Osamah Sami

Osamah Sami (born 10 March 1983 in Qom, Iran) is an Australian stage and screen actor, writer, spoken word artist, and stand-up comedian of Iraqi origin. His critically acclaimed book Good Muslim Boy, was the winner of the 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Award.[1] It was also Highly Commended at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards that same year.[2]

Osamah Sami
أسامة سامي
Born (1983-03-10) 10 March 1983
Qom, Iran
OccupationActor, Writer, Comedian, Poet
Notable work
Good Muslim Boy (book)
Ali's Wedding (film)
AwardsAustralian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award
Film Critics Circle of Australia Award
Australian Muslim Achievement Award
Sydney Indie Film Festival Award
NSW Premier's Literary Prize Award
Australian Writers Guild Award
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Award

Sami also co wrote and starred in Ali's Wedding, which earned him an Australian Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as well as a nomination for Best Lead Actor.[3] This was mirrored at the 2018 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards in 2018, where he won for Best Script, and was nominated for Best Male Lead.[4] His script also received an Australian Writers Guild Award in the Best Original Film category.[5] The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival,[6] and was the winner of The Age Critics Prize at Melbourne International Film Festival.[7]

Osamah has also been nominated for a Green Room Award for Best Male Performer in a Lead Role for Melbourne Theatre Company's I Call My Brothers.[8]

Biography

Sami was born in Iran to Iraqi parents and was cast in several roles on stage in his childhood hometown of Qom.[9][10]

After immigrating to Australia, he began working with a local theatre group and starred in many productions from then on. His performance in Trial of Saddam, where he played Saddam Hussein, was very successful amongst the Iraqi community in Australia. The play was written by his father. In 2005 he was part of a theatre group that was prevented from entering the United States of America to perform the play.[9][10]

He has since gone on to work regularly in film, theatre and television. He has been cast in several leading roles; one opposite Claudia Karvan in the telemovie Saved, directed by Tony Ayres.[11] He also played the lead role in the award-winning Dee McLachlan comedy feature, 10 Terrorists! His guest roles include TV shows including East West 101, Rush, Sea Patrol, City Homicide, Jack Irish and a regular role in the TV series Kick.

His theatre appearances include Belvoir St. Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre Company, and La Mama.

Osamah is also the co-creator of the comedy web series Two Refugees & a Blonde, which was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the L.A Web Fest. He also writes a poetry blog, with four main categories of: Love, Social Justice, For Dad and War.[12]

Awards

Filmography

Feature films

TV work

Stage
  • 2018 – Good Muslim Boy (Malthouse Theatre/ Queensland Theatre)
  • 2017 – The Sound of Waiting (Brown's Mart Theatre, Darwin)
  • 2016 – Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mama Theatre) – remount/ tour
  • 2015 – I Call My Brothers (Melbourne Theatre Company)
  • 2014 – Tales of a City by the Sea (La Mama Theatre)
  • 2014 – The Container (Big West Festival)
  • 2013 – The Two Executioners (La Mama Theatre)
  • 2012 – Transit.Origin.Destination (A.P.E Sydney)
  • 2011 – Black Box 149 (La Mama Theatre)
  • 2010 – Long Day's Dying (La Mama Theatre)
  • 2009 – Baghdad Wedding (Belvoir St. Theatre Company)
  • 2007 – Hombody/ Kabul (Theatre @ Risk)
  • 2007 – Sinners (La Mamma Theatre)
  • 2006 – Trial of Saddam (A.A.G)

Writer
  • Good Muslim Boy (Stage)
  • Ali's Wedding (Feature Film)
  • 2 Refugees & a Blonde (Web Series)
  • The Bus Stop (Stage)
  • From Baghdad to the Burbs (TV Series)

Books
  • Good Muslim Boy A memoir, published by Hardie Grant

References
  1. 1414, scheme=AGLSTERMS.AglsAgent; corporateName=State Library of New South Wales; address=Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000; contact=+61 2 9273 (23 March 2016). "2016 - Multicultural NSW Award". State Library of NSW.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016". The Wheeler Centre.
  3. "Winners & Nominees | AACTA". www.aacta.org. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  4. "Film Critics Association of Australia | 2017 Awards". fcca.com.au. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  5. "AWGIE Awards Winners List" (PDF).
  6. "Sydney Film Festival - Foxtel Movies Audience Award". www.sff.org.au. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  7. Quinn, Karl (14 August 2017). "MIFF 2017: Ali's Wedding wins The Age Critics Award". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  8. "Page not found – The Green Room Awards". Cite uses generic title (help)
  9. Molitorisz, Sacha (8 February 2009). "You're called what?". Sun Herald. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  10. Webb, Carolyn (4 April 2009). "Actor Sami aims to turn heads for all the right reasons from now on". The Age.
  11. Neill, Rosemary (28 March 2009). "First Impressions: Claudia Karvan". The Australian.
  12. "Osamah Sami". Osamah Sami.
  13. "AFCA 2018 Film & Writing Awards". Australian Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  14. "Winners & Nominees | AACTA". www.aacta.org. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  15. "Australian Muslim Achievement Awards 2017 Finalists! - Mission of Hope". www.missionofhope.org.au. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
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