Guz Khan | |
|---|---|
غلام دستگیر خان | |
.png) Khan in 2022 | |
| Born | Ghulam Dastgir Khan[1] (1986-01-24)24 January 1986 (age 39) |
| Other names | Guzzy Bear[2] |
| Education | Stoke Park School |
| Alma mater | Coventry University (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Agent | Curtis Brown[3] |
| Known for | Man Like Mobeen |
| Children | 5 |
| Website | guzkhan |
Ghulam Dastgir Khan (Urdu,Punjabi:غلام دستگیر خان; born 24 January 1986), also known asGuz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances includeMan Like Mobeen,Taskmaster (series 12),Our Flag Means Death (season 1) and stand-up performances onLive at the Apollo.
Khan was born on 24 January 1986 inCoventry, in theWest Midlands county ofEngland toPakistani immigrants. Khan's parents arePunjabi Muslims who hadimmigrated to theUnited Kingdom in the 1980s. He has two sisters who are ten and eleven years older than him.[4] His father died when he was three.[5]
Khan grew up on ahousing estate inHillfields, a suburb ofCoventry,[6] and attendedStoke Park School. He graduated fromCoventry University with aBachelor of Arts degree,[7] and went on to teachHumanities atGrace Academy.[8]
Khan uploaded his first video to Facebook in 2014; in June of that year, he first performed on stage, opening forAamer Rahman atBirmingham Repertory Theatre. His second time on stage was at a comedy evening at theLibrary of BirminghamBBC Asian Network organised forComic Relief, withCitizen Khan.[2] Khan performed under the stage name "Guzzy Bear".[2]
In June 2015, whilst performing as his character Mobeen, a Muslim living inSmall Heath,[2] Khan made a video called "Pakisaurus", expressing mock outrage at the lead character in the filmJurassic World[9][10] shouting the line "the Pachys are out of containment" (an abbreviation ofPachycephalosaurus),[9][11] observing it to be a homophone ofPaki, a racial slur for people of South Asian descent.[12] During the video, Khan also discoversPakisaurus is the name of a real dinosaur from Pakistan.[9] In six days, the video was watched over 340,000 times onYouTube, and it has also received over 700,000 views onFacebook.[12] Khan's hashtag on Twitter, #BoycottJurassicWorld gained attention,[13][14][15] After theBirmingham Mail publicised the story, Khan was interviewed by radio stations in the United States and Indonesia.[2]
In December 2015, Khan performed atBBC Asian Network'sBig Comedy Night in Birmingham, a special comedy night celebrating 50 years of Asian programmes on the BBC.[16][17]
He has also performed on theBBC2 stand-up showLive at the Apollo, in an episode aired on 31 December 2017, hosted by the comedianHenning Wehn.[18]
Critics have celebrated Khan for his distinctive on-stage style, described as "his fusion of British-urban-Islamic clothing and personal accessories."[19]
In June 2015, Khan made a short filmRoadman Ramadan as part of theBritish Muslim Comedy series, five short films byMuslim comedians commissioned by theBBC to be released onBBC iPlayer.[20][21][22] Khan's sketch was a guide toRamadan, the Islamic month of fasting during daylight hours, which sees Khan's character Mobeen guide his newly converted friend Trev through his first Ramadan.
In July 2015, Khan gave up his job as a school teacher to pursue a career in comedy after his YouTube clips went viral.[2] In November, he featured in an episode of comedy web seriesCorner Shop Show. In 2016, he went on to play the rambunctious baggage handler Mo Khan inBorderline.[23]
In December 2017, Khan's four-part BBC comedy seriesMan Like Mobeen was released on BBC iPlayer.[8][24][25][26] Three more series of the show have been produced, which were released on BBC iPlayer in 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2025.[27][28]
In March 2019, Khan appeared as a guest onHypothetical.
In 2020, he appeared inFour Weddings And a Funeral,[29][30] a miniseries created byMindy Kaling that is a re-imagining ofthe original film.[31][32]
In September 2021, Khan appeared on the twelfth series ofTaskmaster.
In December 2021, Khan appeared as Bonzo inBeauty and the Beast: A Pantomime forComic Relief, originally broadcast onBBC Two on Sunday 21 December.[33]
In February 2022, Khan narrated thePeaky Blinders Ultimate Recap on BBC One.[34]
In March 2022, Khan appeared in theHBO Max comedy pirate seriesOur Flag Means Death, where he played Ivan, a member of Blackbeard's crew. Khan was the only main actor dropped ahead of the second season of the show.[35] Responding to the decision, he tweeted: "This is the industry sometimes. They might be choosing a different direction creatively, maybe it's financial decision, maybe they weren't feeling your boy."
In March 2024, Khan appeared in the Netflix showThe Gentlemen, where he played Chucky "The Cobra" Kubra, an experienced money launderer.
In June 2019, Khan appeared in an advert forWalkers crisps alongside theSpice Girls, playing Dev, the group's biggest fan.[36]
In February 2020,Uber Eats launched a UK-wide brand campaign starring Khan as a charismatic courier spreading positivity.[37]
In February 2017, Khan appeared as Rocky in the romantic comedy filmFinding Fatimah.[38]
In 2019, Khan appeared alongsideIdris Elba in theNetflix comedy showTurn Up Charlie,[29] which premiered on 15 March 2019.[39]
In April 2022, Khan appeared in the main cast of the filmThe Bubble, playing actor Howie Frangopolous.
In 2024, Khan played the voice ofSanta Claus's talking reindeerDasher in theNetflix andLocksmith Animation filmThat Christmas.
Khan supportedLabour Party leaderJeremy Corbyn in the2019 UK General Election, encouraging people to vote Labour.[40][41] He is a supporter of thePalestinian cause.[42][43]
Khan is aMuslim.[2] He lives with his wife and five children in theWest Midlands.[2] Khan is a supporter ofManchester United F.C.[44]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Finding Fatimah | Rocky |
| 2018 | Walk Like a Panther | Terry Khan |
| 2021 | Army of Thieves | Rolph |
| 2022 | The Bubble | Howard "Howie" Frangopolous |
| 2024 | How to Date Billy Walsh | Mr. Atkins |
| 2024 | That Christmas | Dasher (voice) |
| TBA | Girl Group | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Doctors | Guzzy Bear | 1 episode |
| Dropperz | Big Gib | 1 episode | |
| 2016–2017 | Borderline | Mo Khan | 10 episodes |
| Zapped | Skylark | 7 episodes | |
| 2017 | Loaded | Tech Head | 1 episode |
| 2017–present | Man Like Mobeen | Mobeen | Also creator |
| 2018 | Bounty | Waseem | TV movie |
| 2019 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Basheer | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Turn Up Charlie | Del | 6 episodes |
| Curfew | Cheese | 8 episodes | |
| 2021–2022 | The Adventures of Paddington | Baz | 50 episodes |
| 2021 | Taskmaster | Himself | 10 episodes |
| 2022 | Our Flag Means Death | Ivan | 10 episodes |
| 2023 | Wonders of the World I Can't See | Himself | Episode 3[45] |
| Outsiders | Himself | Series 3 | |
| My Super-Rich Holiday | Himself | WithEddie Kadi[46] | |
| 2023–present | Digman! | Zane Troy (voice) | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | The Gentlemen | Chucky | 1 episode |
| 2025 | Stuffed | Arslan Farooqi | Upcoming comedy[47] |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Peabody Awards[48] | Entertainment | Our Flag Means Death | Nominated |
