Aqib Khan
Born
Aqib Khan

(1994-08-24) 24 August 1994
City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationActor
Years active2010–present

Aqib Khan (Urdu: عاقب خان; born 24 August 1994) is an English actor, best known for his leading role in the 2010 comedy film West Is West. He is also a key cast member in BBC series Ladhood.[1][2][3]

Early life

Khan was born in the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire in England, and is of Pakistani descent.[4][5]

Khan attended Knowleswood Primary School prior to enrolling at Nab Wood School, then Tong High School where he took drama, followed by Thornton Grammar School where he studied for a BTEC in Sports.[6]

Career

Khan made his screen debut in the 2010 comedy film West Is West, sequel to the 1999 film East Is East, both written by Ayub Khan-Din. He was fifteen years old and studying his GCSEs when he auditioned for the role of Sajid;[7] and was sixteen years old and in sixth form when he was cast.[8]

When cast in West Is West, Khan had only appeared in one school theatre play and had little acting experience.[9][10] He was considered "something of a find" for the film due to his resemblance to actor Jordan Routledge, who played the role of Sajid in the original film, and was selected following over 300 auditions for the part.[11][12] Khan joined the cast and crew in both Salford and in India (doubling up as Pakistan) for filming of West Is West.

Of his performance, Belfast Telegraph wrote that Khan "has revealed he already had a strong connection to the character of Sajid Khan before he was cast in the sequel to hit comedy East Is East"[1] while RTÉ wrote "newcomer Aqib Khan is superb as the cheeky, angst-ridden teen, and his change of heart plays out convincingly".[13] The Scotsman wrote "as Sajid, young Aqib Khan has enough natural charm and confidence to make him an endearing scene-stealer"[14] and Canadian publication National Post wrote "newbie Aqib Khan fits perfectly."[7][15][16]

In 2014, Khan was co-lead in Jason Wingard's short film Going to Mecca alongside comedian Jack Carroll, but actor Antonio Aakeel was selected to portray the same character alongside Carroll in the 2019 feature film version of the short, titled Eaten by Lions.[17]

In November 2019, Khan appeared as part of the main cast in Ladhood, a BBC series written by and starring comedian Liam Williams. The series details the experiences of his adolescence, and serves as a television adaptation of his BBC Radio 4 show of the same name. In April 2021, Khan rejoined the cast as filming began for season two of Ladhood, which was released in August 2021.[18][19]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2010 West Is West Sajid Khan Film
2011 The Jury [20] Rashid Jarwar Main role; 5 episodes
2013 Our Lad Umer Short film
2014 Going to Mecca [21] Short film
2014 Remember Me Zamir Salim 2 episodes
2016 Pit Stop Noveed Film
2017 In the Dark Mikey 1 episode
2017 Freesia [22] Yusuf Short film
2017 Apostasy Umar Film
2017 Lies We Tell Pinoo Film
2017 In Another Life Tarek Film
2018 Wasteland Bilal Film
2019 Years and Years Vijay Babu 2 episodes
2019–2022 Ladhood Adnan Masood Main role
2020 Ghosts Nev 1 episode
2023 Call Jonathan Pie Sam Radio 4 sitcom[23]

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (17 February 2011). "Aqib fitted right into Sajid role". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  2. ↑ West is West star Aqib Khan interviewed (Flash video) (News). BBC News. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  3. ↑ Ladhood, retrieved 15 March 2022
  4. ↑ "West is West star interviewed by his classmates". 24 February 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Joseph, Rebecca-Jane (24 February 2011). "Interview with Aqib Khan for West Is West". HeyUGuys. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Aqib all set for film stardom". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  7. 1 2 Eriksson, Scott (15 July 2011). "Aqib Khan Interview: West Is West". Asians in Film. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Staff (23 November 2010). "Thornton teenager cast in sequel to classic film East Is East". Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  9. ↑ Aqib Khan, star on the horizon or chartered accountant? (Flash video) (News). BBC News. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Carnevale, Rob (24 February 2011). "West Is West – Aqib Khan interview". IndieLondon. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  11. ↑ Joseph, Rebecca-Jane (24 February 2011). "Interview with Aqib Khan for West Is West". heyuguys.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Movie hit revisited as a new star rises in the East". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Delaney, Laura (24 February 2011). "review: West Is West". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  14. ↑ "Film Review: West Is West". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  15. ↑ Siddiqi, Maryam (24 March 2011). "Film Review: West Is West". National Post. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  16. ↑ Carole (16 March 2011). "Actu UK : The Jury pour ITV et Top Boy pour Channel 4 en tournage ; BBC Two commande Line of Duty". Critictoo (in French). Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  17. ↑ Bennett, Steve. "Comedy movie Eaten By Lions gets its world premiere : News 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Ladhood lands a second series". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  19. ↑ "Filming has begun on the second series of BBC comedy Ladhood". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "Aqib Khan". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  21. ↑ Going to Mecca, retrieved 15 March 2022
  22. ↑ "Freesia". Empire. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  23. ↑ "Call Jonathan Pie". BBC Sounds. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
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