Bashir Salahuddin

Bashir Salahuddin (born June 30, 1976) is an American actor, writer, and comedian.

Early life Salahuddin, who is of Panamanian and African American heritage, was born and raised in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Salahuddin's father worked as an airplane mechanic for Midway Airlines at Chicago Midway International Airport. As family members of an airline employee, the family was able to fly on many stand-by trips across the U.S. He credits his father with instilling in him what he refers to as the "immigrant work ethic". In his junior year at Harvard, Salahuddin decided he wanted to be an actor and attended the Hangar Theater's training program.

Career After graduating from Harvard, Salahuddin returned to Chicago and worked as a paralegal in order to save money to be able to move to Los Angeles. In March 2016, Salahuddin was cast as the male lead in a Hulu pilot comedy, Crushed, co-starring with Regina Hall. In June 2016, the production company Lionsgate announced they were moving production of the pilot from North Carolina to Canada due to North Carolina's governor signing a controversial anti-LGBT law as well as tax incentives available to the production in Vancouver.

As an actor, Salahuddin has appeared on Superstore, Snatched, Arrested Development, Single Parents, Looking and The Mindy Project. He was cast as a recurring character on the Netflix show GLOW, which premiered in 2017.

Together with Riddle, Salahuddin created the comedy show South Side, which premiered on Comedy Central on 24 July 2019. The show centers around two recent community college graduates trying to become entrepreneurs in Chicago's South Side, portrayed by Salahuddin's brother Sultan and Kareme Young. Salahuddin, his wife Chandra Russell and Riddle also star.

Salahuddin and Riddle also created the comedy show Sherman's Showcase, which premiered on IFC on 31 July 2019. The show is part parody of, part homage to shows like Soul Train, American Bandstand and The Midnight Special. Guest stars include John Legend, Questlove, Quincy Jones, Natasha Bedingfield, Tiffany Haddish and Eliza Coupe.

In 2018, it was announced that Salahuddin was cast in Tom Cruise's 2022 action drama Top Gun: Maverick. In 2019, Salahuddin was cast in a leading role in The 24th, a film about the all-black Twenty-Fourth United States Infantry Regiment and the Houston Riot of 1917. The film is co-written and directed by Kevin Willmott. More recently, Salahuddin and Riddle signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television.

Personal life Salahuddin married actress Chandra Russell in 2017. They have a son. 2025 Back in Action Coach Chris 2025 Another Simple Favor Detective Summervile 2025 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw Mr. Warren Voice role

Television

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2011 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Series Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 2012 64th Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series 2017 69th Writers Guild of America Awards Comedy/Variety – Sketch Series Maya & Marty 2018 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series GLOW