Osamah Sami

Osamah Sami is an Australian stage and screen actor, writer, and stand-up comedian, born in Iran of Iraqi origin. He is known for his award-winning book Good Muslim Boy, and for his role as the titular character in 2017 film Ali's Wedding.

Early life and education Osamah Sami was born in Qom, Iran. His father, Dr Jaafar al-Bakiry, a Shiite cleric from Iraq, had been a political prisoner under Saddam Hussein and met his Kurdish wife, Sami's mother, in an Iranian refugee camp.

When Sami was twelve, the family then emigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1995, and in the late 2000's he made guest appearances in largely typecast roles in series including City Homicide, Rush, Sea Patrol and East West 101 before landing his breakthrough role opposite Claudia Karvan in the telemovie Saved, directed by Tony Ayres.

Sami co-created the 2015 comedy web series, Two Refugees and a Blonde, together with Shahin Shafaei and Rain Fuller. He also played one of the three lead roles. Sami stated: "This series aims to remove the sombre stigma synonymous with refugees and to replace it with a dose of laughter...". It launched during Refugee Week in Melbourne and was screened at Amnesty Refugee Network’s Festival of Hope on World Refugee Day, while premiering online via YouTube.

Sami's critically acclaimed memoir Good Muslim Boy was published by Hardie Grant in 2015. In 2016, it became the winner of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, and was commended at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards. He also adapted his book for the stage, with productions by Melbourne's Malthouse Theatre and Queensland Theatre. This was mirrored at the 2017 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards, where it won Best Film, and earned Sami a win for Best Screenplay and a nomination for Best Male Lead. His script also received a 2016 Australian Writers' Guild Award in the Best Original Feature Film category. Further wins included Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2017 Sydney Film Festival and The Age Critics Prize at Melbourne International Film Festival. The film was also awarded the $100,000 CinefestOz film prize in 2017.

opposite David Wenham. The film premiered at the 2020 Venice Film Festival drawing positive international reviews. In 2022, he played the role of Salim Bayati in six-part mystery drama miniseries Savage River, alongside Katherine Langford, Jacqueline McKenzie and Nadine Garner.

Sami next starred opposite Zar Amir Ebrahimi in the Shayda. The film was the winner of the Audience Award for Best Film after premiering as the 2023 opening night film at Sundance. It was also selected as the opening night film at Melbourne International Film Festival, and went on to win the 2023 CinefestOz $100,000 film prize. That same year, Sami was a co-writer on psychological thriller series The Clearing, which featured an all-star cast including Teresa Palmer, Miranda Otto, Guy Pearce, Xavier Samuel, Claudia Karvan and Gary Sweet. Also in 2023, Sami co-wrote and starred in drama film Tennessine, which screened at both CinefestOZ and the Sydney Film Festival.

Sami then co-created, co-wrote and appeared in the 2024 television drama miniseries called House of Gods, which aired on ABC TV The drama centres around an imam and his family as well as the Australian Arab / Iraqi community he leads, with Sami using his own real-life experiences to tell the story of the community of which he is a part. He speaks Arabic, Farsi and English.

Sami's father died at the age of 50, while the pair were on holidays overseas in Tehran.

Awards and nominations Year Work Award Category Result Ref.2016 Good Muslim Boy New South Wales Premier's Literary Award Non-Fiction Writing Two Refugees and a Blonde Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Award Best Web Series Flow Sydney Indie Film Festival Best Actor 2018 Ali's Wedding Australian Film Critics Association Best Screenplay Best Actor 2025 Osamah Sami Australian Muslim Achievement Award Creative Artist of the Year

Acting credits

Film Year Title Role Notes Ref.1993 Chakmeh (aka The Boot) Town boy Abadani-Ha (aka The Abadanis) Bacheh Abadani 1997 Mojezeye khandeh (aka The Miracle of Smile) Hamid 2007 Lucky Miles Fiark Shotgun! [an Opening Sequence] Hani Short film 2008 296 Smith Street Anthony Short film 2009 Housemates Aashiq Short film 2011 The Orchard Hadi Short film 2012 10 Terrorists Azim 2013 Pure Fady Short film 2014 Canberra Says No Abbas Salim Short film 2015 Too Late Joe Late Short film 2016 Journey 2017 Ali's Wedding Ali Flow Stephen Short film 2020 The Furnace Majid Sinners Various characters / Sheep Carlton Courthouse, Melbourne with La Mama 2009 Baghdad Wedding Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B 2014; 2016 Tales of a City by the Sea Rami La Mama, Melbourne, Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide 2021 Them Omar Arts Centre Melbourne (show cancelled)

Writing credits Year Title Role Notes Ref. 2009 Housemates Storyline consultant Short film 2012 10 Terrorists Contributing writer Feature film 2014 Canberra Says No Story/writer / Associate producer Short film 2015 Too Late Writer Short film Two Refugees and a Blonde Concept / creator Web miniseries, 10 episodes 2018 Good Muslim Boy Writer / Adaptor Stage When the Birds Aren't Free to Be Buried Writer / Director Animation (in development)

Books