Hamza Haq (born October 27, 1990) is a Canadian actor, best known for his leading role of Bashir Hamed in the

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

television series '' Transplant'', which earned him three consecutive

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

(2021, 2022, 2023).

Early life

Hamza Haq was born to

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

parents in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, before immigrating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when he was nine years old, where he became a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

citizen. His father worked for an airline while his mother was an organic chemist. He learned English from a school in the Filipino embassy in Saudi Arabia before switching to an American school. He later attended Bell High School in Ottawa, Ontario. Haq graduated from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in film studies with a minor in Law.

Career

Haq started his career with roles on various television series, before taking on roles in feature films. As an actor, his work has included the television series '' Quantico'' and limited series '' The Indian Detective''. He was also the host for the children's television series ''Look Kool''. At the

6th Canadian Screen Awards The 6th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 11, 2018, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2017.

in 2018, he received a nomination for Best Performance in a Guest Role in a Drama Series for an appearance on '' This Life'', and in 2019 he received the Star award from the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival. In 2020, he assumed the lead role in the television series '' Transplant'', and had a supporting role in

Philippe Falardeau Philippe Falardeau (; born February 1, 1968, in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Early life Falardeau was born and raised in Hull, Quebec. He later studied political science at the University of Ottawa, before trave ...

's film ''

My Salinger Year ''My Salinger Year'' (also known as ''My New York Year'') is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau, based upon the memoir of the same name by Joanna Rakoff. It stars Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, Douglas Booth, Seán ...

''. In his year-end review of television in 2020, critic John Doyle of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' named Haq as having given one of the year's best performances in Canadian television. The industry trade magazine '' Playback'' also named Haq as Canadian television's breakout star of 2020. Haq won the award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for ''Transplant'' at the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 17–20 May 2021 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020. The presentations were held as a seri ...

in 2021 and at the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 4–10 April 2022 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2021. The presentations were held as a ...

in 2022. In 2023, he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performer in Drama Series. Following the end of ''Transplant'', Haq was announced as playing Tommy Hawley, a man suspected of involvement in a criminal smuggling ring, in the forthcoming Crave crime drama series ''Underbelly''.Stewart Clarke
"Stephen Amell, Minnie Driver, Hamza Haq To Star In Crime Series ‘Underbelly’ For Canadian Streamer Crave; Shaftesbury Producing & Fifth Season Across Sales"
''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'', October 22, 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haq, Hamza Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors Carleton University alumni Saudi Arabian male television actors Saudi Arabian male film actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors People from Jeddah Saudi Arabian emigrants to Canada Canadian male actors of Pakistani descent 1990 births Best Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners Best Leading Performance in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners