Comedian Omid Djalili recalls the terrifying moment he was shot at with an air rifle in shocking attack while at university in Northern Ireland
Comedian Omid Djalili remembers the terrifying moment when he was shot with an air rifle in a shocking attack while at university in Northern Ireland
Omid Djalili is candid about a terrifying encounter he had while at university in Ireland where he was nearly shot in a targeted attack.
The Iranian-British comedian, 57, who grew up in Kensington, began his early adult years at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, studying English and Theater Studies.
He attended college in the mid-80s while the Troubles were going on, and has now spoken of being shot with a rifle in a shocking incident.
Talking about Kate Garraway’s life stories, Omid recalled the horrifying moment when he was targeted.
He said, “I was one of three ethnic minorities in college. Once I was throwing rocks on Portstewart Beach.
Scary: Omid Djalili tells of a terrifying encounter he had at university in Ireland where he almost got shot
“These guys came up to me and said, ‘Do you want your kneecaps blown off?’
“I was shot with a rifle and I ran away, they came after me, I hid behind a garbage can.”
“And on Monday morning I told my professor and he said ‘don’t report it. If we report it, they’ll say who it is and they’ll come and kill you,'” he added.
Thirty years later, actor Omid appeared in several hit films, including The Mummy alongside Brendan Fraser and Gladiator starring Russell Crowe.
But there was one moment in particular that changed it all for him: a letter from a drama school in Cardiff, after he had been denied a place there.
After graduation, Omid, falsifying his grades to enter higher education, desperately wanted to enter drama school and applied to 16 drama schools in total.
The last drama school he applied to was in Cardiff and after paying a £50 fee to apply and then being rejected, he asked for feedback.
Omid explained how his feedback letter changed his life, saying, “The letter said we sympathized with you that there was nothing we could do with you.
Open: Talking about Kate Garraway’s life stories, Omid recalled an extremely horrifying moment when he was targeted
“You look different, you sound different, we couldn’t put you in our program, but we think you’re already the finished article, go out and try to get some work on your own.”
Based on this advice, Omid kick-started his acting and comedy career. He said he was “always grateful” to drama school.
He said, “I took their advice. Everything I auditioned for, I got. I’m always grateful to them because they said just go out and do it.’
Omid’s success has propelled him to become one of King Charles’ favorite comedians.
Recalling one time when he even met the Queen, Omid teased that she was a “little tipsy.”
He said, “I remember meeting the Queen once and I had no tie and left my collar open.
Successful: Omid’s success has made him one of King Charles’ favorite comedians
“The Queen had already had a drink and she was a little tipsy and happy and went down to say hello to people.
“She came up to me and she looked at my collar and made some sort of noise that said ‘you dared to do it and you got away with it, I like it’.”
Omid’s appearance on the ITV show marked herself as the third and final guest of the series on Kate Garraway’s Life Stories.
She also interviewed Ruby Wax and Anton Du Beke.