Iqbal Theba (pronounced ; born December 20, 1963) is a Pakistani actor. Theba is best known for his recurring role as

Principal Figgins '' Glee'' is a musical comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox in the United States for six seasons from 2009 to 2015. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing in the show choir competition circuit, while its m ...

in the show ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''.

Early life

Theba was born in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan. He belongs to the Theba clan, a

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

-speaking group originating from Sindh. Theba attended the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

for civil engineering in 1981, but dropped out to pursue an acting career in New York. He has a BS degree in Construction Engineering Management. Theba returned to the University of Oklahoma in 1986 to get a theater degree. He moved to Los Angeles, California upon graduating.

Career

Theba experienced an early career break with a role on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

''Death and Taxes''. While the pilot was not picked up to series, it led to a recurring role for Theba on ''

The George Carlin Show ''The George Carlin Show'' is an American sitcom that aired Sunday at 9:30 pm on the Fox network from January 1994 to July 1995. It was created jointly by Sam Simon and the show's namesake, comedian George Carlin. Synopsis The action was center ...

''. Theba also had brief recurring roles on '' Married... with Children'' and '' ER''. He had a recurring role in

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

comedy sitcom ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers, ...

''. His other credits include appearances on ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', ''

Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

'', ''

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

'', '' Bosch'', '' Roseanne'', '' Kitchen Confidential'', ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

'', '' JAG'', ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'', ''

Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American black comedy television series and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series ...

'', '' The Tick'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'', '' Friends'', '' Sister Sister'', '' Seinfeld'', ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American sitcom television series created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch an ...

'', ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'', '' Weeds'', ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

'', and '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon''. Theba also appeared in an episode of the sitcom ''

Yes, Dear ''Yes, Dear'' is an American television sitcom created by Alan Kirschenbaum and Gregory Garcia, that aired on CBS from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, with the total of six seasons and 122 episodes. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Lou ...

''. In 2009, 2010, and 2013, Theba guest starred in three episodes of NBC's ''Community'' as Gobi Nadir, the father of

Abed Nadir Abed Gubi Nadir ( ''‘Ābid al-Qūbī Nādir'') is a fictional character on the NBC/Yahoo! Screen sitcom series '' Community'', created by Dan Harmon and portrayed by Danny Pudi. Talkative, literal, and sometimes overly pedantic, Abed is a st ...

(played by

Danny Pudi Daniel Mark Pudi (born March 10, 1979) is an American actor. His roles include Abed Nadir on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015), for which he received three nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor i ...

). He also guest starred on CBS' '' NCIS'' in 2012. He also was seen on the eighth episode of the eighth season of ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

'', attending the 100th dinner service. In 2017, Theba voiced Slav in season 2 of '' Voltron: Legendary Defender''. Theba played General Umair Zaman, a Pakistani general who stages a military coup, on the HBO comedy series '' The Brink''.

''Glee'' (2009–15)

Theba's longest-running role has been as

in the Fox television series ''

''. Throughout the course of the six seasons, Theba appeared in 58 episodes. Although Figgins was initially conceived as

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, the Pakistani-American Theba was cast in the role. He said playing Figgins entails finding "the right mix of someone who is an authority figure but who is also very insecure about his own strengths as a person." In 2012, Theba appeared on the first and ninth episodes of the second season of ''

The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series '' Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. ...

''.

Personal life

He is married and has two children: a son, Mikael, and a daughter, Ranya.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Theba, Iqbal 1963 births Living people American film actors of Pakistani descent American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Gujarati descent American Muslims 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American people of Sindhi descent Male actors from Karachi Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani male television actors Pakistani people of Gujarati descent