On this Christmas day, we continue our ongoing spotlight series 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 our attention recently in their art and advocacy. Here are the eight you should definitely keep an eye on!
Lebanese-Palestinian-Syrian-Italian-American, born in Oakland, California, Sammy Obeid is best known for his 1,001 day streak of consecutive comedy performances. It began on December 26th, 2010, and concluded on September 21st, 2013- four days after an appearance on TBS’s Conan. Breaking the old world record on Day 731, Sammy set the new one at 1,001 Arabian Nights of Comedy.
Over the course of the streak, he appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent and advanced to the Las Vegas round, and became the first comedian to perform on The Food Network. Splitsider conducted an extensive interview with him entering the home stretch. LA Weekly praised Sammy’s “sheer force of will” in performance and lifestyle, and LA Mag recommended his show highly. He was profiled in TIME Magazine, followed soon after by an article in the New York Times. Published on his final day, it describes his material as “full of wordplay” and “clever misdirection.”
Chunks of his streak were spent as youngest member of both the CoExist Comedy and Axis of Evil: New Generation national tours. Capping the streak, his debut album, Get Funny or Die Trying, was named a Best Comedy Album of 2013 by iTunes. Not slowed, Sammy has now embarked on a national college tour performing for hundreds of students a week.
Sammy has founded his own comedy enterprise, KO Comedy. He’s hard at work on both a book and documentary about his 1,001 Nights, each with the witty advice and deep-insider view found on his blog.
From Bangladesh and raised in Hong Kong, Shafin has worked in Film and Theatre for over 10 years. Her most recent roles include, a co-star for a TV Series in production for Amazon Prime, and Myrtle in Secret Theatre’s “The Great Gatsby,” during the UK company’s HK tour. She can next be seen in the upcoming Amazon Prime series “Expats”, starring Sarayu Blue, Nicole Kidman, and Brian Tee.
She has worked on projects from Hong Kong, Hollywood, France and Italy, with films selected for Film and Arts Festivals in France, Sharjah and South Africa.
With a background in theater, she has played roles from Cinderella, Princess Jasmine to the villain, Tylette, in the musical adaptation of the play “The Bluebird of Happiness.” She has a breadth of experience in fantasy and sci-fi genres across all mediums.
A seasoned voice actor, Shafin has voiced audioplays, animation and commercials for clients such as Hong Kong Tourism Board, Toys R Us, HKUST, American Tourister and LeapFrog.
She is also a very proud NYU Alum! And prior to acting, worked at MTV and DefJam Records in NYC.
Rami Abushhab is an award winning actor based in Chicago, Illinois. He played a supporting role in the film “BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop” which was an official selection of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Rami is also a stand up comedian who was featured on “Laughter Is Good For The Soul” which debuted as the number one comedy album in the US on iTunes. He has a wide variety of skills that go from being a former varsity basketball player to being a fluent Arabic speaker.
Rami has also starred in various independent films and commercials for big brands such as Tinder, Lids, RCN Cable, and Home Run Inn Pizza. As a comedian, he has sold out his last four shows with over 400 tickets sold with his group Terminal Five Comedy.
Nayab Hussain is an actress born in Pakistan and raised in NY. After completing her Doctorate of Pharmacy, she took a leap of faith and moved back to New York to resume her career as an actress, while working as a full time pharmacist. Nayab has worked with several notable actors such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rosanna Arquette, Poorna Jagannathan and Jeff Daniels. Most recently, Nayab worked on NBC’s New Amsterdam and with Tom Hanks in the film A Man Called Otto.
Nayab’s goal is to break the mold and defy stereotypes that have defined Muslim women in the world, as she has been able to do in real life. She hopes this will inspire the next generation of Muslim children to open their minds and hearts to the arts, and to not be afraid of Log Kya Kahenge (what people will say).
Maysoon Zayid is a comedian, actress, writer, and disability advocate. She is a graduate of Arizona State University and a Princeton Fellow. Maysoon is the co-founder/co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. She was a full-time On Air Contributor to Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a columnist for The Daily Beast. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, CNN, ABC News, and Oprah Winfrey Networks. Maysoon had the most viewed TED Talk of 2014 and was thrilled to collaborate with Huda Beauty.
As a professional comedian, Maysoon has sold out top New York clubs and has toured extensively at home and abroad. She was a headliner on the Arabs Gone Wild Comedy Tour and The Together Live Tour. Maysoon appeared alongside Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and has written for Glamour magazine. She limped in New York Fashion Week and is a recurring character on General Hospital. She is the author of the best-selling memoir Find Another Dream and is collaborating with Scholastic on her debut comic book Shiny Misfits.
Noreen Quadir is an actress and writer working in theatre, film, TV, commercials, print, voiceover, and audiobook narration.
Soft-spoken with a bubbly resilience and a spark of sass, she brings a mix of intelligence, quirky playfulness, and quiet strength to her characters. She has starred in Off-Broadway and New York plays and award-winning films. As an activist, she particularly enjoys working on projects that contain strong social messages.
Noreen received her BA in Theatre at Southern Connecticut State University and studied acting at the Circle in the Square Theatre, improv at the Magnet Theater, and voiceover at Edge Studio. She is trained in Stanislavski, Meisner, and Chekhov.
She has also written screenplays, short stories, poems, and a children’s picture book.
During her spare time, she enjoys reading, dancing, traveling, singing karaoke, and volunteering. She is currently taking belly dancing lessons. Noreen loves animals and is a vegetarian. Although she typically eats healthy, she has a sweet tooth. Her favorite food is chocolate which she indulges in pretty much every day!
Rany Abu-Elniaj is from Atlanta, GA with Palestinian and Lebanese roots and has been acting for seven years. One night during one of the darkest times in his life, his roommate dragged him to an acting class. He fell in love and it’s been history ever since.
Rany has had extensive training in improv, script analysis, and scene study work. He has been blessed to be a part of both the DC and Marvel Universe, as well as several commercials and independent projects — his most recent work being with Deelishis of Flavor of Love 2.
Rany plans on showcasing his culture and background to the entertainment business with his own personal experiences and training. He is one of the actors who have portrayed characters for both Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment. He portrayed Tattooed Man in Doom Patrol.
Born in New Delhi, India, Abhay Walia had a passion for the performance arts from a very young age. He acted in many school plays before moving to Washington, D.C. at the age of 9. Growing up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia, he graduated from The College of William & Mary with a double major in Asian American Theatre/Film & Business Consulting/Marketing. In his time at William & Mary, Abhay was the lead in two main stage productions and even wrote/directed his own play Silent Chaos about the effects of war on the homefront.
Impassioned by the thrill of performing, he immediately moved to Los Angeles after graduating to pursue acting full time. Within a week of moving to LA, he booked his first commercial! It was a sign of things to come…
Now, nearly a decade in to this adventure, he has had the pleasure of working as a Principal on Feature Films, dozens of Commercials, Print Campaigns, Industrials, a bunch of short films (Including three award winners), TV Pilots, Music Videos, Audiobooks, and five TV shows (along with many other supporting roles & cameos). He feels grateful for all the love acting has shown him so far, and looks forward to diving into his next role!