Husein Madhavji Explained

Husein "Huse" Madhavji (pronounced Ma-dav-gee; born July 19) is a Canadian actor and television personality. He is best known for his role as Dr. Shahir Hamza on the medical drama Saving Hope and as the former face of Star! Canada’s Entertainment Channel.

Hosting

Madhavji grew up in London, Ontario in an Indian Gujarati family who were Ismailis.[1] After graduating from the radio and television arts program at Ryerson University[2] Madhavji moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to take on his first on-air position as an anchor/reporter for A-Channel. From there he moved to Northern California and was a live feature reporter for a short lived show called Good Evening Sacramento before making the jump to Good Day Sacramento for KMAX-TV. After less than two years working in Northern California, Madhavji received a call from CHUM Limited to host Star!’s flagship show Star! Daily in Toronto. Madhavji co- hosted the national program with television personality Dina Pugliese.[3] Together they teamed up fronting various specials including Canada’s New Year’s Eve Bash.[4] In 2007 CTV Globemedia acquired CHUM, and replaced Star! Daily with their own daily entertainment show etalk.[5] Madhavji became a reporter for etalk, continued to front various specials on Star! and joined CP24, a round the clock local news channel in Toronto as their entertainment specialist[6] until CTV decided to stop all production on Star! due to the economic downturn in Canada.[7]

Madhavji continues to host various live events including AKF's "The World Partnership Walk" in Toronto[8] and "Miss India Canada".[9]

Acting

Madhavji took a keen interest in theatre in high school, performing in various musicals and plays. He was ready to attend theatre school but was directed towards broadcasting by his parents since it was more stable than a career in theatre.[10] Throughout Madhavji’s hosting career, he never let go of his creative roots. He was cast in the Winnipeg production of Joseph and the Technicolored Dreamcoat, but had to turn it down after his News Director rejected his request for time off. Madhavji did land a few reporter roles during his time working in Winnipeg and Sacramento, most notably in the feature films The Many Trials of Jane Doe[11] and Gone, But Not Forgotten. He decided to give acting a proper shot when he moved back to Toronto. While hosting at Star!, Madhavji moonlighted as a stage actor in the South Asian comedy 30 Dates.[12] After securing a film/TV agent, Madhavji got cast in the CBC pilot Throwing Stones.[13] When Madhavji’s hosting career at Star! ended in 2008, he went on tour with the cast of 30 Dates, was cast in the CTV/CBS cop drama The Bridge and then as a reoccurring character Ruptal 1 in the HBO Canada/Direct-TV comedy Call Me Fitz opposite Jason Priestley.[14] Madhavji was seen in the crime thriller Cold Blooded,[15] Combat Hospital and the second season of Call Me Fitz.

As of June 7, 2012, Madhavji stars on the supernatural medical drama Saving Hope as Dr. Shahir Hamza.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 data-sort-value="Many Trials of One Jane Doe, The" The Many Trials of One Jane Doe Media Reporter TV movie
2005 Gone But Not Forgotten Reporter (uncredited) TV movie
2009 Throwing Stones Yasminder ‘The Rock’ Ramham TV movie
2009 data-sort-value="Border, The" The Border Reporter Episode: 3.9 “Dying Art”
2010 data-sort-value="Bridge, The" The Bridge Aziz Episode: 1.10 “The Blame Game”
2010-2013 Call Me Fitz Ruptal 1 39 episodes;
Main role (Seasons 1-4)
2011 data-sort-value="Listener, The" The Listener Landlord Episode: 2.10 “Desperate Hours”
2011 Combat Hospital Lt. Col. Max Pakash 8 episodes;
Recurring (season 1)
2011 Neutered Richard Short
2012 Cold Blooded Dr. Gill Film
2012-2013 Off2Kali Comedy Various Characters 4 episodes;
Guest role (season 1)
2012-2017 Saving Hope Dr. Shahir Hamza 71 episodes;
Main role (Seasons 1-5)
2013 Splinter Cell: Blacklist Jadid (voice) Video game
2013 Cracked Dave Harrison Episode: 2.5 “The Hold Out”
2013 Just a Prayer Aleem Short
2015 data-sort-value="Time Traveler, The" The Time Traveler Unknown Short
2017 Breakdown Jared Short
2017 Lethal Weapon Dr. Paulo Weller Episode: 2.2 “Dancing in September”
2017 How to Buy a Baby Dr. Evans 5 episodes;
Recurring (season 1)
2017 Wisdom of the Crowd Vikram Singh Episode: 1.8 “Denial of Service”
2018 data-sort-value="Detail, The" The Detail Hickman Rashi Episode: 1.1 “Pilot”
2018 Silencer Arman Kasem Short
2018 Have It All Rick Short
2019 Power of Termination Dean Short (Post-Production)
2020 Utopia Falls Mentor Watts series regular
2020 Schitt's Creek guest role
2021 Donkeyhead Rup
2022 Elder Gamal Episode: 1.6 " Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach"
2023 data-sort-value="Spencer Sisters, The" The Spencer Sisters Alastair Dhumal Supporting role

Notes and References

  1. https://ggagency.ca/madhavji/ Madhavji
  2. News: O'Toole. Megan. Rising Star!. The London Free Press. September 1, 2005.
  3. Janmohammed. Sheniz. Sexy and Successful. Anokhi Magazine. Winter 2008. 74. 122.
  4. Web site: CityTV Rings In New Year . 7 July 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121003054802/http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/entertainment/movies/article/25414--citytv-rings-in-new-year . 3 October 2012 .
  5. News: Knelman. Martin. CTV yanks plug on Star!. The Toronto Star. October 13, 2007.
  6. Web site: Husein Madhavji - Entertainment Specialist . www.CP24.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727052355/http://ctestp.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080811/bio_husein_madhavji/20081111/?hub=CP24Home . 2011-07-27 .
  7. News: Friend. David. CTV Cutting 105 Jobs. https://web.archive.org/web/20121107094911/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/1603105491.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+28,+2008&author=David+Friend&pub=Waterloo+Region+Record&desc=CTV+cutting+105+jobs+to+cope+with+slump&pqatl=google. dead. November 7, 2012. The Toronto Star. November 28, 2008.
  8. News: Panjwani. Dilzayn and Dilnoor. A Giant Leap For Humanity. Indo Canadian Outlook. June 2008.
  9. Web site: Nair. Shobha. 20th Annual Miss India-Canada. www.indocanadaoutlook.com.
  10. News: O'Toole. Megan. Rising Star!. The London Free Press. September 1, 2005.
  11. Web site: The Many Trials of Jane Doe.
  12. News: Ongsansoy. Hans. Husbands Are Hard To Find. The Province. May 27, 2009.
  13. Web site: CBC Pilot Burn Off Time, THROWING STONES. URBMN.
  14. Web site: Seidman. Robert. Acclaimed Series Call Me Fitz. https://web.archive.org/web/20110212111840/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/02/10/critically-acclaimed-series-call-me-fitz-staring-jason-priestly-heads-to-directvs-the-101-network/82293. dead. 2011-02-12.
  15. Web site: Cold Blooded. Internet Movie Database.