Talk:Alexander Siddig

Is he really Muslim?

I have never seen him claiming to be Muslim. Is there a reference for this?

reply

I don't know, I've only been looking at his fan site for a few minutes, but already I found this scenario where his kid met his Sudanese family for the first time which strongly implies his family is Muslim at least: "If ever he doubted how much like me he looks ( I think he looks a lot like his beautiful mom), those doubts were sorely tested yesterday. His eyes, his face, the way he sits all came under benign scrutiny. “You see! It’s the Sudanese blood in him! El Hamdilila! Praise be to God!”" and further along he himself mentions God. So, it didn't take long to get to a solid maybe.

Describing Alexander Siddig

Describing Alexander Siddig as "half Arab and half British" is, to me, pure nonsense. "Arab" in this context refers to his ethnicity, whereas "British" clearly refers to his nationality. You might as well describe someone as "half Black African, half South African" (to indicate that one parent is Black African in ethnic origin and that the other comes originally from the Republic of South Africa) or "half white European, half British" (to indicate that one parent is white European from the ethnic standpoint and that the other comes originally from Great Britain).

Hence, the original contributor who wrote this should indicate the "halves" from the point of view purely from ethnicity, given the fact that the article makes clear that Siddig's parents come originally from the Sudan and from Great Britain. Christopher Crossley 02:20, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)

A counterpoint - Siddig could be accurately described as half-Arab(in his case Sudanese nationality....some Sudanese are black-Africans) and half-English(British nationality). I've seen HRH King Abdullah of Jordan described similarly[half-Arab, in the King's case Hashemite Jordanian and half-English(British through his mother)]. Arabs are Semites(like Jews) and part of the Caucasian race.

The accent that Siddig affected in Kingdom of Heaven cannot be described as "Saudi Arabian" -- as the Saud Kingdom simply did not exist at the time of the Crusades! --Shannonr 08:12, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Change it to Arabian then.--Greasysteve13 11:45, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Define an "Arabian" accent. Indeed. That's why I deleted the reference. --Shannonr 05:35, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

An accent destinct to the Arabian Peninsula?

So that would be "Arabic-accented English" then? A meaningless statment. And we're back to the beginning. --Shannonr 04:25, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

For that matter, why is the article referring to him as "British-Sudanese" if he was born in the latter and grew up the former? Doesn't it usually work "Ethnicity-Nationality" with that, e.g. African-American? Though in this case he's ethnically both, but when one's lineage and home line up, we don't mention that as it's redundant. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.186.125 (talk) 07:22, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

I know this is decades old @Shannonr and @Christopher Crossley but since there's no other discussion, I've changed his page to just "English". His Sudanese birth has no bearing on his notability. His mother is English, he moved to England as a child, can no longer speak Arabic, and his education and the country he first gained notability in was England. I don't know what "Arabic-British" or "Sudanese-British" are supposed to mean, but we usually don't put place of birth in the opening sentence.

I'd also like to know what constitutes a "race", who is "Black" African or "White" European or who is "black" and who is "Caucasian"? The Aboriginal Australians are considered the "black" people of Australia, and this clashing cultural definition with American and other Anglophone standards of "blackness" is why there's no proper "Black Australian" page. Similarly, where do Melanesians and Negritos fit in? Are they not "Black" Pacific Islanders and "Black" Asians respectively? Their names literally mean "Black Islander" and "Little Black Person" respectively. This Pacific Islander footballer from New Caledonia, Christian Karembeu, is full Melanesian with no known African ancestry, yet he could easily pass as West African.

I don't know what a "white" European is @Christopher Crossley, unless you mean ethnic Europeans. In which case, "European" on its own is a sufficient ethnic identifier unless specified. People seem to know what you mean when you state "Asian" or "Native American" or "Jewish" and so on. But then, where does this fit Asian peoples like the Uyghurs who can have pale "white" skin, blonde hair and Eurocentric features but are Asian?[1] Are they not "white" or "Caucasian"? What about many ethnic East Asians having "white" skin? It would be foolish to think Han Chinese actress Liu Yifei is "browner" and not "whiter" than South Indian-American Mindy Kaling. Do the Chinese of Russian ethnicity count as "White" Asians? What about other European descendants of Asian countries like the Anglo Indians or European Jews of Israel (which is a West Asian country)? They would certainly not be considered "Yellow", a "Yellow Asiatic" or "Mongoloid" or even "Brown" Asiatic. But it seems like in the English-speaking world, racial terms only operate on a "white"/"Caucasian" vs "Black" colour terminology while every other "race" isn't a colour-related term, but an ethnic/geographical term (i.e - Polynesian, Native American, Aboriginal Australia, East Asian, etc indicate ethnic/cultural region, not a "colour" but whatever).

And if @Shannonr is talking about the outdated "Caucasian" racial term that sees some modern usage as a synonym for "white", then Indians and other South Asians are "Caucasian" (whether they're blue-eyed Northern Indians like Hrithik Roshan or dark-skinned Tamil descent like Aziz Ansari), save for a few tribes in India that might be classified as "Mongoloid" or "Yellow". But they're usually considered people of colour, as well as Arabs, at least in countries like Canada. I'm sure Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are on a similar boat. Years later, I don't know why there's a big talk about outdated and other socially constructed racial terminology. He's English, just like his mother, and spent most of his life, upbringing and early career there. He's done nothing notable in Sudan aside from being born there, and the talk of "Arabic" or "Arab" seems trite when he can't even speak Arabic anymore and is more in touch with his Anglo heritage than the Arab/Sudanese side. Clear Looking Glass (talk) 02:56, 3 October 2023 (UTC)

I think "English" or "British" are both fine. Agree that birthplace shouldn't force some dubious construction that doesn't add any information. shannonr (talk) 15:08, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Searching for "critically acclaimed" citation

This is what I've found:

• "Siddig cuts a compelling figure as a British-educated Arab royal whose breaks with tradition prove far too "progressive" for long-standing vested interests.": Variety review
• "Mr. Siddig's icy mastery" NYT review
• "Alexander Siddig, who, in neat shorthand strokes, deftly defines a character who's both glamorous and principled" Salon.com review
• "Strong performances by Damon and Siddig" Akron Beacon-Journal review
• "splendid Alexander Siddig" Philadelphia Inquirer review
• "Siddig has the steely-eyed confidence of a veteran movie star" Seattle Times review

Next question: why I put this much effort into the search. :) --Diogenes00 23:04, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Birthday

Alexander Sidding will be 41 years old on 2006-11-21, and he does have some amazing roles for his characters

prove it. ... aa:talk 22:30, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

OK-Now it's April 28th, 2010 so Sid will be 45 on the 21st of November 2010-And still hotter than ever!--juliansgirl7Juliansgirl7 (talk) 18:19, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

Name

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Jaheer El Hezbollah El Hamas El Abdullah El Mohammed El Siddig Abderahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi <---- Is this seriously his full name, or is someone trying to vandalize the page?Sarc37 19:38, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

2 Mohammmeds, a Hezbollah, & a Hamas? I suppose someone could name a kid "Hamas" ("zeal") but "Hezbollah" ("Party of God") isn't even a proper personal name. Vandalism. Ventifax 00:54, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig El Abderahman El Mohammed Ahmed El Abdel Karim El Mahdi is his full name. You can find it in his official biography at [SidCity.net]. MelSidCity 22:05, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

"Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig El Abderahman El Mohammed Ahmed El Abdel Karim El Mahdi" is correct. — pd_THOR ^{| =/\=} | 22:14, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

The Arabic doesn't quite match the name listed on sidcity.net. It's close, and to my ear the Arabic makes more sense. But who says they need to match, or make sense? Whatever he calls himself, he'll still be a great actor. :-) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.228.10.133 (talk) 04:31, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Furthermore the Arabic of his name doesn't translate as Siddig in English, it translates as Sad-deeq. Having said that, he has chosen to go by Siddig... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.41.254.164 (talk) 00:21, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

The literal transcription is Ṣiddīq, but q is pronounced as [ɡ] in many dialects, that's where the spelling Siddig comes from. His full name, in scientific transcription, is Ṣiddīq aṭ-Ṭāhir al-Fāḍil aṣ-Ṣiddīq ʿAbd ur-Raḥman Muḥammad ʾAḥmad ʿAbd ul-Karīm al-Mahdī. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 21:47, 7 October 2011 (UTC)

Somewhat ironic and cool ressemblance

Maybe I am just looking too much here, but isn't it interesting to see what seems to me to be a striking ressemblance betweem Siddig, and James Callis? And the fact that one is Arab, and the other Jewish, is even much cooler, and oh so ironic... on many levels Themalau 13:03, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

Am I the only person in the world who doesn't think those two men look that much alike?? I knew Callis from some British TV shows he did before BSG and I knew Siddig from ST:DS9 and "Hamburg Cell"... and even after starting to watch BSG it never even occured to me until I read all those "OMG Dr Baltar and Dr Bashir look so much alike I thought they were the same actor!" threads in every possible online forum. I would never mistake one for the other.

Anyway, if they do look alike, I don't see why that would be particularly unusual or ironic. I can think of qutie a few cases of Jewish actors playing Arabs, for instance Israeli actor Oded Fehr played an Arab (and a Muslim fundamentalist) in "Sleeper Cell". You may as well say that it's strange and ironic that, say, some Russian or English person looks like some German person. Nightandday

Well, both Jews/Hebrews and Arabs are semitic peoples, so why couldn't they play each other (just as Italians could play Spaniards and vice-versa)99.103.228.211 (talk) 18:16, 3 August 2010 (UTC)

I have to admit that I came to these two pages seeking commentary on them NOT being the same person living two different lives as I had thought when I was told they were different people. Perhaps that isn't interesting enough to create a section (or at least a link) on both actor's pages, but I certainly thought it was. JayM (talk) 14:59, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

I don't think it's unusual at all, being both British its likely they have a common ancestor somewhere down the line... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.69.141.108 (talk) 04:00, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

I've noticed the Siddig/Callis resemblence too! Upon first watching Battle Star Galactica I had to do a double take! That they look similar isn't odd at all. Jews and Arabs are Semites. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.109.235.61 (talk) 12:57, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Defining 'Jews' and 'Arabs' as two distinct groups is a complete nonsense. Jews are a multiracial religious group. 'Arab' is an ethnicity. The homeland of the Jewish people is originally the middle east, and those Jews who come from there aren't distinct from Arabs. They ARE Arabs. The above posters are making the classic mistake of confusing 'Arab' with 'Muslim' and subsequently defining them as a separate ethnic group from Jewish people. Before anyone calls me out by quoting the phrase 'ethnic Jew' let me just point out that phrase simply means Jews who come from the homeland of the Jews ie; the middle east. 92.238.238.62 (talk) 22:59, 23 April 2016 (UTC)

Poirot

No mention of the episode of Poirot that he starred in with David Suchet?00:32, 9 February 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.214.114.237 (talk)

• It's on the list so it's fix now. Govvy (talk) 14:28, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Directing

I think that disassociating remarks Siddig made about directing should be included. For non-Trekkies, Paramount, in spite of plummeting ratings and fan votes, have a history of making really awful Ferengi 'joke' episodes, which Quark's actor, Armin Shimerman, is not at all pleased about. When Siddig directed "Business As Usual", an actually touching episode regarding Quark and Jadzia's friendship, and Quark's sense of ethics, Siddig actually listened to what Shimerman says about his character. Paraborg was not pleased, so in "Profits and Lace", it reverted back into idiocy, that Siddig himself was most displeased about. Without explanation, "Profit and Lace" listed as a directing work of Siddig, just makes him look really bad...isn't it enough that his name attached to that thing has already killed the directing career he wanted in the first place? http://www.agonybooth.com/extras/trek/profit_lace/ - MG, wincing in sympathy and remembered agony —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.226.57.123 (talk) 02:33, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

Slight Change

I made a slight change to the text where it mentions his involvement with Kim Cattral, replacing the words "fellow Sex and the City alum" with "Fellow Star Trek alum" as his filmography and television listing doesn't mention him being in Sex and the City. Kim was in Star Trek though... so this line makes more sense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.69.141.108 (talk) 03:57, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

Name ?

I though the MOS on actors was to led with the most common name followed by the actual name in brackets? Is Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi really the most well-known name this actor is known under? --Cameron Scott (talk) 21:53, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

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Alexander Siddig's Mother

Can someone add the name of his mother, confirmed as Gloria (Malcolm McDowell's elder sister) to his biography. The article on Michael Birkett contains a reference that leads back to this page, but her name is not listed here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.164.134.243 (talk) 16:53, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

Marital Status

https://www.sidcity.net/2020/02/14/alexander-siddig-met-his-wife-on-the-set-of-cairo-time/ - shows he does have a second wife, met in 2005, married in 2015. In an interview on youtube 5/28/2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9xNcQ9FO4g he mentions his wife, so i presume they're still together. Acroyear (talk) 16:38, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

his fan site seems to have a friendly relationship with him and in the faq is keeping his wife's identity private at this time, should it be removed from wikipedia for privacy? https://sidcity.net/about/sid-faq/ 173.222.1.176 (talk) 02:16, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Missing refs

@Laterthanyouthink: Umm, you should check what you're doing, there are now messing points, (refs) in the main text. Please scroll to the refs at the bottom of the article, check and fix your mistakes thanks. Govvy (talk) 13:54, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

@Govvy That's because I was editing on the mobile app and it's only possible to edit in sections. It was fixed within minutes. Laterthanyouthink (talk) 13:59, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

I've never edited on mobile so I wouldn't know whats it like. For a min there I had thought you finished and not notice the mistakes left. cheers. Govvy (talk) 14:01, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Yeah sorry about that Govvy. It was late at night and I was editing on my tablet, just thought I'd do a bit of cleanup, and it's not as easy doing finds or copypasta on the mobile version. So there was a risk of losing something for a short period but I always clean up afterwards (unless I miss something accidentally - I won't claim to be 100% foolproof!). Laterthanyouthink (talk) 00:56, 20 April 2024 (UTC)