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Art Malik
Born
Athar ul-Haque Malik

(1952-11-13) 13 November 1952 (age 71)
Occupation Actor
Years active 1978–present
Spouse(s)
Gina Rowe
(m. 1980)
Children 2

Athar ul-Haque Malik (born 13 November 1952), known professionally as Art Malik, is a British Pakistani actor. He achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and supporting roles in assorted British television serials and films. He is best known for his portrayal of the out-of-place Hari Kumar in The Jewel in the Crown at the outset of his career.

Malik is also well known for his roles in the James Bond film The Living Daylights and True Lies.

Early life

Malik was born Athar ul-Haque Malik in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, the son of Zaibunisa and Mazhar ul-Haque Malik, a doctor who worked as an ophthalmic surgeon in Britain. When his father got a job as a surgeon in Moorfields Eye Hospital, Malik was brought to London in 1956, aged three. From the age of eleven, he attended Bec Grammar School in Tooting.

After an unsatisfactory stint of business studies and a term studying acting at the Questors Theatre, he won a scholarship to Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Before long, he was working with the Old Vic and Royal Shakespeare companies.

Career

In 1982, five years after leaving Guildhall, Malik was cast as Hari Kumar in the Granada Television production of The Jewel in the Crown, based on Paul Scott's Raj Quartet.

In 1987, he played Kamran Shah, an Afghan Mujahideen leader who allies with James Bond and leads a raid against Soviet invaders in the 007 film The Living Daylights.

Malik played the role of the son of an Indian mobster in the 1992 film City of Joy and, in 1993, narrated Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories on BBC television's Jackanory.

In 1994, Malik played his first big screen villain, Salim Abu Aziz, a stereotypical Islamist, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies. Malik accepted the role, which he described as "a hoot", at a time when he had been 14 months without work and was being pursued by the Inland Revenue for £32,000. Following his appearance in True Lies, Malik was offered several roles in other action films, but turned them down, later explaining, "I didn't want to do action movies that weren't as good." He instead accepted a role in the film Clockwork Mice. Malik took the lead role in the West End production of Tom Stoppard's 1995 play Indian Ink.

In 1999, Malik played the supporting role of Olympos, the court doctor to Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, in the ABC miniseries Cleopatra.

In 2001, he narrated the television documentary Hajj: The Journey of a Lifetime for broadcast on BBC Two and in 2002 he narrated the three part television mini-series The British Empire in Colour for TWI/Carlton Television.

He also played Milkha Singh's father in the 2013 Hindi language film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, his first appearance in a film produced in India.

Malik had a starring role in Tom Fontana's historical television series Borgia, which ran from 2011 to 2014.

In 2014, Malik played Bunran "Bunny" Latif, a retired Pakistani general in season four of Homeland, returning in the same role in season eight in 2020.

In 2017 he appeared in the first series of Bancroft.

Malik appeared in the second episodes of both series 8 of the show Doc Martin in 2017 and series 11 of Doctor Who, "The Ghost Monument" in 2018.

Personal life

By Malik's own account, the sudden success he enjoyed in 1984 resulted in his excessive drinking. "I was surrounded by people who admired me and I took all of that home with me," he said when interviewed in 2003. "I paid lots of attention to my ego, and not enough to my spirit. It was totally unhealthy, like an illness." The result was a strain on his marriage, leading to his wife leaving him. He also ran up high bills on his credit card, and by 1993 he owed £55,000 to the bank and £32,000 to the Inland Revenue, and was on the verge of being declared bankrupt when he got the lucrative part of Salim Abu Aziz, a terrorist, in James Cameron's True Lies. He and his wife reunited.

Malik took a major role in fundraising for relief work for victims of the Gujarat earthquake in 2001, and also appeared on the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal advertisement in 2010.

He lives with his wife Gina Rowe, a fellow student at the Guildhall, whom he married in 1980. They have two daughters, Jessica and Keira. Although from a Muslim background, and having insisted that his character on Holby City should be a Muslim, Malik describes himself as "not a practising Muslim. I'm probably an apostate, and liable for any right-minded Muslim fundamentalist to put me on a list of people to stamp out".

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1979 Arabian Adventure Mamhoud
1980 Richard's Things Dr. Mustag
1984 A Passage to India Ali
1985 Underworld Fluke
1987 The Living Daylights Kamran Shah
1992 Turtle Beach Kanan
1992 City of Joy Ashok Ghatak
1992 Year of the Comet Nico
1992 Hostage Khalim
1994 Uncovered Alvaro
1994 True Lies Salim Abu Aziz
1995 Clockwork Mice Laney
1995 A Kid in King Arthur's Court Lord Belasco
1997 Booty Call Akmed Uncredited
1998 Side Streets Bipin Raj
2001 Tabloid Philip Radcliffe
2002 Out Done Inspector Harrison
2003 Tempo George Maldonado
2004 Fakers Foster Wright
2006 Nina's Heavenly Delights Raj Khanna
2008 Dean Spanley Swami Nala Prash
2008 Franklyn Tarrant
2010 The Wolfman Singh
2010 Sex and the City 2 Shiekh Khalid
2011 Everywhere and Nowhere Uncle Mirza
2011 Ghosted Ahmed
2012 John Carter Zodangan General
2013 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Sampuran Singh
2013 Diana Samundar
2016 The Infiltrator Akbar Bilgrami
2016 Mirzya Suchitra's father
2017 Halal Daddy Amir Aziz
2023 The Little Mermaid Grimsby
2024 The Glassworker Tomas Oliver

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1978 Mixed Blessings Fred Episode: "The Loneliness of the Long Term Unemployed"
1978 Professionals, TheThe Professionals Doctor 2 episodes
1979 ITV Playhouse Dave Episode: "The Reaper"
1981 Crown Court Aziz Ul Haque Episode: "Freedom to Incite: Part 1"
1982 Gentle Touch, TheThe Gentle Touch Turk Episode: "Be Lucky Uncle"
1983 Bergerac Ravi Episode: "A Miracle Every Week"
1983 Chessgame Farouk Episode: "Digging Up the Future"
1984 Far Pavilions, TheThe Far Pavilions Zarin 2 episodes
1984 Jewel in the Crown, TheThe Jewel in the Crown Hari Kumar 6 episodes
1984 Minder Shamy Episode: "What Makes Shamy Run?"
1985 Black Tower, TheThe Black Tower Julius Court 5 episodes
1986 Harem Tarik Pasha Television film
1986 West of Paradise Sam McBride
1986 Deadly Recruits, TheThe Deadly Recruits Farouk
1986 Death Is Part of the Process Indres
1988 Hothouse Dr. Ved Lahari 7 episodes
1989 After the War Jerome LeBlanc 2 episodes
1989 Shadow of the Cobra Charles Sobhraj
1990 Stolen Salim 6 episodes
1990 Boon Alex Cavendish Episode: "The Tender Trap"
1991 Storyteller: Greek Myths, TheThe Storyteller: Greek Myths Orpheus Episode: "Orpheus & Eurydice"
1992 Covington Cross Salim Episode: "Revenge"
1993 Jackanory Reader Episode: "Haroun and the Sea of Stories"
1993 Age of Treason Pertinax Television film
1994 Wimbledon Poisoner, TheThe Wimbledon Poisoner Karim Jackson 2 episodes
1996 Kavanagh QC Ashok Prasad QC Episode: "Job Satisfaction"
1996 Peak Practice Mr. Hussain Episode: "Heart and Soul"
1997 Turning World Shams 3 episodes
1997 Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing Ramzi Yousef Television film
1998 Big Women Jemal Episode: "Well, I'm Sorry"
1998 Colour Blind Hassan 2 episodes
1998, 2015 Goodness Gracious Me Various
1998–1999 Unfinished Business Tam 7 episodes
1999 Vicious Circle Harrison Television film
1999 Seventh Scroll, TheThe Seventh Scroll Taita 3 episodes
1999 Life Support Dr. Kamran Blake 6 episodes
1999 Cleopatra Olympos 2 episodes
2000 In the Beginning Ramesses II
2000 Second Sight: Hide and Seek Faiz Ahmed Television film
2001 Hotel! Radochek Zeigler
2001 Messiah D.C.S. Emerson 2 episodes
2001 Real Shirley Bassey, TheThe Real Shirley Bassey Narrator Television film
2002 Fun at the Funeral Parlour Duke of Hypnotism Episode: "A Pocket Full of Gravel"
2002 Murder in Mind Paul Asher Episode: "Flashback"
2003 Messiah 2: Vengeance Is Mine D.C.S. Emerson 2 episodes
2003–2005 Holby City Zubin Khan 94 episodes
2005 English Harem, TheThe English Harem Saaman "Sam" Sahar Television film
2006 Gil Mayo Mysteries, TheThe Gil Mayo Mysteries Marcus Illingworth Episode: "Late of This Parish"
2006 Dalziel and Pascoe Aahil Khan Episode: "A Death in the Family"
2006 Path to 9/11, TheThe Path to 9/11 Colonel Raymond Malik 2 episodes
2008 10 Days to War Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Episode: "$100 Coffee"
2008 Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures Abbot Absolute Episode: "The Skull of Sobek"
2009 Lewis Professor Hamid Jassim Episode: "Allegory of Love"
2010 Agatha Christie's Poirot Sir Bartholomew Strange Episode: "Three Act Tragedy"
2010 Ben Hur Sheikh Ilderim 2 episodes
2010 Nativity, TheThe Nativity Nicolaus 4 episodes
2010–2012 Upstairs Downstairs Mr. Amanjit Singh 9 episodes
2011–2014 Borgia Francesc Gacet 32 episodes
2012 Masterpiece Mystery Sir Bartholomew Strange Episode: "Poirot XI: Three Act Tragedy"
2013 New Tricks Jonathan Epstein Episode: "The Little Brother"
2014–2020 Homeland Bunny Latif 7 episodes
2015 Arthur & George Rev Shapurji Edalji 3 episodes
2015 Undercover Raffi Episode #1.6
2016 Indian Summers Maharajah 2 episodes
2016 Cold Feet Eddie Zubayr 7 episodes
2017 Sherlock Prison Governor Episode: "The Final Problem"
2017 Doc Martin John Rahmanzai Episode: "Sons and Lovers"
2017 Bancroft Alan Taheeri 4 episodes
2018 Woman in White, TheThe Woman in White Erasmus Nash 5 episodes
2018 Doctor Who Ilin Episode: "The Ghost Monument"
2019 Silent Witness Arthur Pujari Episode: "Betrayal"
2019 Feed, TheThe Feed President Quan 3 episodes
2020-2023 Man Like Mobeen Khan 6 episodes
2020 Penance Fr. Tom Hayes all 3 episodes
2024 Renegade Nell Henry Taplow 1 episode

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Art Malik para niños

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