Alexander Siddig
Birth Name: Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi (صدّيق الطاهر الفاضل الصدّيق عبدالرحمن محمد أحمد عبدالكريم المهدي)
Place of Birth: Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan
Date of Birth: 21 November, 1965
Ethnicity:
*father – Sudanese [Nubian, Arab]
*mother – English, small amount of Scottish and Irish
Alexander Siddig is a Sudanese-British actor and director. He is known for his roles on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 24, Game of Thrones, and Gotham, in the films Syriana, A Lost Man, Cairo Time, and Inescapable, and in the made-for-tv movie Hannibal (2006). He is also known as Siddig El Fadil.
Alexander is the son of Gloria (Taylor), a model and theatrical press agent, and Tahir El Mahdi. His father is Sudanese, and was a student at Cambridge University. His mother is English. His parents met when his mother traveled to Sudan in the 1960s. His paternal uncle was Sudanese political and religious figure Sadiq al-Mahdi, who was Prime Minister of Sudan, from 27 July, 1966 to 18 May, 1967, and again, from 6 May, 1986 to 30 June, 1989. His maternal uncle, mother’s brother, is actor Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor). His cousin, Malcom’s son, is film director and writer Charlie McDowell.
Alexander was raised mostly in London, England. He spoke Arabic for a time. His stepfather was film producer and director Michael Birkett, 2nd Baron Birkett. He is married to Shana Collier. Alexander has a son with his former wife, American actress Nana Visitor.
Alexander’s paternal grandfather was named Sayyid al-Saddiq al-Mahdi (the son of Sayyid Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi). Alexander’s great-grandfather was a leading religious and political figure in Sudan, and was the son of Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who was a Nubian religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan. He was proclaimed the Mahdi by his disciples.
Alexander’s maternal grandfather was Charles Thomas Taylor (the son of Frederick Taylor and Louisa Tyrer). Charles was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire. Frederick was the son of Charles Taylor and Margaret Reid.
Alexander’s maternal grandmother was Edna McDowell (the daughter of Albert Edward McDowell and Ellen Spencer). Edna was born in Chorlton, Lancashire, England. Albert was the son of John Albert McDowell, who was born in Brazil, with roots in Scotland and England; and of Mary Jane Sarah Morley, who was born on Gibraltar, of English, and some Irish, descent. Ellen was the daughter of John Greenwood Spencer and Sarah Hannah Halliday.
Source: Genealogy of Alexander Siddig – https://www.geni.com
Do we have any pictures of his father or paternal grandparents? I’m really curious if they were from the Arabized Nubians who make up most of the population of the country, Nubians, or Arabs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ahmad
” Nubian religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan”
I think that answers your question.
Thanks! He should be added as “Sudanese Nubian,” then, possibly other.
@Oaken
There are pics of him, he looked pred. Caucasoid (headshape, nose etc) since he belonged to an Arab elite. He was not a Black African.
@andrew
Pics as in drawings?
His son looked the furthest from a ”Caucasoid”
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sayed-abdel-rahman-el-mahdi-uncrowned-king-of-the-sudan-he-news-photo/3331871
Agree about his son, but maybe he took his look after the mother’s side.
I mean, he obviously had Nubian ancestry – among other groups – which was my only point. His father was very likely a mix of Nubian and Arab like most of the Sudanese population.
In any case, like “Mexican” or “Canadian,” “Sudanese” is a nationality. I thought we only use nationalities when we can’t figure out ethnicites. In this case, Alexander’s paternal side is “Sudanese (Nubian, Arab, possibly other).”
Btw was this guy has possibly the longest name ever on Ethnicelebs.
The majority of the Sudanese population does not have Arab ancestry. There was a very nasty civil war between those of Arab ancestry of the north and the largely unmixed population of southern Sudan.
The mixed Sudanese population, however, would hardly look different from much of the African American population, which is an admixed group.
Looks like a typical Iraqi.
Big Arabid nose probably got via Semitic ancestry from his Sudanese side.
His very white uncle Malcolm McDowell has a similar nose! He and Alexander look very much alike. Malcolm has those intense blue eyes, though, while Alexander’s eyes are green.
SHIT! Long name.
Yes that’s a long name alright. I would have hated to be his teacher doing attendance. I can imagine his mother yelling ( Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Karim El Mahdi), you clean your room right this minute
He was cool in (Kingdom of Heaven)