This will be the first of many posts whose purpose is to provide a spotlight on some rather amazing SWANASA (South West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia) actors that you should know, whether they are well known or not. What they have in common is that not only are they are all terrific artists but wonderful human beings that have come to my attention recently in their art and advocacy. Here are the eight (in the many to come) to kick it off:
Kunal Dudheker grew up in Orange County, CA where he eventually left behind a glamorous life of accounting to pursue acting and comedy in Los Angeles. Since then he has performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) and iO West theaters, and has had numerous TV/Film appearances including Shang-Chi (2021), Silicon Valley (HBO), Fresh Off the Boat (ABC), Hacks (HBO), Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW) and recurred on Better Things (FX) and Life by Ella (AppleTV). He also performed in the 2017 ABC Showcase.
Heba Toulan, born in Cairo, Egypt, hails from the D.C. area. Her credits include Gwendolen in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ariel in The Tempest, Hecate for Macbeth at the Woodlands Arts in the Park and Shakespeare in the Shade, Soothsayer in Antony and Cleopatra, ensemble in DeafBroadway’s Les Misérables, Union Soldier in Civil Engagement, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Improv Night, Talent Show, and The Vagina Monologues.
She contributed to the DeafCon as a moderator, and in You’re Home, Insomniac, Compromised Experiment, Manny, Bailey’s Voice, and The Love Language. She performed at the Cairo Opera House with the Gallaudet Dance Group. She can be found behind a book, or practicing her Hecate monologue.
Dina Najjar is an award-winning actor and filmmaker. She is a first-generation Arab American (Palestinian/Jordanian) born on 8 Mile to immigrant parents. She speaks fluent Arabic, belly dances, and proudly represents her culture. Dina is your real life Princess Jasmine with an edge.
Some of the roles she’s proudest of include: playing Maya, a Syrian refugee searching for her place in America, in the short film Maya which earned her the Best Actress Award at the 2018 University of Miami Canes Film Festival; recurring as alluring assassin Nadja Shah in season 2 of The Family Business on BET & Netflix (debuted in the top 10); and portraying troubled, rideshare passenger, Raven, in the mumblecore film The Christmas Ride streaming on Prime Video for which she won Best Supporting Actress at the 2020 Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival.
Her mission is to bring diversity without stereotypes to the screen and to tell important stories that inspire, empower, and include while always leaving the viewer with a sense of hope. She strives to portray and write interesting and multifaceted female characters who overcome adversity and trauma while infusing it with humor.
Kausar Mohammed is a queer, Muslim, Pakistani actress and writer who stars in Appendage opposite Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) and Hadley Robinson (Little Women), world premiering at SXSW 2023. Mohammed wrote and stars in the holiday romantic comedy The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night, directed by Fawzia Mirza, which world-premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Mohammed recently starred as Dr. Meena Dhawan aka Fast Track on The CW series The Flash, and earlier as Soraya Abbas on The CW series 4400. She starred in Paul Feig’s series East of La Brea and voices Yaz, one of the fan favorite lead characters, on Dreamworks and Amblin’s hit show Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
Mohammed’s standout performance as Rakhi in Coffee Shop Names is currently streaming on HBO Max. Mohammed is a writer/performer in the distinguished all-South Asian sketch comedy troupe The Get Brown, who is currently developing various film and series projects, and performed two seasons of continuously sold-out shows at Upright Citizen’s Brigade LA. Other credits include What Men Want (Paramount), Little (Universal), Silicon Valley (HBO), Black Lightning (The CW), and Carol’s Second Act (CBS). Mohammed was also a featured talent in the ViacomCBS Diversity Showcase 2021. Kausar also is the co-founder of SHIFT, a racial and gender equity consulting group created by women of color.
Sarah Alami is a professional actress,model and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Currently living in Los Angeles.Sarah’s unique beauty can be attributed to the combination of her Arabic and Irish heritage which she uses much to her advantage in her comedy. She got her start in comedy as many actors do on the stages of Second City in Chicago. She has been featured in over 100 national commercials and Print campaigns.
After studying drama and theatre in Wilmette, Illinois, Sarah developed her love for acting at a very young age. At the age of 20 she had a daughter and her first national campaign. She has been featured as the face of Olay cosmetics as well as modeled for many major brands including Revlon. Her latest credits include Westworld, Lucifer, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3.
Shaan Baig is a comedian, actor, and writer based in Los Angeles. He was recently named a New Face of Comedy (Characters) at the Just For Laughs Festival in 2022. He currently performs at UCB on Maude Night. Past credits at UCB include Characters Welcome and the theater’s first all-South Asian team The Get Brown. His videos have been featured on Vulture, Funny or Die, and BuzzFeed. Shaan also co-hosted the Bollywood Boys Podcast with Saagar Shaikh, which was profiled on NPR. He recently appeared on A Little Late with Lilly Singh on NBC.
Ryan P. Shrime began to study theater, voice and dance in high school and continued throughout college at Harvard University, where he also graduated with an Honors degree in Economics. After studying Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he moved to New York and studied Meisner at the William Esper Studio, Chekhov at the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio, and long-form improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Ryan co-produced a long-running comedy festival in New York, and founded, wrote, and produced his own comedy festival in Los Angeles. In LA, Ryan continued his training in improv at Upright Citizens Brigade and studied at Lesly Kahn & Co. and Berg Studios.
Amel Khalil is an Arab American actress and while she is known for her work in Theater and TV/Film, advocacy and leadership roles are as important off screen for her, as they are on.
As an advocate for survivors of Domestic Violence with an emphasis on the Middle Eastern/Muslim community, she worked in Passaic County, NJ assisting low-to-no income families start over and rebuild after the pain of international, and/or domestic, violence. She is an advocate of influencing a positive perception of Arab Americans in all aspects of media, through my writing, and roles. She has been promoting awareness by giving presentations on Cultural Sensitivity and awareness of the Muslim/Middle Eastern population to interested organizations, to learn how to better understand and serve this marginalized and underserved community.
All of these professional highlights were inspired by the loss of her mother in 2013. Navigating that grief inspired a domino of events that lead to a need to spread goodness, hope and knowledge. A significant part of that journey was accepting self enough to be proud of all of the pieces of her identity — a Palestinian Arab American woman from Paterson — pieces that she had been taught to hide, shy away from and “grow out of.” As the years went by, she has learned so much through her career as an Arab American Professional Actor, Grant Writer, Program Manager, Daughter, Friend and more.