Adhir Kalyan is a South African actor noted for his role as Timmy in the

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

sitcom '' Rules of Engagement'' and as Awalmir Karimi/'Al' in '' United States of Al''.

Early life

Kalyan's family is of

Indian South African Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the la ...

descent. His mother, Santosh Vinita "Sandy" Kalyan, was a member of Parliament in the

South African National Assembly The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred Members of Parliament, members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportio ...

, where she represented the Democratic Alliance. Kalyan completed his schooling at Marklands in Durban. Prior to moving abroad, he performed in a number of productions in South Africa, including theatrical adaptations of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' and ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'', an adaptation of

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

's '' The Ground Beneath Her Feet'', and the classical

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

an play ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''.

Career

In 2005, Kalyan moved to London to pursue his acting career where he gained roles in the BBC series ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' ( series 8) as Arjmand Younis, in '' Spooks'' ( series 5), and on the Irish network

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

in '' Fair City'' as Ramal Kirmani. Kalyan also appeared in a number of independent films. Kalyan starred in the short-lived American

CW Television Network The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television television network, network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. Th ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Aliens in America ''Aliens in America'' is an American sitcom created by David Guarascio and Moses Port that aired on The CW for one season from October 1, 2007, to May 18, 2008. Guarascio and Port also served as executive producers of the show alongside Tim Doy ...

'', as a foreign exchange student from Pakistan living with a

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

family. He portrayed recurring characters in the fifth season of the cable show ''

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

'', and in the third season of the

sitcom '' Rules of Engagement'', becoming a series regular in the latter's fourth season. In 2009, Kalyan appeared in the film '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop'' as Pahud, a teenager who admired his girlfriend Parisa, in '' Up in the Air'' as a fired employee, and in the cheerleader comedy '' Fired Up''. In 2010, he appeared in '' Youth in Revolt'', and in 2011, he appeared in a minor role in '' No Strings Attached''. In late 2015, he began starring in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

science fiction crime drama '' Second Chance''. In December 2019, Kalyan was cast to portray Afghan interpreter Awalmir Karimi ("Al"), the main protagonist in the

sitcom '' United States of Al''. The sitcom premiered on 1 April 2021, surrounded with controversy. Released to mostly negative reviews, the show and its makers were criticized for the show's humor, use of antiquated tropes, and in particular, critics called out the casting of a South-African-born Indian actor to play an Afghan lead and his use of an inauthentic accent.

Personal life

In March 2015, he became engaged to actress Emily Wilson of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

''. He and Wilson married on 1 October 2016 at Colony 29 in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. They welcomed their first child together, a daughter born on 23 March 2021.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalyan, Adhir Living people Male actors from Durban South African male film actors South African people of Indian descent South African male television actors Male actors of Indian descent South African expatriates in the United States 21st-century South African male actors Year of birth missing (living people)