Ahmed Ahmed ( ar, أحمد أحمد), (; born June 27, 1970) is an

Egyptian-American Egyptian Americans are Americans of partial or full Egyptian ancestry. The 2016 US Census estimated the number of people with Egyptian ancestry at 256,000. Most of whom are from Egypt's Christian Coptic minority.Estimates for the number of Cop ...

actor and comedian.

Early life

Ahmed Ahmed was born in

Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now d ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. His family moved to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Riverside,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Career

Ahmed Ahmed moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

when he was 19 years old to pursue a career as an actor and

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

comedian, and he has been working there ever since. He has appeared in several films and television shows such as ''

Executive Decision ''Executive Decision'' is a 1996 American action film directed by Stuart Baird in his directorial debut. The film stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, and B.D. Wong. It depicts t ...

'', '' Swingers'', '' Tracey Takes On...'', ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Rosea ...

'', '' JAG'', ''

Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' is a comedic talk show which aired on Comedy Central from 2002 to 2004. The show featured host Colin Quinn and a panel of comedian guests, discussing politics, current events, and social issues. Show history an ...

'' on Comedy Central, and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Punk'd ''Punk'd'' is an American hidden camera–practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003. It was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, with Kutcher serving as producer and host. It bears a resemblance to both th ...

'' with

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a ...

. He would later joke about his part in ''

'' in his standup routine for the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He has also appeared on CNN, '' The View'', and

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, and was featured on the front page of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in December 2001, as well as in ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

''. He was featured in the PBS television documentary ''

America at a Crossroads The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'' series in "STAND UP: Muslim American Comics Come of Age", an episode about Muslim American comedians. Ahmed Ahmed is a regular performer at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

in Hollywood and tours all across the US and Europe. He was the winner of the first annual Richard Pryor Award for ethnic comedy at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

in Scotland in the summer of 2004. Ahmed was a member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. He was also a notable guest for Axis of Justice which is a rock and heavy metal concert which fights for

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...

. He had a regular role in the TBS sitcom '' Sullivan & Son''. In 2019, Ahmed received media attention after an audience member called

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 911 ...

in response to his stand-up set.

Personal life

Ahmed says his role models include his parents,

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

, Mitzi Shore, and friend

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...

. Following 9/11, and through 2004, Ahmed Ahmed and the comedian Rabbi Bob Alper toured the United States with their ground-breaking show "One Arab, One Jew, One Stage" about interfaith harmony and essential human dignity.muslimwakeup.com
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Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official Website
* *

* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/edinburgh2004/news/2004/08/26/13940.shtml BBC article on Ahmed Ahmed as winner of Richard Pryor awardbr>Ahmed Ahmed featured in the Cultural ConnectAhmed Ahmed talking about Middle East travels and troubles on podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Ahmed 1970 births Living people American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American Muslims American stand-up comedians Comedians from California Egyptian emigrants to the United States Male actors from Cairo Male actors from Riverside, California Muslim male comedians 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians