At first glance, you may look at Hollywood and see a stream of big names and production houses who have very much dominated the industry for as long as most of us can remember. Starlets like Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr, Angelia Jolie, Julia Robberts — AH, the list just goes on and on — are most notoriously linked to gigantic blockbuster films and can even be described as household names as their careers have had huge and prolonged followings.
However, Hollywood isn’t as exclusive as it once was. While there still may be a lack of diversity in Western media houses, there is no doubt that there has been an increase of names and faces from an increasing number of foreign and ethnic backgrounds.
Not to be missed out there, is Pakistan. So what we’ve done for you is gather some of the biggest Pakistani names in Western cinema to present to you the 6 best known Pakistanis in Hollywood!
Kumail Nanjiani
This Karachi boy broke through into the industry with his character in Silicon Valley but has come a long way since. With a Marvel movie and a solo appearance on the esteemed Saturday Night Live, this actor-comedian is working his way up to becoming perhaps the biggest Pakistani name in Hollywood.
Catch him most recently in Marvel’s The Eternals.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Oscar and Emmy award winner, and on Time Magazine’s list for the 100 most influential people, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is one of the country’s most renowned directors and very highly regarded on the Hollywood scene.
A staunch supporter and activist of women’s rights issues, you can watch her beautifully created 2012 piece Saving Face and catch her next project Ms. Marvel, releasing next year!
Dilshad Vadsaria
Another Karachi-born, this actress has gained fame through her appearances on the TV shows Greek and Revenge
You can also find her in a main role in Second Chance, American science fiction crime drama television based loosely on the Frankenstein novel.
Faran Tahir
Speaking of Robert Downey Jr, Faran Tahir has had the pleasure to be cast alongside Iron Man for the second installment of the whole Iron Man series. He has also since then appeared in Star Trek as Captain Robau.
And if sci/fi isn’t enough, you can also find him on the hit American TV Series Scandal.
Kamran Pasha
Kamran Pasha is a renowned Hollywood screenwriter, director and novelist. He co-produced and wrote the script for Sleeper Cell.
His other works include the CW series Nikita, and Disney’s animated Tron Uprising.