Omid Djalili has revealed information about a terrifying episode in which he was nearly shot in a targeted attack while at university.
The 57-year-old actor and comedian is well-known for his performances in blockbusters such as The Mummy, Gladiator, and Notting Hill, as well as appearances on TV programmes such as Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, and Would I Lie To You?
Omid fabricated his A-level test results to obtain admission to Ulster University in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, after being rejected by 16 acting schools.
On the newest edition of Kate Garraway’s Life Stories, the actor reflected on his time at university, including one event in which he was nearly shot.
The Iranian-British comedian grew raised in Kensington before migrating to Northern Ireland in the mid-1980s, during the height of The Troubles.
Omid described how he was picked out and left scared following an unnerving interaction on the show.
‘I was one of three ethnic minorities at university,’ he explained.
‘Once I was throwing stones on Portstewart Beach.
‘These guys come over to me and they said: “Do you want your kneecaps blown off?”.
‘One guy ran away and his friend said “oh god he’s serious you better run” and he came back with an air rifle and started taking shots at me.’
He continued: ‘I got shot at with a rifle and I ran away, they came chasing after me, I hid behind a bin.
‘And then on the Monday morning I told my professor and he said “don’t report it. If we report it, they’ll say who it is and then they’ll come and kill you”.’
Omid also mentioned being targeted due of his heritage last year, but he said he no longer let it bother him.
When asked about trolling, the comic claimed he gets harsh comments on social media “all the time,” but it doesn’t “bother me in the slightest’
‘They’ll say derogatory things about Muslims and I’m not even Muslim, or they’ll say, “Why don’t you go back to Iran and do your comedy there?”,’ he explained.
While he said he faced abuse ‘almost daily’, he’d learnt to respond by just blocking those who tried to target him.
Kate Garraway’s Life Stories is streaming on ITVX.
