Paul Elia

Last updated

Paul Elia
Born (1988-02-23) February 23, 1988 (age 36)
Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
Years active2009–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Website watchpaulelia.com

Paul Elia (born February 23, 1988) is an Assyrian American comedian and actor from Detroit, MI. In 2024, his debut comedy special Detroit Player was released on YouTube. [1]

Contents

Career

Elia was born in the city of San Diego, California on February 23, 1988, to Iraqi Assyrian immigrant parents. His family moved to Southfield in Metro Detroit in 1994. Growing up, his mother was a cashier and owner of a liquor store in Clinton Township, while his father worked as a butcher for various supermarkets. [2] He was initially two classes shy of graduating from Wayne State University with a bachelor's in English and had been hoping to apply to law school before deciding to become a comedian. After his first professional role on Detroit 1-8-7, he moved to Los Angeles, California. [3]

Elia arrived in Hollywood in 2011 and immediately hit the ground running – creating and producing his own projects with money he saved while working late nights at a nightclub. Although he didn't have any solid Hollywood representation, he was still managing to audition for various TV shows and films from his savvy networking skills (Elia claims he auditioned for over 400 projects before booking his first high paying job: A National commercial for Honda). He soon began to see an influx of roles in television and film. When asked by The Arab American News about his struggles, Elia said “You have to take big risks. The people who take big risks are the ones who make it...Of course you're going to be scared, but what you do with that defines you as a human being.” [4]

Throughout his career, Elia has been vocal about his Iraqi and especially his Assyrian heritage, and the issues pressing his community in wake of violence in indigenous Assyrian lands in Iraq. He has also been vocal about the divisions that the Assyrian community faces, including among Chaldeans and Syriacs. [5] Elia has also discussed how he began to feel ostracized from his community as a result of his stance on unity, even receiving a death threat before touring in Toronto. [6]

Influences

Elia has previously cited his family (specifically his mother) as being one of the greatest influences in his life, due to her experiences in Iraq and her hard-working lifestyle in one of Michigan's many impoverish neighborhoods. In regard to his comedy, Elia has cited some of his closest partners, Matt Rife and Bassem Youssef, as people who have helped to strengthen his comedy career, including helping him to produce Detroit Player. [7]

Personal life

Elia is currently based in Los Angeles, California. He has three brothers, who take professions in law, neurosurgery, and mortgage banking.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010CornerStoreHassan Akrawi
2011Holly's HolidayDarryl
Exit 33Dax
Bad to the BoneJesus Hernandez
2012 Divorce Invitation Sam
2013Only in L.A.Hassan
2014 Love in the Time of Monsters Jim
The Brittany Murphy Story Caller Director
2016DirtyDetective Jackson
In the Same GardenAnton
20172016Benton
The LandlordHeckler
2018StillwaterWillie
20202 Minutes of FameUber ManUncredited role
2022Who Killed Cooper Dunn?Willie

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2009Skill CraneEugene
The HillJoey
2010ScourgeNorthmen Guard 2
Defying Deletion: The Fight over Iraq's Nineveh PlainsTerrorist
2011Dick and BrainCoffee Shop OwnerEpisode 1
Bluetooths for Better LivingHomeless Eddie
Detroit 1-8-7FBI Man #2Episode: "Blackout", Recurring cast member
The FinalistHarold Levy
2012The People Who Were Never ThereThe Man
2013 Vegas ADEpisode: "Two of a Kind"
A FriendRalphy
Bad NewsMark
ABC Discovers: Los Angeles Talent Showcase
NamelessBullet #3
2014 Mixology KevinEpisode: "Liv and Jim"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. DiazEpisode: "Ragtag"
Mistresses Delivery ManEpisode: "Friends with Benefits"
The Yellow AtticYusef Thabit
MentorPaul
2014-2016Absolutely Jason StuartHimselfRecurring guest
2015XanaduJoel
Serial Scoop NowHimselfEpisode: "6th Annual ISAs Red Carpet Show - Part 5"
The Perils of PostingHimself
2016 Lady Dynamite BrianEpisode: "I Love You"
Open House on BeverlyMr. Kashat
KnivesRay
No Other Like YouHim
2017Add-TVHimselfEpisode: "Episode 1.1"
Sremm BreakTrevor Norton
Major Crimes Charles GrayEpisode: "Shockwave: Part 2"
2018Broken MindsSamuel
Dry CitySeth
Laff Mobb's Laff TracksHimselfEpisode: "The Inappropriate Barber"
Sh#t I Love with Jason StuartHimselfEpisode: "Paul Elia"
2018-2020 Conan Various rolesRecurring cast, seasons 8-10
2019TMI HollywoodHimselfEpisode: "Paul Elia Hosts TMI Hollywood"
2020Doubting ThomasJon
Ramy KalimEpisode: "Miakhalifa.mov"
Tournament of LaughsHimselfEpisode: "And A Round of 32 We Go, Part 1"
2021Cultural BlasphemyHimselfEpisode: "John Mayer is Overrated" & "The Titanic Was NOT Iconic"
2022We Need to Talk about AmericaHimself
2023All AT Once
Paul Elia: Detroit PlayerHimselfComedy special

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
2011 Action on Film Award Breakout Action Star – MaleBad to the BoneNominated
2015 Indie Series Awards Best Writing (Comedy)Mentor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrian people</span> Ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia

Assyrians are an indigenous ethnic group native to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians descend directly from Ancient Mesopotamians such as ancient Assyrians and Babylonians. Modern Assyrians may culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious, geographic, and tribal identification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholic Church</span> Eastern Catholic Church

The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac dialect of the Aramaic language, it is part of Syriac Christianity. Headquartered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq, since 1950, it is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. In 2010, it had a membership of 490,371, of whom 310,235 (63.27%) lived in the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrians in Iraq</span> Ethnic group

Iraqi Assyrians are an ethnic and linguistic minority group, indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia. They are defined as Assyrians residing in the country of Iraq, or members of the Assyrian diaspora who are of Iraqi-Assyrian heritage. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Iran, Turkey and Syria, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora elsewhere. A significant number have emigrated to the United States, notably to the Detroit and Chicago; a sizeable community is also found in Sydney, Australia.

Assyrian Americans refers to individuals of ethnic Assyrian ancestry born or residing within the United States. Assyrians are an indigenous Middle Eastern ethnic group native to Mesopotamia in West Asia who descend from their ancient counterparts, directly originating from the ancient indigenous Mesopotamians of Akkad and Sumer who first developed the independent civilization in northern Mesopotamia that would become Assyria in 2600 BC. Modern Assyrians often culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious and tribal identification. The first significant wave of Assyrian immigration to the United States was due to the Sayfo genocide in the Assyrian homeland in 1914–1924.

Iraqi Americans are American citizens of Iraqi descent. As of 2015, the number of Iraqi Americans is around 145,279, according to the United States Census Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Iraq</span>

The Christians of Iraq are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Catholics</span> Adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church

Chaldean Catholics, also known as Chaldeans, Chaldo-Assyrians or Assyro-Chaldeans, are an Ethnoreligious group of Assyrians who follow the Chaldean Catholic Church, which originates from the historic Church of the East.

Thomas Hanna, known by his stage name Timz, is an Iraqi-American rapper of Assyrian descent best known for his song "Iraq". His debut album is entitled Open for Business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean Town</span> Neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan

Chaldean Town was a historically Chaldo-Assyrian neighborhood in Detroit located along West Seven Mile Road in a segment in between Woodward Avenue to the west and John R St. to the east. Circa 2007 the population of the district was mainly low income elderly people and recent immigrants, who were mostly made up of Chaldean Catholic Assyrians. The neighborhood was usually just a stop point for newly arrived immigrants, who then typically preferred to move to the suburbs of Detroit when they could afford to.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean National Congress</span> Political party in Iraq

The Chaldean National Congress was an Assyrian-separatist political party that was founded in 2002. The party was founded in the United States, and primarily operated from the 2000's and early 2010's. The party is largely considered inactive in modern Assyrian politics in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tel Keppe</span> Place in Nineveh, Iraq

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit</span>

The Detroit metropolitan area has one of the largest concentrations of people of Middle Eastern origin, including Arabs and Chaldo-Assyrians in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeast Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. In 2010 the four Metro Detroit counties had at least 200,000 people of Middle Eastern origin. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Results of the 2018 Iraqi parliamentary election (Assyrian seats)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shane Gillis</span> American comedian and actor (born 1987)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Rife</span> American stand up comedian and actor (born 1995)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlama Foundation</span> Non-governmental organization aimed at helping Assyrians in Iraq

The Shlama Foundation is a non-governmental organization and registered non-profit aimed at preserving and bettering the lives of Assyrians in Iraq. The organization was created in 2014 in the wake of ISIS taking over swathes of the Nineveh Plains, and was founded by activists of the Assyrian diaspora in Metro Detroit, including Assyrian radio and television host Noor Matti. The operations of the non-profit primarily occur in the these diaspora communities, including in Canada and Australia, while most rebuilding and direct involvement occurs in the north of Iraq. The organization is registered as a federal nonprofit in the United States, while it's also registered as a non-governmental organization in the Republic of Iraq and the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaldean flag</span> Flag used to represent Chaldean Catholics

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References

  1. Paul Elia: Detroit Player (2024) | FULL SPECIAL on YouTube
  2. Paul Elia talks new comedy special, Matt Rife, Hip Hop & Mexicans in Detroit. on YouTube
  3. "Detroit native Paul Elia inspiring youth to pursue their dreams". PIX11 News. February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  4. "Detroit native Paul Elia inspiring youth to pursue their dreams". The Arab American News. August 22, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  5. "Paul Elia on breaking comedic barriers for Iraqi-Americans". ABC News. March 15, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  6. "Assyrian Podcast". PodBean (Podcast). August 13, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  7. Elia Opens up about Friendship W/ Matt Rife, Bombing on Stage & Assyrian-Chaldean Identity Video on YouTube