be a Man"
1996 New York Undercover Manuel Episode: "Brown Like Me"
1997 SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground Prashant TV movie
1998–99 LateLine Raji Bakshi Main role
2000 The Sopranos Omar Episode: "Big Girls Don't Cry"
2001 The Gene Pool Paul Patel TV movie
2001 The West Wing Rakim Ali Episode: "Isaac and Ishmael"
2004 Fillmore! Sanjay Episode: "Field Trip of the Just"
2004 Monk Masul the Cabbie Episode: "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan"
2004 The Jury George Edmonds Episode: "Pilot"
2005 King of the Hill Delivery Guy / Malik Episode: "Mutual of Omabwah"
2008 Strokes Sanjay Lall TV movie
2009 Cop House Skip Malhotra TV movie
2009 30 Rock Asif Episode: "Larry King"
2009 Kings Dr. Nayar 2 Episodes
2009 Mercy Matt Episode: "Pulling the Goalie"
2010 Futurestates Rakesh Episode: "Pia"
2010 Bored to Death Vikram 2 Episodes
2014 Deadbeat Attendant / The Taxi Man 2 Episodes
2014 Manhattan Love Story Brian Episode: "Pilot"
2016 World's End Karl TV movie
2016 Odd Mom Out Doctor Episode: "40 Is the New 70"
2017 Friends from College Howie Wexler Episode: "Second Wedding"
2018 God Friended Me Eric Episode: "The Good Samaritan"
2019 Billions Kulbinder Darcha Episode: "Arousal Template"
2019 The Brooding Barista Jackass Customer Episode: "Hot or Not"
2020 The Blacklist Mahmoud Iqbal Episode: "Cornelius Ruck (No. 155)"
2016–20 Blindspot Shohid Akhtar 5 Episodes
2020 Social Distance Dan Episode: "Delete All Future Events"
2021 Dr. Death Dr. Sasani 3 Episodes
2022 WeCrashed Randall Episode: "This Is Where It Begins"
2022 Uncoupled Raffi Episode: "Episode #1.5"
2024 Elsbeth Martin Wali Recurring character

References

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  1. ^ a b Cindy Yoon."Interview with Ajay Naidu Archived August 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine". Asiasource.April 29, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2006.
  2. ^ Past Winner Database. "The Envelope". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  3. ^ PUTMAN, LEAH (July 27, 2023). "Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks to Star in Waiting for Godot Off-Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "The Ensemble". LAByrinth Theater Company. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "Illinois State Secretary Honors Exemplary Filipino-Americans for Law, Community Service Achievements". dfa.gov.ph. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Daniel Maurer."Tribeca: The Party Report" Archived July 20, 2012, at archive.today.Metro New York. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2006.
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