Barkhad Abdi

Barkhad Abdi برخد عبدي
Abdi at the 2014 New York Film Festival
Born	(1985-04-10) April 10, 1985 (age 31) Mogadishu, Banaadir, Somali Democratic Republic
Residence	Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	2013–present

Barkhad Abdi (Somali: Barkhad Cabdi, Arabic: برخد عبدي‎‎; born April 10, 1985) is a Somali-American actor and director. He made his debut in the 2013 film Captain Phillips, for which he received various film award nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the latter of which he won.

Abdi was born in Mogadishu, Banaadir. Around the age of six or seven, when the Somali Civil War broke out, he and his family moved to Yemen to join his father, who had taken up teaching. In 1999, Abdi and his family relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where there is a large Somali community. He subsequently attended Minnesota State University Moorhead. Before entering the film industry, Abdi sold mobile phones at his brother's shop at a mall in Minneapolis. He also worked as a limousine driver at a relative's chauffeur company and a DJ.

Abdi made his debut in the 2013 film Captain Phillips. He played ship hijacker and pirate leader Abduwali Muse. He was cast following a worldwide search for the lead roles. Abdi and three other actors were subsequently chosen from more than 700 participants at a 2011 casting call in Minneapolis. According to the casting director, the four were selected because they were "the chosen ones, that anointed group that stuck out".