# René Ifrah

René Ifrah is an American actor born in Germany and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He is best known for his role as Bibi Hamed on the Showtime series Homeland, for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award (2016). He is also known for his recurring roles on Showtime's crime drama Sneaky Pete, where he played the character of Wali (2017–2018); the Showtime Drama series The Affair (2017); and the Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie (2009–2011).

## Early life

Rene Ifrah was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and raised there and in Sicily until moving to Brooklyn, New York, with his family around the age of 10. He is of German, Sephardic, and Italian descent.

## Career
### Film

After his film debut in a small part in the 2002 film Hart's War, starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell, Ifrah went on to co-star in the German ensemble film September as Ashraf, a Pakistani pizzeria owner in Hamburg, Germany, at odds with his German wife after the September 11 attacks. He then starred in the German film Grüße aus Kaschmir (2004), for which he won a Grimme-Preis (2005) for best ensemble. He then appeared in Beyond the Sea as well as The Taking of Pelham 123.

### Television

After guest starring roles on shows including NBC's Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and American Broadcasting Company's Life on Mars, Ifrah landed a recurring role in the Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie.
He had a recurring role as Danny in the Starz miniseries Flesh and Bone before landing the part of Bibi Hamed for season five of the Showtime program Homeland.
Since Homeland, Ifrah has had further recurring parts on Showtime's The Affair and Sneaky Pete as well as additional guest appearances on Netflix's The Punisher and CBS's Blue Bloods and God Friended Me.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Berlintaxi | Yussuf | Short film |
| 2002 | Hart's War | Pvt. T.S. Krasner | |
| 2003 | September | Ashraf | |
| 2004 | Beyond the Sea | 2nd Assistant Director | |
| 2005 | Warum Ulli sich am Weihnachtsabend umbringen wollte | Heino | |
| 2006 | Fay Grim | Cameo | |
| 2007 | I'd Like to Die a Thousand Times | Cameo | |
| 2009 | Dry River Road | Akeem Maleki | Short film |
| 2009 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Cameo | |
| 2018 | Nancy | Jake Lee | |

### Television (selected roles)

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Altair in Starland | Grizzl (voice) | Main cast, nine episodes |
| 2004 | Blood of the Templars [de] | Shareef | TV movie |
| 2005 | Was Sie schon immer über Singles wissen wollten | KC | TV movie |
| 2005 | Der letzte Zeuge | Madan Sansawar | Episode: "Das Rad des Lebens" |
| 2006 | Zores | Leo Rosen | TV movie |
| 2006 | Kommissarin Lucas | Mehmet | Two episodes: "Skizze einer Toten", "Die blaue Blume" |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | George Lombardi | Episode: "Amends" |
| 2007 | Email to Bill Gates | Mr. Brill | TV movie |
| 2008 | Die Sache mit dem Glück | Manolo | TV movie |
| 2008 | Die Patin – Kein Weg zurück | Sandro | TV miniseries: (as Rene David Ifrah) |
| 2009 | Damages | Uniform Cop #2 | Episode: "Hey! Mr. Pibb!" |
| 2009 | Life on Mars | The Groom | Episode: "Home Is Where You Hang Your Holster" |
| 2007–2009 | Law & Order | Alex Chambers & Sid Maxwell | Two episodes: "Human Flesh Search Engine", "Fallout" |
| 2010 | SOKO München | Antonio Mori | Episode: "Vendetta" |
| 2010 | The Sleeper's Wife | Zaid Ben Yakin | TV movie |
| 2009–2011 | Nurse Jackie | Officer Ryan | Recurring, five episodes |
| 2012 | Das Geheimnis der Villa Sabrini [de] | Francesco Sabrini | TV movie |
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Officer Bracken | Episode: "Presumed Guilty" |
| 2013 | Die Pastorin | Dr. Antonio Alvarez | TV movie |
| 2014 | Believe | Stimson | Episode: "Together" |
| 2014 | Katie Fforde: Eine Liebe in New York | Alejandro | TV movie |
| 2015 | Franziskas Welt: Hochzeiten und andere Hürden | Dr. Antonio Alvarez | TV movie |
| 2015 | Flesh and Bone | Danny | TV miniseries: three episodes |
| 2015 | Homeland | Bibi Hamed | Recurring, season 5, seven episodes |
| 2014 | Katie Fforde: Das Schweigen der Männer | Howard Harper | TV movie |
| 2016 | Shakespeares letzte Runde | Petruchio | TV movie |
| 2014 | Sneaky Pete | Wali | Recurring, five episodes |
| 2016–2017 | The Affair | Detective Romero | Recurring, three episodes |
| 2017 | The Punisher | Officer Jack | Episode: "Danger Close" |
| 2018 | Get Christie Love | Mamoun | TV movie |
| 2018 | Blue Bloods | Tariq Ali | Episode: "Close Calls" |

### Voiceover work

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2004 | Altair in Starland | Voices of Altair and Grizzl | 9 episodes | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 2005 | Adolf Grimme Award | Best Ensemble Cast Award (shared with the cast) | Grüße aus Kaschmir | Won | |
| 2016 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Ensemble Cast Award (shared with the cast) | Homeland: Season 5 | Nominated | |