Ajay Naidu Explained

Ajay Naidu
Birth Name:Ajay Kalahastri Naidu
Birth Date:12 February 1972
Birth Place:Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:1985–present
Spouse:Heather Burns
Children:1

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

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.

Career

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

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

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986Touch and GoLouis DeLeon
1986Where the River Runs BlackSegundo
1988Vice VersaDale
1996SubUrbiaNazeer Choudhury
1997Once We Were StrangersApu
1998ShopkeepingAsif
1998MontanaIves
1998My GiantHot Dog Vendor
1998Scotch and MilkArmand
1998PiFarrouhk
1999Office SpaceSamir Nagheenanajar
1999Chutney PopcornRaju
2000You Are Here*Sanjay
2000Dinner RushAdemir the Matre'd
2000Requiem for a DreamMailman
2000More Dogs Than BonesAndy
2001American ChaiHari
2001HannibalPerfume Expert
2001K-PAXDr. Chakraborty
2002Bomb the SystemMoses Mundhra
2002The GuruSanjay
2003JusticeMohammed
2003Scary Movie 3Sayaman
2003Bad SantaHindustani Troublemaker
2005PerceptionKamal
2005212Vincent
2005WaterborneVikram Bhatti
2005AlchemyBest Man
2005Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy?Prince Omar
2005The HoneymoonersVivek
2005The War WithinNaved
2005ConfessAccount Executive
2006Hiding DivyaDivya's husband
2007Loins of Punjab PresentsTurbanotorious B.D.G.
2008Righteous KillDr. Chadrabar
2008The WrestlerMedic
2008The Accidental HusbandDeep
2009Hotel for DogsACO Jake
2009Today's SpecialMunnamia
2009Falling UpPaco
2009The Hungry GhostsLaurence
2010AshesAshesDirector, writer
20123 Days of NormalVik Donowitz
2013Gods Behaving BadlyThe Producer
2017Lost Cat CoronaAmir
2017Crazy FamousDr. Manning
2018The Kindergarten TeacherNikhil Roy
2020The Dark End of the StreetGraham
2020AntarcticaPrincipal Pepp
2020ThorpPat
2020The SleeplessVivek
2021AmericanishJawad
2021The Magnificent MeyersonsMohammed
2022The Good NurseDr. Robert Hind

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985Lady BluePaquitoEpisode: "Pilot"
1985ABC Afterschool SpecialsNick SantanaEpisode: "No Greater Gift"
1986MacGyverAhmedEpisode: "To Be a Man"
1996New York UndercoverManuelEpisode: "Brown Like Me"
1997PrashantTV movie
1998–99LateLineRaji BakshiMain role
2000The SopranosOmarEpisode: "Big Girls Don't Cry"
2001The Gene PoolPaul PatelTV movie
2001The West WingRakim AliEpisode: "Isaac and Ishmael"
2004Fillmore!SanjayEpisode: "Field Trip of the Just"
2004MonkMasul the CabbieEpisode: "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan"
2004The JuryGeorge EdmondsEpisode: "Pilot"
2005King of the HillDelivery Guy / MalikEpisode: "Mutual of Omabwah"
2008StrokesSanjay LallTV movie
2009Cop HouseSkip MalhotraTV movie
200930 RockAsifEpisode: "Larry King"
2009KingsDr. Nayar2 Episodes
2009MercyMattEpisode: "Pulling the Goalie"
2010FuturestatesRakeshEpisode: "Pia"
2010Bored to DeathVikram2 Episodes
2014DeadbeatAttendant / The Taxi Man2 Episodes
2014Manhattan Love StoryBrianEpisode: "Pilot"
2016World's EndKarlTV movie
2016Odd Mom OutDoctorEpisode: "40 Is the New 70"
2017Friends from CollegeHowie WexlerEpisode: "Second Wedding"
2018God Friended MeEricEpisode: "The Good Samaritan"
2019BillionsKulbinder DarchaEpisode: "Arousal Template"
2019The Brooding Barista JackassCustomerEpisode: "Hot or Not"
2020The BlacklistMahmoud IqbalEpisode: "Cornelius Ruck (No. 155)"
2016–20BlindspotShohid Akhtar5 Episodes
2020Social DistanceDanEpisode: "Delete All Future Events"
2021Dr. DeathDr. Sasani3 Episodes
2022WeCrashedRandallEpisode: "This Is Where It Begins"
2022UncoupledRaffiEpisode: "Episode #1.5"
2024ElsbethMartin WaliRecurring character

External links

Notes and References

  1. Cindy Yoon."Interview with Ajay Naidu ". Asiasource.April 29, 2003. Retrieved August 5, 2006.
  2. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1997/1997ind.htm Past Winner Database
  3. Web site: PUTMAN . LEAH . Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks to Star in Waiting for Godot Off-Broadway . Playbill . 31 October 2023 . 27 July 2023.
  4. Web site: The Ensemble . 2022-10-03 . LAByrinth Theater Company . en-US.
  5. Web site: Illinois State Secretary Honors Exemplary Filipino-Americans for Law, Community Service Achievements . 2022-10-03 . dfa.gov.ph.
  6. Daniel Maurer."Tribeca: The Party Report" .Metro New York. April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2006.