Usman Ally (born August 27, 1982) is a Pakistani-American film, stage and television actor. Marking his acting debut in 2008, Ally won an Obie Award in 2015 for his role in The Invisible Hand.[1]
Usman Ally | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 27, 1982 |
| Alma mater | Lewis & Clark College (BA) University of Florida (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | Malena Mai |
He has appeared in several stage productions including The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, The Jungle Book and a production of Around the World in 80 Days. He is known for his on-screen roles such as Fernald the Hook-Handed Man in Netflix's adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events, which premiered in 2017 and Andy Malik in Suits.[2]
Background
editAlly was born in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) to Pakistani parents.[3][4][5] He grew up in Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, and Pakistan.[6][7][8] According to Ally, his family regularly moved because his father was involved in international trade.[9][4]
At age 18, Ally moved to the United States and attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, majoring in theater and cultural anthropology.[10] While there, he was introduced to a group called Prisoners of Politics, and participated in slam poetry and hip hop performances. Soon after graduating from Lewis and Clark, he attended the University of Florida, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Fine Arts in acting. He has lived in Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles.[3]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Group | Sunil | Short film |
| 2009 | Chicago Overcoat | Pawnshop Owner | |
| 2011 | Our Fathers | Ahmed | Short film |
| 2012 | Just Like a Woman | Ousman | |
| 2013 | Star Trek Into Darkness | U.S.S. Vengeance Officer | |
| 2015 | Misled | Waseem | |
| 2016 | Love Meet Hope | Andrew | |
| 2020 | The Hunt | Crisis Mike | |
| 2020 | Superintelligence | Sergei | |
| 2022 | Grimcutty | Amir Chaudhry | [11] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Abrahm | Episode: "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" |
| Damages | Nasim Marwat | 4 episodes | |
| 2012 | Boss | Joe Young | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods | Vendor | Episode: "No Regrets" |
| 2014 | Mind Games | Charles | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Person of Interest | Jamal Risha | Episode: "Allegiance" | |
| 2014–2015 | Madam Secretary | Zahed Javani | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Castle | Bilal Jafari | Episode: "Sleeper" |
| The Player | Hamid | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| Brooklyn Animal Control | Lawyer | Episode 1.1 | |
| 2016 | Blindspot | Hakim | Episode: "Cease Forcing Enemy" |
| Helen & Grace | Coach | 2 episodes | |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Vincent | 3 episodes | |
| The Librarians | Security Lt. Becker | Episode: "And the Fangs of Death" | |
| 2016–2017 | Veep | Ambassador Al Jaffar | 6 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | Fernald the Hook-Handed Man | Recurring role |
| 2017 | Just Add Magic | Mr. Morris | 8 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Nobodies | Gavin | Recurring role |
| Mike Tyson Mysteries | Raji, Mahmoud, Price Abdul Al Farooq | Voice, 2 episodes[12] | |
| 2017–2019 | Suits | Andrew Malik | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Lifeline | Nathan | Main role |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Morsi Driver | Episode: "Never Wait for Seconds!" | |
| 2019 | Better Things | Dr. Babu | Episode: "No Limits" |
| On Becoming a God in Central Florida | Stan Van Grundegaard | Recurring role | |
| 2019-2020 | NCIS | Victor Mir | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | 68 Whiskey | Captain Hazara | Recurring role |
| 2021 | Call Me Kat | Dr. Kevin Khan | Episode: "Therapy" |
| 2021 | Young Justice | Khalid Nassour, Muhammad Nassour | Voice, recurring role (5 episodes)[12] |
| 2022 | God's Favorite Idiot | Mohsin Raza | 16 episodes[13] |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Uncharted 4: A Thief's End | Asav | Multiplayer only |
| 2017 | Uncharted: The Lost Legacy | Also motion capture[12] | |
| 2017 | Middle-earth: Shadow of War | Serka | "Desolation of Mordor" DLC |
| 2019 | The Elder Scrolls Online | Zamarak | |
| 2020 | Fast & Furious Crossroads | Kai | |
| 2020 | Avengers | George Tarleton / M.O.D.O.K. | [12] |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Durlin | [12] |
References
edit- ^ "2015 Obie Awards". Obie Awards. 2015. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Sean Fitz-Gerald (January 13, 2017). "Every 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' Actor You Need to Know About". Thrillist. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "Angry Reader of the Week: Usman Ally". Angry Asian Man. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ a b Metz, Nina (14 June 2017). "Like so many others, Usman Ally goes from Chicago to 'Veep'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Usman Ally On His 'Veep' Role As a Turning Point for Muslims on TV". Awards Daily. 23 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Usman Ally: The Pakistani American Actor Who Seems to Be Everywhere". India West. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Five Questions with Usman Ally, Star of 'Nobodies', 'Veep' and 'Series Of Unfortunate Events'". Huffington Post. 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Soloski, Alexis (27 December 2014). "Usman Ally Discusses his Roles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ "Usman Ally on identity politics in ATC's 'Disgraced'". WBEZ. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Waterhouse, Ben (28 September 2015). "Character Builder". Lewis & Clark. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ Ganguly, Shrija (October 10, 2022). "Grimcutty review: The John Ross horror film on Hulu works despite a freakish monster and some loose strings". Sportskeeda. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Usman Ally (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 9, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Petski, Denise (February 12, 2021). "Melissa McCarthy Netflix Comedy God's Favorite Idiot Adds Yanic Truesdale, Steve Mallory, Usman Ally, More". Deadline. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
External links
edit- Usman Ally at IMDb