Hassani Shapi (born 15 July 1973), is a Kenyan actor, particularly active in Italian cinema. He is best known for the roles in the films ''Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'', ''The World Is Not Enough'' and ''Il maresciallo Rocca''.

Personal life

He was born on 15 July 1973 in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya. He obtained his masters degree in Paris, France, in veterinary science. After becoming a veterinary doctor, he worked in a private clinic in Paris. After few years he quit the job to get into acting.

Career

He first worked with an English theatre company in Paris called ACT. He has been involved in theater and played in several plays such as ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', ''Animal Farm'', ''The Old Man and the Sea'' and ''Don Quixote''. In 1992, he made his television debut in some episodes of the series ''Runaway Bay'' directed by Tim Dowd. After six years in 1998, he reappeared in television for a single episode of the serial ''The Ambassador''. In 2009, Shapi starred in the role of 'Saddam Hussein' in the Italian television serial ''Intelligence - Servizi & Secrets''. After he moved to America, he joined the cast of ''Law & Order'' in 2010. However, his most notable film appearance came through the role of Jedi Master 'Eeth Koth' in ''Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' which was filmed by George Lucas in 1999. In the film, he acted along with renowned actors,

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and

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. With the success of ''Star Wars'', he was invited to taken part in several major international productions such as ''Agent 007'', ''The world is not enough'', ''Irina Palm'' and ''Don't desire the woman of others''. Meanwhile, he appeared in several Italian comedies such as ''Our Marriage Is In Crisis'', ''Lezioni of Chocolate'', ''Today Married'', ''Sharm el Sheikh - An Unforgettable Summer'', ''Nobody Can Judge Me'', ''Females Versus Males'', ''Without Art or Part'', ''Chocolate Lessons 2'' and ''The Extra Day With Fabio Volo''.

Filmography

* ''Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace'' (1999) * ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999) * ''Our Marriage Is In Crisis'' (2002) * ''Don't Desire the Other Woman'' (2004) * ''

Murder Unveiled ''Murder Unveiled'' is a 2005 Canadian television film. The movie is based on the true story of the Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu murder. The film was screened at the Asian Festival of First Films on November 26, 2005 and was first aired on CBC on Febr ...

'' (2005) * ''Irina Palm'' (2007) * ''

Lessons in Chocolate ''Lessons in Chocolate'' ( it, Lezioni di cioccolato) is a 2007 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Claudio Cupellini. Cast *Luca Argentero as Mattia Cavedoni *Violante Placido as Cecilia Ferri *Neri Marcorè as Corrado *Hassani Shapi as Kama ...

'' (2007) * ''Just Married'' (2009) * '' Oggi sposi'' (2009) * ''Sharm el Sheikh - An Unforgettable Summer'' (2010) * '' Women vs. Men'' (2011) * ''No One Can Judge Me'' (2011) * ''Without Art or Part'' (2011) * ''Chocolate Lessons 2'' (2011) * '' One Day More'' (2011) * ''

Escort in Love ''Escort in Love'' ( it, Nessuno mi può giudicare, "Nobody can judge me") is a 2011 Italian comedy film directed by Massimiliano Bruno. Paola Cortellesi won the 2011 David di Donatello for Best Actress for her performance as Alice. Plot A weal ...

'' (2011) * '' Land Gold Women'' (2011) * ''The Extra Day'' (2011) * ''

Make a Fake ''Make a Fake'' ( it, Senza arte né parte) is a 2011 Italian comedy film written and directed by Giovanni Albanese. For his performance, Giuseppe Battiston won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Supporting Actor. The film was also nominated for the N ...

'' (2011) * ''

Damascus Cover ''Damascus Cover'' is a 2017 political thriller film, directed by Daniel Zelik Berk, from a screenplay by Berk and Samantha Newton. It is based upon the 1977 novel of the same name by Howard Kaplan. It stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, J ...

'' (2017) * '' Scappo a casa'' (2019) * ''Pop Black Posta'' (2019)

Television

* ''Runaway Bay'' (1 episode, 1992) * ''The Ambassador'' (1 episode, 1998) * ''

Murder Prevention ''Murder Prevention'' is a six-part British television crime drama series, written and created by Declan Croghan, that first broadcast on Five on 30 October 2004. Inspired by the real-life Homicide Prevention Unit within the Metropolitan Police, t ...

'' (1 episode, 2004) * ''

Apparitions Apparition may refer to: Supernatural *Apparitional experience, an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience * A vision, something seen in a dream, trance, or religious ecstasy *Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear ...

'' (2008) * ''Intelligence - Services & Secrets'' (3 episodes, 2009) * ''Inspector Coliandro'' (3rd season, episode 4, 2009) * ''Law & Order: UK'' (1 episode, 2010) * ''The Island'' (2012) * ''Welcome to Table 2 - North vs South'' (1 episode, 2013) * ''Anti-Mafia Squad - The Boss Returns'' Episode 8 (2016) * ''The Island of Pietro'' (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapi, Hassani Living people Kenyan male film actors Italian male film actors 1973 births