Amrou Al-Kadhi | |
|---|---|
 Al-Kadhi at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival | |
| Born | 23 June 1990 London, England |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University |
| Notable work | Life as a Unicorn |
Amrou Al-Kadhi (born 23 June 1990) is a British-Iraqi writer, actor, drag performer, and filmmaker whose work primarily focuses on queer identity, cultural representation and racial politics.
Al-Kadhi was born in London to a tight-knit conservative Iraqi and Muslim family. They were brought up in Dubai and Bahrain, before the family moved back to London. [1] Al-Kadhi claims that discovering marine biology and quantum physics helped them understand their queer identity. [2] [3] Al-Kadhi has a twin brother. [4]
In 2006, Al-Kadhi was awarded a two-year scholarship to Eton College, where they did their A-levels, [1] [5] then graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA and MPhil in the History of Art. [6]
Al-Kadhi's stage name is Glamrou. It was at the University of Cambridge that they discovered drag, organising events and becoming a "drag mother" to their fellow drag queens in the university's first professional drag band. While at Cambridge, they created and led the musical comedy drag troupe Denim, [7] for which they co-wrote and performed in shows. [8] More recently, they have left the troupe in order to concentrate on solo performance in a show called Glamrou: From Quran to Queen. [1]
Al-Kadhi's first acting role, at the age of fourteen, was in Steven Spielberg's film Munich , where they played the role of an Islamic terrorist's son. They have commented that, as an Arab actor, they have been approached to play the role of a terrorist almost thirty times. [9]
Al-Kadhi's feature directorial debut Layla , with Film 4 and Fox Cub Films, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. They have another film in development titled Oh, Molly with BBC Films and Sarah Brocklehurst Productions.
In 2021, Al-Kadhi appeared in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Venom: Let There Be Carnage as a temporary host of the alien symbiote Venom after he separates from Eddie Brock.
Al-Kadhi has three TV series in development: as writer and creator, Targets, with BBC Drama, as star, co-creator and co-writer, Nefertiti, a comedy series in development with Big Talk Productions, and as co-star, co-creator and co-writer, Beards, in development with Playground Entertainment.
Al-Kadhi's autobiography, Life as a Unicorn: A Journey From Shame to Pride and Everything In Between, was published in 2019 and tells the story of their estrangement from and final reconciliation with their mother and Islam. [10] [11] In 2020, the autobiography won the Society of Authors' Somerset Maugham Award. [12]
They write a fortnightly opinion column for The Independent , and a monthly column in Gay Times . [13] They have also contributed to GQ , [14] The Guardian , Attitude , CNN and Little White Lies . [15] Al-Kadhi writes on topics ranging from queer identity and Islamophobia to the philosophy of marine biology and film criticism.
Al-Kadhi is queer and non-binary. [16]
| Title | Year | Role | Production |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Robin | 2018 | Actor, Nemir Azizi (London Ticket Attendant) | |
| Anemone | 2018 | Director and writer | BBC films and Film London [17] |
| Victoria Sin | 2017 | Director and writer | Nowness, Revry [17] |
| Run(a)way Arab | 2017 | Director and writer | Peccadillo Pictures & Revry [17] |
| Clash | 2017 | Director and writer | BBC4 Broadcast, BFI, Revry [17] |
| Nightstand | 2016 | Writer and performer | |
| Venom: Let There Be Carnage | 2021 | Actor, Venom (Host Two) | Cameo appearance |
| Layla | 2024 | Director and writer |
| Year | Title | Role | Production |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Watch | Co-writer, episode 106 | BBC America / BBC Studios [18] |
| 2019 | Little America | Co-writer of "The Son" episode | Apple Original Series/Universal Television |
| 2018 | Hollyoaks | Writer of episodes 5032, 5092, 5180 and 5275 | Channel 4 |
| 2023 | American Horror Stories | Anna Rexhia season 3 episode 1 "Bestie" | FX on Hulu |
In June 2020, in honour of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named Al-Kadhi among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people". [25] [26] In 2020 Al-Kadhi won the Polari First Book Prize for their memoir Life as a Unicorn. [27]
As a queer, non-binary person of colour...