Arian Mirzaali (born 4 November 1994), known professionally as Arian Nik, is an English actor and writer. He stars as the titular character of the

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

horror sitcom ''

Count Abdulla ''Count Abdulla'' is a British horror comedy television series written by Kaamil Shah. It is about a British-Pakistani doctor who becomes a vampire. It premiered on ITVX on 15 June 2023 before airing on ITV2 on 21 January 2024. The series was can ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Nik was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, and brought up by a single mother until age 6; he and his mother stayed at a Women's Aid Hostel before getting a council flat in

Meanwood Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back ...

. Nik attended Roundhay Comprehensive School. He also took classes with the Television Workshop. He was originally going to study Broadcast Journalism at university, but instead convinced his parents to let him go to drama school. Nik graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Acting from

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. Mountview Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting, musical theatre and actor musicians ...

in 2016, and served on the board of Mountview until 2019.

Career

Nik began his career in theatre, playing ''Remedial Remedies'' at

Upstairs at The Gatehouse Upstairs at the Gatehouse is an Off West End theatre in Highgate in the London Borough of Camden. The venue is a refurbished 1895 auditorium, upstairs from the Gatehouse pub, which has served over the years as a music hall, cinema, Masonic lod ...

in 2016. That same year, he voiced Ammar Elkady for the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' audio drama ''Absolute Power'' from

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

. This was followed by roles in ''The Ugly One'' at the Park Theatre and ''The Last Testament of Lillian Bilocca'' at

Hull Truck Theatre Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

in 2017, ''The Village'' at

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

in 2018, and ''Pufferfish'' for the 2019 VAULT Festival. He co-developed ''Cracked'' for the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

. Also in 2019, Nik made his television debut with guest appearances in the BBC spy thriller ''

Killing Eve ''Killing Eve'' is a British spy thriller television series produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three (streaming service), BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), a British intelligence age ...

'' as Jay and the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

teen drama ''

Ackley Bridge ''Ackley Bridge'' is a British comedy drama series set in a multicultural academy school of the same name. The series is set in the fictional town of Ackley, and filmed in Halifax, West Yorkshire and it began broadcasting on Channel 4 on 7 Jun ...

'' as Yusef Ibrahim. This was followed by his feature film debut in 2020 with small roles in the Disney adaptation of ''

Artemis Fowl ''The Fowl Adventures'' is a series of eleven fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer revolving around various members of the Fowl family. The first cycle, the eight-book ''Artemis Fowl'', follows elf Lower Elements Police Reconnai ...

'' and the Irish comedy-drama '' Dating Amber''. He also appeared in an episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' as Hamed Khan. In 2021, Nik joined the cast of the ITV crime drama '' The Bay'' for its second series as Theo Anvari and the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

spinoff '' Still So Awkward'' as Josh Cooper. He appeared in the 2022 drama film '' Allelujah'' and was nominated for an Offie for his performance in the play ''Kabul Goes Pop''. After protesting in person in London, Nik wrote an article for ''BRICKS Magazine'' that November to spread awareness about the

death of Mahsa Amini On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the Islamic religious police, religious morality police of ...

and its aftermath. As of 2023, Nik leads the

comedy horror series ''

'' as titular character Abdulla Khan, a Muslim doctor who gets bitten by a vampire (

Jaime Winstone Jaime Margaret Winstone (born 6 May 1985) is an English actress, best known for her roles in ''Kidulthood'' (2006), ''Goldplated'' (2006), ''Dead Set (TV series), Dead Set'' (2008), ''Donkey Punch (2008 film), Donkey Punch'' (2008), ''Boogie ...

). The following year, he had a role as Nish Chowdry in the ensemble of the thriller ''

Passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

'', also for ITVX.

Personal life

Nik lives in London with his long-term partner.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Audio

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*
Arian Nik
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Nik, Arian Living people 1994 births Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts 21st-century English male actors English people of Iranian descent Male actors from Leeds People educated at Roundhay School People from Meanwood