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Firdous Bamji

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Firdous Bamji
Bamji in 1997
Born
Firdous Esadvaster Bamji

Bombay, India
EducationSt. Christopher's School, Bahrain, Kodaikanal International School, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of South Carolina
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Spouse
Erin Thigpen
​
​
(m. 1990; div. 1995)​
Partner(s)Hayley Mills
(1997–present)

Firdous Bamji is an Indian-born actor and writer.

Early life and education

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Firdous Bamji was born in Bombay, India, to a Zoroastrian Parsi family that was residing in Bahrain.[1][2] His father, Esadvaster, was the regional representative for Norwich Union Life Insurance Society. His mother, Roshan, was a homemaker, and both his parents were active in various civic organizations.[3][4][5]

Bamji attended St. Christopher's School, Bahrain, a British private school, until the age of ten. In 1977, he and his two brothers were sent to Kodaikanal International School, an American boarding school in the mountains of South India.[2]

He later attended the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and the University of South Carolina, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism and a Master of Fine Arts.[citation needed]

Career

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During his last years in undergraduate school Bamji began acting at Columbia's first professional theatre, Trustus, where the iconoclastic artistic director, Jim Thigpen[6][7] took him under his wing. At Trustus he played a variety of roles, including Pale in Burn This, Torch in Beirut, Danny in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Peter Patrone in The Heidi Chronicles and all the parts in Eric Bogosian's solo play, Drinking in America.[8]

After studying for an MFA in Theatre at USC, Bamji moved to Washington, D.C., to finish his degree as an apprentice at The Shakespeare Theatre. In 1994 he was cast in Eric Bogosian's SubUrbia at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater, and he and his then wife, Erin Thigpen, sold the car and moved to New York City.[9][10]

Bamji has appeared on stages in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles and major regional theaters around the United States.[11] He has played leading roles in world and American premieres of plays by playwrights such as Tom Stoppard,[12][13] Tony Kushner,[14][15] Naomi Wallace, Rebecca Gilman and Eric Bogosian.[9]

In 2007, he was invited by director Simon McBurney to co-write and perform in a new play with the British company Complicité. The piece was to revolve around the relationship between two pure mathematicians who lived at the turn of the 20th century, the self-taught genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan and Cambridge University don, G. H. Hardy. Bamji had been interested in this story for a few years and was working on a film script when he was approached by McBurney.[16][17] The result was A Disappearing Number,[18][19] which won the Laurence Olivier Award and the Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best New Play and the Evening Standard Award for Best Play.[20] Over the next four years, A Disappearing Number toured Europe, Australia, India and the United States[21] and finished its universally acclaimed run at the Novello Theatre in London's West End.[22]

Bamji's television credits include Law & Order and Law & Order SVU and his film credits include The Sixth Sense,[23] Unbreakable, Analyze That, Ashes, Justice and The War Within, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination.[24][25][26][27] In 2015 he received an Obie Award for his performance in Roundabout Theatre's production of Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] He has narrated more than twenty audio books, including The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky,[35] Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Camille by Alexandre Dumas,[36] The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh,[37][38][39] Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo, and The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie, for which he received an Audie Award nomination.[40][41]

Personal life

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Bamji lives in London with his partner, British actress Hayley Mills, whom he met when they toured America playing the lead roles of The King and I in 1997.[42]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Parsiana. P. Warden. 1996.
  2. ^ a b "Interview with Actor Firdous Bamji - Roundabout Theatre Company Official Blog". Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Celebrating a glorious past. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Gulf Daily News » Local News » Sneha marks 20 years in style". Archives.gdnonline.com. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Sneha marks silver jubilee |". Dilmun-times.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  6. ^ "A Final Season: Jim and Kay Thigpen". YouTube. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Jim and Kay Thigpen and the Trustus Legacy : Jasper". Jaspercolumbia.net. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Past Shows Alphabetical Listing".
  9. ^ a b Evans, Greg (23 May 1994). "Review: 'Suburbia'". Variety. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  10. ^ "subUrbia - Who's Who: Shows | Lincoln Center Theater". Lct.org. 28 August 1994. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  11. ^ "The Moor of Venice".
  12. ^ "Firdous Bamji's Character the Soul of 'Indian Ink' | Global". Indiawest.com. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Stoppard's 'Indian Ink' leaves indelible mark". Usatoday.com. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Great portrayals help 'Homebody' navigate some uneven terrain". Chicago Tribune. 21 July 2003.
  15. ^ Simon, John (31 May 2004). "Homebody/Kabul - New York Magazine Theater Review". Nymag.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  16. ^ "Metaphysical theatrics hits the UMS stage". 9 September 2008.
  17. ^ "Contemplations on infinity in 'Disappearing Number' - tribunedigital-chicagotribune". Chicago Tribune. 13 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  18. ^ Calvi, Nuala (16 October 2008). "A Disappearing Number review at Barbican Theatre London | Review | Theatre". The Stage. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  19. ^ Isherwood, Charles (16 July 2010). "Human (and Mathematical) Equations". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  20. ^ "A Disappearing Number wins Best New Play". Official London Theatre. 9 March 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  21. ^ "REVIEW: "A Disappearing Number"". 11 September 2008.
  22. ^ Carpenter, Julie (17 September 2010). "Review: A Disappearing Number, Novello Theatre, London | Theatre | Entertainment | Daily Express". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Picture of The Sixth Sense". Listal.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Getting into the Spirit of awards season". Articles.latimes.com. 30 November 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  25. ^ Robinson, Tasha (5 October 2005). "The War Within · Film Review The War Within · Movie Review · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  26. ^ "The War Within - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  27. ^ Atkinson, Michael (20 September 2005). "DV Suicide-Bombing Drama Lacks Narrative Urgency". Village Voice. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  28. ^ Brantley, Ben (6 May 2015). "Ben Brantley: The Tony Award Nominations Should Be ..." The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  29. ^ "Review: 'Indian Ink' at ACT is Tom Stoppard mostly at his best". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  30. ^ "Indian Ink | Theater in New York". Timeout.com. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  31. ^ "'Indian Ink' by Tom Stoppard premieres in New York". New York Daily News. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  32. ^ Robert Feldberg (1 October 2014). "Theater review: 'Indian Ink' - Theater". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  33. ^ Gordon Cox (18 May 2015). "2015 Obie Awards (FULL LIST): 'Hamilton,' Henderson Win Awards". Variety. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  34. ^ "2015 Obie Award Winners Announced". Obie Awards. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  35. ^ "The Gambler (Audio Download): Amazon.co.uk: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Firdous Bamji, Recorded Books: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  36. ^ "CAMILLE THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS by Alexandre Dumas Read by Alyssa Bresnahan John McDonough Firdous Bamji | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  37. ^ "Audio Book Review: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh". Publishersweekly.com. 6 June 2005. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  38. ^ "THE HUNGRY TIDE by Amitav Ghosh Read by Firdous Bamji | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  39. ^ Hong, Terry (23 December 2011). "The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh | BookDragon". Smithsonianapa.org. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  40. ^ "THE Voice of the Independent Publishing Industry". Independent Publisher. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  41. ^ "Voice Over Xtra". Voice Over Xtra. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  42. ^ Kinsey, Ellen (23 January 2023). "Child star Hayley Mills: her partner, sons and films". Yours. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
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