Art Malik is at his most interesting when he listens, letting his eyes do work a louder actor might give to a speech. We value that watchful restraint more than the menace his action roles require.
Fi1m perspective
In The Little Mermaid (2023), Art Malik's Sir Grimsby has the air of a courtier who has seen all this before. We warmed to him because that suggestion of long experience gives a small part some life in Rob Marshall's overlong remake. Jonah Hauer-King gives Eric a restlessness of his own, while Malik seems unlikely to be much surprised by royal behaviour. It is a modest pleasure in a film too afraid to change anything, and we would not pretend he rescues it.
His breakthrough was Hari Kumar in The Jewel in the Crown (1984), a period role that made good use of his capacity for nuance. His expressive eyes and attention to other performers remain central to his appeal. The Living Daylights (1987), in which he played Kamran Shah, took him into action cinema, followed by Aziz in James Cameron's True Lies (1994). Later, sustained television work in Holby City (2003–2005) and Homeland (2014–2020) kept the career from being defined by those film appearances.
Malik is convincing as Aziz, but the terrorist is a stereotype, with limited room for the attentive reactions that distinguish his quieter work. We can enjoy his forcefulness while regretting how little else the part asks of him. Cameron's action is inventive, though the cruelty of the long marital detour makes the film harder to recommend without a warning. The part also reflects the ethnic typecasting that limited his early opportunities.
His account of acting is refreshingly practical: "The easiest bit is when you're talking. It's listening that is so difficult." Grimsby gives a small indication of what he means, suggesting experience without needing to explain it. A supporting actor who can do that is worth noticing, even when we have little enthusiasm for the film around him. Start with The Jewel in the Crown if the quieter Malik is the one who interests you.
Biography
Art Malik is a British-Pakistani actor. Born Athar ul-Haque Malik on 13 November 1952 in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, he moved to London as a child and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He began his career in theatre with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Old Vic.
Malik achieved prominence in the 1980s with his role as Hari Kumar in the television serial The Jewel in the Crown (1984), for which he received a BAFTA Television Award nomination for Best Actor. He later appeared as Kamran Shah in the James Bond film The Living Daylights (1987) and as Salim Abu Aziz in True Lies (1994). Other credits include roles in Sherlock, Homeland and John Carter (2012).
In 2023 he played Sir Grimsby in the live-action film The Little Mermaid. He is married to actress Gina Rowe.
