Ever since I was a young boy I always wanted to be a performer, whether it was dancing the moves of my childhood hero Michael Jackson, entering talent competitions, singing along to 80's crooners like Luther vandross, recording radio shows or directing imaginary films, I think it was obvious to my parents that I wasn't going to be a high-flying doctor.
I grew up excelling in the arts but wasn't sure in what way to express this creativity. Music has also played a very important part of my life too, I played the guitar as a child and used to rap along to early hip hop instrumentals in my teens as well as trying my hand at breakdancing. I started collecting records since the age 0f 14 and soon after, DJ'ing became a big passion of mine, harbouring thoughts of being a radio DJ and having my own show one day.
It wasn't till I was about 17 that I decided I wanted to be an actor and with my parents support auditioned and won a place at drama school, although I had never acted before it seemed a natural and instinctive way of realising my potential as an artist. I soon found that acting was something I enjoyed immensely and was the perfect way of expressing my creativity. Although those 3 years studying were by no means the easiest, I found it to be an invaluble lesson in maturity and self discovery. After I finished college in 1995 I was lucky enough to get an agent and moved to London to pursue a career as an actor, it wasn't long before I got my first acting job on TV. Not long after I landed a small role in Kenneth Brannagh's film version of Hamlet, meeting him, auditioning and landing the role became a turning point for me and reaffirmed my belief that I could turn acting into a profession.
Soon after, I did East is East as a play for Tamasha and the Royal Court Theatre, it was such a joy to work on a project that was not only relevant to my own life but to have been written so well and to be given a character like Tariq Khan so early in my career. TV roles followed including a year stint on Eastenders, that for me was a steep learning curve in being able to cope with immense amounts of pressure and fame, but I also felt blessed to have had the opportunity and learnt alot about the industry. I then was lucky enough to do the film version of East is East and due to its enormous success and popularity around the world it became a defining moment in my career and launched me into to the world of film. After that my career took off and I have starred in over 20 films and numerous TV shows. I've been very fortunate to work with some fantastic filmmakers, directors and actors over the last 16 years from every corner of the world and have travelled constantly, which for an actor is a gift. I feel lucky at my age to have achieved so much but I also feel I have so much more to give, especially with my music and other interests. I completed my first documentary recently "and the beat goes on" which I co-produced/wrote and music supervised, it was a chance to explore my love of filmmaking, music and DJing whist uncovering the history and magic of the island of Ibiza, it will be released soon. By the doing the film, it re-ignited my passion for DJ'ing and over the last few years I've been lucky enough to play at some of the best parties and clubs in London and across Europe. I have also ran and promoted numerous club nights over the last 20 years and have created some cool clubbing brands along the way like "back to kathleens" and "tabula rasa". I'm also currently producing deep house music under the name mrmist and umbrella bros with fellow producer and friend Tony S.
Food is a passion on mine also, as you can probably see from my recipe posts. Good wholesome, healthy cooking with the key being to use the best and freshest ingredients possible. I'm no Gordon Ramsey by any stretch but love how creative cooking can be and enjoy sharing my ideas and recipes with all. Another thing that Iam glad to have started doing recently is my radio podcasts, playing music from my own personal record collection and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you on a weekly basis schedule permitting. I also have a keen interest in photography.
As you can probably tell life to me is all about challenges, taking risks and being happy in what you do. I've never been someone to take the obvious route which is probably been reflected in my acting roles over the years, I take pride in these choices as it's these things that made me the person I am today.
I hope I will be able to continue working and be able to express myself through my acting, music, food and thoughts for many years to come.
thanks for visiting
Jimi㋡☆x
I grew up excelling in the arts but wasn't sure in what way to express this creativity. Music has also played a very important part of my life too, I played the guitar as a child and used to rap along to early hip hop instrumentals in my teens as well as trying my hand at breakdancing. I started collecting records since the age 0f 14 and soon after, DJ'ing became a big passion of mine, harbouring thoughts of being a radio DJ and having my own show one day.
It wasn't till I was about 17 that I decided I wanted to be an actor and with my parents support auditioned and won a place at drama school, although I had never acted before it seemed a natural and instinctive way of realising my potential as an artist. I soon found that acting was something I enjoyed immensely and was the perfect way of expressing my creativity. Although those 3 years studying were by no means the easiest, I found it to be an invaluble lesson in maturity and self discovery. After I finished college in 1995 I was lucky enough to get an agent and moved to London to pursue a career as an actor, it wasn't long before I got my first acting job on TV. Not long after I landed a small role in Kenneth Brannagh's film version of Hamlet, meeting him, auditioning and landing the role became a turning point for me and reaffirmed my belief that I could turn acting into a profession.
Soon after, I did East is East as a play for Tamasha and the Royal Court Theatre, it was such a joy to work on a project that was not only relevant to my own life but to have been written so well and to be given a character like Tariq Khan so early in my career. TV roles followed including a year stint on Eastenders, that for me was a steep learning curve in being able to cope with immense amounts of pressure and fame, but I also felt blessed to have had the opportunity and learnt alot about the industry. I then was lucky enough to do the film version of East is East and due to its enormous success and popularity around the world it became a defining moment in my career and launched me into to the world of film. After that my career took off and I have starred in over 20 films and numerous TV shows. I've been very fortunate to work with some fantastic filmmakers, directors and actors over the last 16 years from every corner of the world and have travelled constantly, which for an actor is a gift. I feel lucky at my age to have achieved so much but I also feel I have so much more to give, especially with my music and other interests. I completed my first documentary recently "and the beat goes on" which I co-produced/wrote and music supervised, it was a chance to explore my love of filmmaking, music and DJing whist uncovering the history and magic of the island of Ibiza, it will be released soon. By the doing the film, it re-ignited my passion for DJ'ing and over the last few years I've been lucky enough to play at some of the best parties and clubs in London and across Europe. I have also ran and promoted numerous club nights over the last 20 years and have created some cool clubbing brands along the way like "back to kathleens" and "tabula rasa". I'm also currently producing deep house music under the name mrmist and umbrella bros with fellow producer and friend Tony S.
Food is a passion on mine also, as you can probably see from my recipe posts. Good wholesome, healthy cooking with the key being to use the best and freshest ingredients possible. I'm no Gordon Ramsey by any stretch but love how creative cooking can be and enjoy sharing my ideas and recipes with all. Another thing that Iam glad to have started doing recently is my radio podcasts, playing music from my own personal record collection and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you on a weekly basis schedule permitting. I also have a keen interest in photography.
As you can probably tell life to me is all about challenges, taking risks and being happy in what you do. I've never been someone to take the obvious route which is probably been reflected in my acting roles over the years, I take pride in these choices as it's these things that made me the person I am today.
I hope I will be able to continue working and be able to express myself through my acting, music, food and thoughts for many years to come.
thanks for visiting
Jimi㋡☆x
