Khalid Abdalla

Acting

Khalid Abdalla

Born 1981-10-26 · Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Khalid Abdalla (born 1980) is a British-Egyptian actor. He came to international prominence after starring in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning film, United 93. Written and directed by Paul Greengrass, it chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked as part of the September 11 attacks. Abdalla played Ziad Jarrah, the pilot and leader of the four hijackers on board the flight. He starred as Amir in the film of The Kite Runner and acted with Matt Damon in Green Zone, his second film with director Paul Greengrass Abdalla is on the board of the National Student Drama Festival. In 2011, he became one of the founding members of the Mosireen ("We Insist") Collective in Cairo: a group of revolutionary filmmakers and activists dedicated to supporting citizen media across Egypt in the wake of Hosni Mubarak's fall. Three months after it began, Mosireen became the most watched non-profit YouTube channel in Egypt of all time, and in the whole world in January 2012. Abdalla was educated at King's College School, an independent school for boys in Wimbledon in south-west London and his classmates included actor Ben Barnes and comedian Tom Basden. He became interested in acting after becoming involved in his school's thriving drama scene. In 1998, he directed a production of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinness, which ended up having a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival and earned five stars in The Scotsman newspaper, making him the youngest director to receive this accolade.

Acting credits

United 93 poster
7.1

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.

United 93

2006

Assassin's Creed poster
5.4

Through a technology that unlocks the genetic memories of his ancestor in 15th century Spain, Callum Lynch discovers he is a descendant of an ancient line of Assassins and amasses lethal skills to take on the oppressive Templar Order.

Assassin's Creed

2016

Green Zone poster
6.5

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that threatens to invert the purpose of their mission.

Green Zone

2010

The Kite Runner poster
7.3

After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

The Kite Runner

2007

Our Kind of Traitor poster
6.0

A young Oxford academic and his attorney girlfriend holiday in Morocco. They bump into a Russian millionaire who owns a peninsula and a diamond watch. He wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the lovers on a tortuous journey to the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's intelligence establishment, to Paris and the Alps.

Our Kind of Traitor

2016

Undergods poster
5.7

An otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline - a collection of darkly humorous, fantasy tales about ill-fated characters and doomed fortune.

Undergods

2021

Birds Like Us poster
4.1

The story follows a group of birds on a journey where they try to find a better life for themselves and the ones they love.

Birds Like Us

2017

Birds Like Us poster
4.1

The story follows a group of birds on a journey where they try to find a better life for themselves and the ones they love.

Birds Like Us

2017

The Square poster
7.6

The Square looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarak’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.

The Square

2013

Together for Palestine poster
8.2

Broadcast of the "Together for Palestine" charity concert organized by Brian Eno along with several artists to raise funds and awareness for Palestinian civilians affected by the ongoing war in Gaza.

Together for Palestine

2025

In the Last Days of the City poster
6.1

In the fading grandeur of downtown Cairo, Khalid, a 35-year-old filmmaker is struggling to make a film that captures the pulse of his city at a moment when all around him dreams as much as buildings are disintegrating. With the help of his friends who send him footage from their lives in Beirut, Baghdad and Berlin, he finds the strength to keep going through the difficulty and beauty of living IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY.

In the Last Days of the City

2016

No artwork available
6.6

A film interviewing the families of the heroes of United Flight 93, prior to the theatrical release of the feature film, United 93.

United 93: The Families and the Film

2006

Tigers poster
7.1

Ayan, a pharmaceutical salesman in Pakistan, takes on the multinational health care corporation he works for after he realizes they knowingly marketed a baby formula that's responsible for the death of hundreds of babies everyday.

Tigers

2014

The Narrow Frame of Midnight poster
5.0

The intersecting destinies of three people — a Moroccan-Iraqi writer searching for his brother, the lover whom he left behind, and a young orphan on the run — create an incisive and unsettling portrait of a land riven by violence and fundamentalism.

The Narrow Frame of Midnight

2014

No artwork available
3.5

A young man is killed for trying to stop what he sees as evil and his friends seen as fun. Whilst his sister starts an unwitting relationship with the killer and his mother sinks deeper into grief, it is left to his younger brother, seventeen Leo to avoid easy revenge and uncover the uncomfortable truth.

Hush Your Mouth

2007

Weapons of Choice poster
NR

Shows how today's Egyptian filmmakers, through fiction, documentary or participatory journalism, take action in the long and difficult process of transformation that is Revolution in their country.

Weapons of Choice

2012

No artwork available
5.0

The fascinating story of a brave young scientist from 11th century Arabia. Ibn Al-Haytham embarks upon a quest to uncover ancient mysteries that would change our world forever. A journey of science from darkness into light.

1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham

2015

Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere poster
NR

Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere is about different kinds of popular protest. Written and performed by Paul Mason, former economics editor of Channel 4 News and BBC's Newsnight, the play is a personal account of how we got from the optimism of the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement to the election of Donald Trump. Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere is directed by David Lan and performed by Paul Mason, Khalid Abdalla, Sirine Saba and Lara Sawalha. It is directed for TV by Tim van Someren and produced by the Young Vic in partnership with Totally Theatre Productions.

Why It's Kicking Off Everywhere

2017

Behind the camera