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Qasim Akhtar
English/Pakistani actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Qasim Akhtar (born 8 June 1991) is an English actor, known for his roles as Chesney Karib in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless and Zeedan Nazir in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
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Early life
Akhtar was born and raised in Burnage, Manchester to a British Pakistani family. [1] Since childhood, Akhtar had an interest in acting. He trained at the Manchester School of Acting.[2]
Career
Prior to making his breakthrough appearance in Shameless, Akhtar had his first acting experience through the 2006-released Mischief Night, written and directed by Penny Woolcock, and in the film, he stars as Asif Khan.[3]
Akhtar gained prominence through his role as Chesney Khan in Shameless, appearing in 85 episodes between 2007 and 2013. This was followed by two different roles in Waterloo Road: Aron in 2007 and Wayne Bodley in 2011.[4]
In 2014, Akhtar joined the cast of the long-running soap opera Coronation Street as Zeedan Nazir, a son of Kal Nazir (played by Jimi Mistry).[5] Upon his first exit of the show in 2018, Akhtar began another stint within the show in 2021 but exited again in February 2023.[6]
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Personal life
Akhtar was injured in a quad bike accident in 2018 and took up fitness.[7] He leads a relatively private life but he has expressed his platform being used to discuss the state of representation of British Asian actors in television and film.[8]
Accolades
He was nominated as Best Newcomer at British Soap Awards for his work on the role of Zeedan Nazir in Coronation Street.[9] The depiction of the complex characters from cultures similar to his has been applauded for bringing authenticity to the British TV.[10]
Filmography
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References
External links
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