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Ajay Naidu
Naidu atSXSW 2024
Born	Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (1972-02-12)February 12, 1972 (age 53) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Heather Burns
Children	1

Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor and director best known for playing Samir inOffice Space. He also made guest appearances in such critically acclaimed television shows asThe West Wing andThe Sopranos. Naidu was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the filmSubUrbia.

Naidu was born inEvanston, Illinois. His parents came from India to the United States in 1964.^[1] He attendedEvanston Township High School. He trained with theAmerican Repertory Theater'sInstitute for Advanced Theater Training atHarvard University.^[1]

Naidu's first professional acting job, which he won from an open call, was a leading role oppositeMichael Keaton in the 1986 filmTouch and Go. This was followed by anABC Afterschool Special episode, "No Greater Gift" (1985), where he played Nick Santana, a 12-year-old boy with a terminal illness. Naidu then appeared in theMacGyver TV series' first-season episode, "To Be a Man" in 1986.

Other early film credits includeWhere the River Runs Black (1986) oppositeCharles Durning andVice Versa (1988). Between 1988 and 1995 he worked extensively in classical theatre.

Naidu returned to film acting in 1996 withRichard Linklater'sSubUrbia, for which he was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and competed against the likes ofSamuel L. Jackson,Roy Scheider andJason Lee.

On screen, Naidu starred in the cult filmOffice Space, as well as appearing in films such asK-Pax,Subway Stories,π,Requiem for a Dream,Bad Santa,The War Within,The Guru,Waterborne, andLoins of Punjab Presents. He co-starred as a series regular in the sitcomLateLine and had guest starring roles on the television dramasThe Sopranos,The West Wing andBored to Death.

Naidu has been working extensively with musicians from the Asian underground music movement for many years as abreakdancer and an M.C. His vocals have appeared on many records, most notablyTalvin Singh'sMercury Award winnerOK andVijay Iyer'sIn What Language?.

In 2006, Naidu directed his first feature filmAshes which had its release in 2010 and for which he won Best Actor accolades from theMIACC Film Festival in New York and theLondon Asian Film Festival.

Naidu's most recent theatre credits includeThe Kid Stays in the Picture at theRoyal Court Theatre,The Master andMargarita withComplicite, a world tour ofShakespeare'sMeasure for Measure with Complicite,The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui alongsideAl Pacino, directed bySimon McBurney,The Little Flower of East Orange alongsideEllyn Burstyn at New York'sPublic Theater directed byPhilip Seymour Hoffman,^[2] andWaiting for Godot atTFANA directed by Arin Arbus.^[3] In 2001 Naidu's solo theatre pieceDarwaza was a sold-out hit at New York'sLabyrinth Theatre, where he is also a member of the company.^[4]

In 2019, Naidu was awarded the Excellence in Performing Arts Award by Illinois Secretary of StateJesse White.^[5]

Naidu is married to actressHeather Burns.^[6] The couple has a son, Jaan Burns.

• Ajay Naidu on Diversity in Hollywood and His Roller Coaster Ride from Child Actor to ‘Office Space’ Icon onFilm School Rejects
• An Interview with Ajay Naidu on Closely Observed Frames
• Ajay Naidu: Taking Up the Slack onBackstage
• In What Language? An Interview with Ajay Naidu onAsia Society
• Ajay Naidu atIMDb

• 1972 births
• Living people
• Male actors from Evanston, Illinois
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American male voice actors
• Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni
• Evanston Township High School alumni
• American male actors of Indian descent

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