Faysal Ahmed ( so, Faysal Axmed; born 11 July 1985) is a Somali–American actor from

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Early life

Ahmed was born one of nine children in 1985 in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. Although his family is originally from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, he grew up in Yemen. His family hails from the Osman Mahamoud sub clan of the larger

Majeerteen The Majeerteen ( so, Majeerteen, ar, ماجرتين; also spelled Majerteen, Macherten, Majertain, or Mijurtin) is a sub-clan. It is one of the major Somali groups, with a vast traditional territory spanning 3 major regions of Somalia: Bari, ...

-Daarod. In 1999 he moved, along with his mother and some of his siblings, to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the age of 14.

Career

In a professional capacity, Ahmed served as a Youth Program Coordinator at the Bedlam Theater in

. He worked there on plays and poetry. He has also participated in an enrollment push for MNsure, a health insurance program in Minnesota. In 2013, Ahmed appeared in the film '' Captain Phillips''. He played Najee, a ship hijacker. Ahmed and three other actors were picked from among more than 700 participants at a 2011

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

call at the Brian Coyle Community Center in

Cedar-Riverside Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, or simply Riverside, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Interst ...

, Minneapolis. According to the search casting director, Debbie DeLisi, the four were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out." In early 2014, he revealed that he was going to Los Angeles by the spring season in order to continue his acting career. In 2016 he partook in A Stray that was directed by Musa Syeed.

Filmography

*'' Captain Phillips'' (2013) *''

A Stray ''A Stray'' is a 2016 American drama film starring Barkhad Abdirahman. Plot A young Somali man named Adan (played by Barkhad Abdirahman) is kicked out of his home and must survive on the streets of his hometown, Minneapolis. He begrudgingly befr ...

'' (2016) *'' Watu Wote: All of Us ''(2017) *'' Sicario: Day of the Soldado'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Faysal 1985 births Living people Yemeni emigrants to the United States Male actors from Minneapolis American people of Somali descent