# Nadim Sawalha

Nadim Joakim Sawalha (Arabic: نديم صوالحة) (born 8 September 1935) is a Jordanian-British actor. He has made over 100 appearances in film and television, in a career spanning more than 40 years, which include two James Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and The Living Daylights (1987). He is the father of actresses Nadia and Julia Sawalha.

## Early life

Sawalha was born in Madaba, Jordan, in 1935 and moved to the United Kingdom in the early 1950s to study drama. His daughter Julia revealed on her episode of Who Do You Think You Are? that he is uncertain of his birth date, but it is thought to be around 7 to 9 September. His brother is comedian Nabil Sawalha.

## Personal life

Sawalha is married to Roberta Mary Lane, and has three daughters, including Nadia and Julia.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1973 | Yellow Dog | An Arab pilot | |
| 1973 | A Touch of Class | Night Hotel Manager | |
| 1974 | Callan | Padilla | |
| 1974 | The Bunny Caper | Abdur | aka Sex Play |
| 1974 | Gold | A member of the Syndicate | |
| 1974 | Vampira | An airline representative | |
| 1975 | The Wind and the Lion | The Sherif of Wazan | |
| 1975 | The Return of the Pink Panther | Museum guide | |
| 1977 | Are You Being Served? | The Emir's Interpreter | |
| 1977 | Sweeney! | Chairman of the Oil Producers' Conference | |
| 1977 | Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger | Hassan | |
| 1977 | The Spy Who Loved Me | Aziz Fekkesh | |
| 1980 | The Awakening | Dr El Sadek | |
| 1981 | Göta kanal eller Vem drog ur proppen? | Sheikh Kahlifa bin Hirscham al Saba | |
| 1985 | Young Sherlock Holmes | Egyptian tavern owner | |
| 1987 | The Living Daylights | Tangier police chief | |
| 1991 | Company Business | Faisal | |
| 2005 | Syriana | Emir Hamad Al-Subaai | |
| 2006 | The Nativity Story | Melchior | |
| 2007 | Whatever Lola Wants | Adham | |
| 2008 | Captain Abu Raed | Abu Raed | |
| 2010 | West Is West | Pir Naseem | |
| 2015 | The Rendezvous | Professor Al Ahmad |
| 2018 | Tel Aviv on Fire | Bassem | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Space: 1999 | Zoran | Episode: "The Immunity Syndrome" |
| 1976 | The Sweeney | Captain Shebbeq | Episode: "Visiting Fireman" |
| 1976 | Survivors | Amul | Episodes: "Lights of London", parts 1 & 2 |
| 1977 | The Professionals | Sheikh Achmeia | Episode: "Long Shot" |
| 1978 | The Professionals | Arab Diplomat | Episode: "First Night" |
| 1979 | The Knowledge | Arab Man | |
| 1979 | Minder | Sardi | Episode: "A Tethered Goat", Series 1 |
| 1981 | Juliet Bravo | Mr. Hamid | Episode: "The Third Man" |
| 1981 to 1982 | Sorry, I'm A Stranger Here Myself | Mumtaz | |
| 1984 | Bergerac | Zaki Mansoor | Episode: "A Touch Of Eastern Promise" Season 3 Episode 6 |
| 1985 | Open All Hours | Mr. Gupta | Episode: "Horse-Trading" |
| 1988 | Tales of the Unexpected | Zayid | Episode (9/8): "The Finger of Suspicion" |
| 1990 | House of Cards | Bank Manager | Episode 1 |
| 1993-2006 | The Bill | Multiple | Episode: "Part of the Family" (1993) Mr. Said Episode: "Nice Boy" (1996) Hussein Bakri Episode: "To Catch a Cobra" (1999) Amit Roy Episode: "On the Wagon" (2000) Viviek Gupta Episode: "461: Go For Gold" (2006) Rafi Nadir |
| 1995-1998 | Dangerfield | Dr. Shaaban Hamada | |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Judge Zadic | |
| 2002 | The Last Cavalier | | |
| 2003 | Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World | Narrator | PBS |
| 2007 | Diana: Last Days of a Princess | Mohammed Al-Fayed | Docudrama |
| 2007 | Robin Hood | Bassam | Episode: "We Are Robin Hood" |
| 2008 | House of Saddam | King Hussein | |
| 2011 | The Hour | Naguib Hafiz | Episode #1.2 |

### Other roles

* He played the part of Omar Badri in the BBC's CDX computer game.
* In the 2018 BBC Radio 4 miniseries A Tale of Two Cities: Aleppo and London, he played the role of Dr. Mahmoud.