Who is Hisham Tawfiq?
Hisham was born in New York City, USA on 17 May 1970 – his zodiac sign is Taurus, and he holds American nationality. He’s an actor and stunt co-ordinator, with close to 50 acting credits to his name, while he’s perhaps known best for his portrayal of one of the lead characters, Dembe Zuma in the mystery crime series “The Blacklist”, created by Joe Bokenkamp, and which also stars James Spader, Megan Boone and Diego Klattenhoff. It follows mysterious criminal Raymond Reddington, who’s been able to hide from the police for decades, while he’s now turned himself in, wanting to speak only to new FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen; the series has been airing since 2013, and has won three awards, including a 2014 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Miniseries or Movie for Cort Hessler, while it’s been nominated for 31 other awards.
Early life and education
Hisham was raised in New York City alongside four siblings, by their father Shaykh Allama Al-Hajj K. Ahmad Tawfiq, and their mother whose name remains undisclosed; not a lot is known about Hisham’s family, as he respects their privacy.
He studied at a local high school, and was 15 when he became interested in acting, after having performed Maya Angelou’s poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” at a school recital; Hisham was interested in a couple of other activities during his teenage years, including playing soccer and dancing.
Upon matriculating in 1988, he began practicing acting at the Negro Ensemble Company.
Career before acting
Hisham became a US Marine in 1990, and was deployed during Operation Desert Storm, which lasted from 17 January 1991 to 28 February 1991. In 1994, he began working at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility as a corrections officer, a job which he held for two years.
Hisham then went on to work as a firefighter in New York City, holding the job for 20 years.
Roles in movies
Hisham made his debut film appearance in the 2002 action crime drama “Snitch in New York”, and a couple of his following roles were the same year in the action “Pressure”, the 2003 action crime drama “Lost Money”, and the 2005 short comedy “Kiss and Run”.
He gained recognition in 2009, when cast to play Fatigue Guy in the critically acclaimed biographical crime drama “Notorious”, directed by George Tillman Jr., and which starred Jamal Woolard, Anthony Mackie and Derek Luke. The movie follows the life and death of famous American rapper The Notorious B. I. G., and was nominated for nine awards.
Had a great chat with @HISHAMTAWFIQ about Dembe joining the FBI and his character's big #TheBlacklist episode!https://t.co/WiHrlH5x9E
— Alamin Yohannes (@AlaminYohannes) January 21, 2022
A couple of Hisham’s following notable performances were in the action drama “Act of Vengeance”, the crime comedy drama “Those People”, and the short crime drama “Counterfeit”, all released in 2010.
The year 2013 saw him play Harry’s Jamaican in the action crime drama “Dead Man Down”, directed by Niels Arden Oplev, and which starred Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace and Dominic Cooper. It follows the life of New York City’s mafia boss’ right-hand man.
Three of his most recent roles have been in the 2020 drama “To Live and Die in Bed-Stuy”, the 2021 romantic comedy drama “Maya and Her Lover” and the 2021 short science fiction “Alhamdu – Muslim Futurism”.
Roles in TV series
Hisham made his debut TV series appearance in 2009, when cast to play the supporting character Serviceman Walter in the popular science fiction drama “Kings”, created by Michael Green, and which starred Ian McShane, Christopher Egan and Susanna Thompson. The series was based on the biblical story of King David, and was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual effects in a Broadcast Program.
The following years saw Hisham appear in an episode or two of a couple of popular series, including the mystery crime drama “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, the sports crime drama “Lights Out”, and the comedy “30 Rock”.
Three of his most recent roles have been in the 2020 episode “Pilot D. O. A.” of the crime drama “Conrad”, the 2021 episode “I Thought You Were on My Side” of the mystery crime drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and the 2021 episode “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” of the comedy “Harlem”.
https://www.facebook.com/309028322466105/photos/pb.100048591022079.-2207520000../2865893410112904/?type=3
Other credits
Hisham worked as a stunt co-ordinator on the 2010 short movie “The Cycle”.
He made a guest appearance in a 2017 episode of the talk-show “What’s Eating Harlem”.
Hisham’s appeared in a couple of TV specials, including the 2014 “An Evening with the Blacklist”, and the 2022 “30th Annual MPAC Media Awards”.
Love life and wife
Hisham prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, but it’s still widely known that he’s today a married man. His wife is American actress, film director and entrepreneur Spirit Tawfiq, who has only a single acting credit to her name: she played a supporting character in the 2015 short movie “Roots of the Spirit”. She’s also quite active on Instagram, having uploaded close to 1,000 pictures onto the network, while she’s today followed by nearly 3,000 people.
The two haven’t spoken about when they exchanged vows, but it’s widely believed that it was in the second half of the 2010s.
On 20 May 2021, Spirit gave birth to their son Nizami Tawfiq.
As of August 2022, Hisham’s married to Spirit Tawfiq, and they have a son together; it’s also said that Hisham has a son Khalil Tawfiq, who was born on 25 December 1999, while the name of the boy’s mother remains undisclosed.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlBNGDVA81I/
Hobbies and other interests
Hisham’s physically highly active and has five to six training sessions at the gym every week, thus his muscular body; he also plays a variety of sports with his peers, with basketball being his favorite.
Travelling is amongst his favorite hobbies, and he’s been to various US states, as well as to a couple of European countries for both work and pleasure; Hisham’s dream travel destination’s Berlin, Germany.
Winter is his favorite season, mostly because he’s an avid snowboarder and skier.
He’s a lover of animals, and has donated money to a couple of animal shelters.
Hisham has his own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Will Smith, Al Pacino and Rosario Dawson, while a couple of his favorite movies include “Bad Boys”, “I Am Legend” and “Scent of a Woman”.
Age, height and net worth
Hisham’s age is 52. He’s bald and has brown eyes, his height is 6ft (1.8m) and he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs).
As of August 2022, Hisham’s net worth’s been estimated at over $1.5 million.
