Alexander Siddig makes intelligence visible, from Bashir’s eagerness to impress to Suidani’s suspicion. We rate him most when a series gives him time to be awkward, doubtful or difficult, rather than simply asking him to look authoritative.
Fi1m perspective
Julian Bashir wants to be admired; Colm Meaney’s O’Brien would prefer a quiet drink. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), that difference gives Alexander Siddig something more useful to play than competence. His doctor’s eagerness can be awkward, and the friendship takes years to arrive. We were moved by that friendship because the series allowed the two men time to find their way towards it. Siddig is worth watching when being clever does not immediately make his character good company.
The series is our strongest recommendation for him, though its two slow opening seasons ask for patience. Producer and writer Ira Steven Behr and his fellow writers let stories run across episodes and seasons, giving the ensemble room to develop. Siddig also directed two episodes, but the programme’s steady look across many directors gives us little reason to claim a distinctive visual style for him.
The later feature work is less reliable as an introduction. Martin Campbell’s Vertical Limit (2000) supplies effective scares but thin characters. The recurring authority figures that followed include Prince Nasir in Syriana (2005), casting that makes sense for a restrained actor but can become a habit. Cairo Time (2009) gives him a different task as romantic lead Tareq Khalifa. We would like more opportunities of that kind, rather than assuming that his chief use is to lend an official some intelligence.
In The Spy (2019), he makes that intelligence the most interesting thing in a series we found too respectful and dramatically stiff. His Ahmed Suidani is the security chief who dislikes Kamel’s story, and Siddig makes him seem to be thinking in every scene. That watchfulness gives us something to follow when the storytelling stalls. A thoughtful supporting performance can only do so much for six episodes of dutiful storytelling. For a fuller introduction, give Bashir and O’Brien time to get acquainted.
Biography
Alexander Siddig is a Sudanese-born British actor and director. He is best known for playing Dr Julian Bashir in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), appearing in all seven seasons. He also directed two episodes of the series: "Business as Usual" (1997) and "Profit and Lace" (1998).
Born Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi on 21 November 1965 in Omdurman, Sudan, he was raised in Britain and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He began his career credited as Siddig El Fadil before adopting the professional name Alexander Siddig. Other notable television roles include appearances in 24 (2007), Game of Thrones (2015–2016) and Gotham (2015–2019).
