Fayssal Bazzi (Arabic:فيصل بزي; born 1982) is an Australian actor.^[1] He was nominated for the 2018AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role inThe Merger^[2] and again in 2020 forMeasure for Measure.^[3]

Bazzi was born inBeirut, Lebanon, to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother. As his mother was a French teacher, Bazzi learned to speak French fluently alongside Arabic. When he was 3 years old, his family moved to Australia after theLebanese Civil War.

When immigrating to Australia, the Bazzis lost their immigration records.^[4] Bazzi was often bullied as a child as he did not initially speak English. His parents transferred him to a Catholic school, and he eventually learned English after a teacher decided to personally teach him. He was inspired to become an actor by that teacher.^[5][6][7]

Bazzi started his acting career in his early 20s, in the early 2000s. As a child he was a fan ofStar Wars and anime, so he was keen to work in the fantasy genre, however in the aftermath of9/11 he found that he was pigeonholed as an Arab man, in terms of the way the industry viewed him.^[8][9]

His career began in theatre. After securing an agent, Bazzi started attending screen auditions in the early to mid-2000s, but based on the amount of rejection he experienced based on his ethnic background, he realised the theatre culture was more progressive than screen, allowing him a lot more casting scope and creative and cultural input. He continued to audition for screen roles regardless, and started to be cast in guest roles.^[10][11]

While touring Australia with a play calledFood, Bazzi secured a part on the filmDown Under – a black comedy based on the racial tensions in the wake of the real-life2005 Cronulla riots. He starred alongsideAlexander England,Damon Herriman,Justin Rosniak andLincoln Younes.^[12]

After a decade of guest roles, supporting roles, and short films, Bazzi performed as part of a six month national tour ofThe Merchant of Venice withBell Shakespeare, before finishing the tour early to film his first lead role in 2018 drama comedy movieThe Merger.^[13]

Prior to leaving on a holiday, Bazzi auditioned for the recurring role of Nasir in season 2 of comedy drama seriesMr Inbetween, and for a lead role as Ameer, a Syrian refugee in 2020 miniseriesStateless, both of which he secured and started filming on his return. In the latter series, he starred oppositeCate Blanchett,Yvonne Strahovski,Jai Courtney,Dominic West andAsher Keddie, and had to learn to speakDari, an Afghan language. He was then was offered a part onThe Commons, before having to fly toTimor-Leste to finish filming overseas scenes forStateless.^[14]

In 2023, Bazzi was announced and appeared in several television projects includingSBS'Erotic Stories,^[15]Total Control's final season,^[16] and the second season of Australian legal dramaThe Twelve.^[17] He also appeared in Australian/American co-produced horror filmLate Night with the Devil. He was then named for legal thrillerThe Correspondent.^[18]

Bazzi has been in a relationship with fellow Australian actorCatherine Văn-Davies since 2014.^[19]

^[25][26]

• Fayssal Bazzi atIMDb

• 1982 births
• Living people
• 21st-century Australian male actors
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male television actors
• Australian people of Lebanese descent
• Lebanese emigrants to Australia
• Male actors from Beirut

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing Arabic-language text