Jump to content

Firass Dirani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Firass Dirani
Dirani in 2012
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)
Sydney, Australia
EducationSt Paul's Grammar School (2002)
Actors College of Theatre and Television (ACTT) (2004)
Atlantic Theater Company (2014)
OccupationActor
Years active1998–present
Known forUnderbelly: The Golden Mile (2010)
House Husbands (2012)

Firass Dirani (born 1984 or 1985) is an Australian film and television actor.

Early life and education

[edit]

Firass Dirani was born in Blacktown in Sydney's inner west in 1984 or 1985 and grew up in the suburb of Werrington. He is of Lebanese descent.[1][2] He worked in his family's shop for ten years. He attended St Paul's Grammar School and graduated in 2002.[citation needed]

He went on to study acting at the Actors College of Theatre and Television (ACTT) in Sydney, graduating from the Professional Actor Program in 2004.[3]

Career

[edit]

Dirani played the main role of Nick Russell, the Red Mystic Ranger in Power Rangers Mystic Force in 2006. He then played the recurring role of Amen Salim in 2007 series Kick. He pursued his acting career in Hollywood before receiving a call to play the main role of John Ibrahim in Underbelly: The Golden Mile in 2010, the role which made him a household name in Australia.

In 2010, he was nominated for the Inside Film Awards 'Out of the Box' award and also won the GQ Australia Men of the Year ‘Best Television Actor’ award in the same year.[4] In April 2010, Dirani was named Cleo Bachelor of the Year.[5] In 2011, he won two Logie Awards – for Best New Talent and the Graham Kennedy Logie for Best Actor.[6]

In 2012, Dirani went on to play Gary Montebello in drama series The Straits, before securing the ongoing main role of Justin in Logie-winning comedy drama House Husbands from 2012 to 2017.

In 2014 he briefly relocated to New York City where he undertook an intensive six week course of study at the Atlantic Theater Company.[7]

In 2020, Dirani participated in Seven Network's reality program SAS Australia. He was given the 'villain edit', after repeatedly talking back and disrespecting the elite staff, prompting backlash from viewers on social media.[8]

Dirani was selected to be a part of the Socceroos’ FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 squad announcement, where he narrated the football journey of the Socceroos over 100 years.[9]

In 2023, Dirani was cast in the Australian version of British series The Office, but did not make it to the production stage.[10][11]

Dirani's film credits include the award-winning drama The Black Balloon (2008), The Combination (2009) and 2012 thriller Last Dance. He has also starred in Hollywood fare such as sci-fi film Pitch Black (2000) opposite Vin Diesel, action film Killer Elite (2011) alongside an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Jason Statham, and Clive Owen and Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning biographical war epic Hacksaw Ridge (2015).[12]

Personal life

[edit]

Dirani formerly dated fellow actor Melanie Vallejo who he met when they worked together on Power Rangers Mystic Force.[13]

Dirani was the subject of a finalist portrait in the Archibald Prize in 2021, painted by artist, Jeremy Eden.[14]

In 2017, Dirani embarked on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya for two months to run a sports program, which saw him organise some football goalposts to be built while visiting a local charity, so that the kids could play with more suitable equipment.[15]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Pitch Black Ali Feature film
2000 Lost John Savvides Short film
2001 My Husband, My Killer Butch TV movie
2002 Change Joe Change Short film
2005 Small Claims: White Wedding Pizza Delivery Boy TV movie
2006 The Silence Anthony Vassalio TV movie
2006 The Marine Al Qaeda Leader Feature film
2008 The Black Balloon Russell Feature film
2008 Crooked Business Stevie Feature film
2009 The Combination[16] Charlie Feature film
2011 Killer Elite Bakhait Feature film
2012 Last Dance Sadiq Mohammad Feature film
2012 In the Clear Brooklyn Thompson Short film
2013 Taser Eddie Short film
2016 Hacksaw Ridge Vito Rinnelli Feature film
2016 The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One Clarence Carmel Feature film
2017 Bang! Bang! Felix Husk Short film
2019 Escape and Evasion Welshy Feature film

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Children's Hospital Marc 1 episode
2000 The Potato Factory David Soloman 4 episodes
2002 White Collar Blue Nick Zenopoulous 1 episode
2003 All Saints Joe Malouf 1 episode
2006 Power Rangers Mystic Force Nick Russell (Red Mystic Ranger) 32 episodes (Main role)
2007 Kick Amen Salim 13 episodes
2007 East West 101 Talai 1 episode
2010 Underbelly John Ibrahim 13 episodes
2012 The Straits[17] Gary Montebello 10 episodes
2012–17 House Husbands[18] Justin 58 episodes
2018 Sando Kevin Kenan 4 episodes
2018 Mr Inbetween Davros 2 episodes
2018 Orange Is the New Brown Zain 4 episodes
2019 The Real Dirty Dancing[19] Self TV series
2020 SAS Australia: Who Dares Wins[20] Self 10 episodes

Theatre

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Sydney Dream Ball Aerial Acrobat
2003 Stories
2003 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck
2003 Kid Stakes / Other Times
2004 The Tempest Caliban University of Sydney, Theatre 3, Acton, Canberra, Lennox Theatre, Parramatta, Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford with Actors College of Theatre and Television[21]
2018 The Effect Tristan Old Fitzroy Theatre, Sydney with Redline Productions[22]

Awards

[edit]
Date Work Award Category Result
2010 Inside Film Awards Out of the Box Award Nominated
2010 Firass Dirani GQ Men of the Year Awards Best Television Actor Won
2010 Firass Dirani Cleo Bachelor of the Year Won
2011 Underbelly: The Golden Mile Logie Awards Most Popular New Male Talent Won
2011 Underbelly: The Golden Mile Logie Awards Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent Won
2011 Underbelly: The Golden Mile Equity Ensemble Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
Firass Dirani FHM Heroes Award Best Television Actor Won
2013 The Straits Logie Awards Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor Nominated
2013 House Husbands Logie Awards Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor Nominated
2014 House Husbands Equity Ensemble Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated
2016 House Husbands Logie Awards Silver Logie for Best Actor Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. ^ McWhirter, Erin (6 February 2010). "Underbelly's Firass Dirani - the day I met John Ibrahim, the King of the Cross". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  2. ^ "Firass Dirani". GQ Australia. 1 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Firass Dirani ACTT $35,000 Scholarship Winner Announced". Stage Whispers.
  4. ^ "In Conversation with Firass Dirani". JMC Academy. 17 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Firass Dirani is Cleo Bachelor of the Year". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  6. ^ "In Conversation with Firass Dirani". JMC Academy. 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Firass Dirani gets into his characters". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Firass Dirani has just killed his TV career as his true colours are exposed on SAS Australia". TV Blackbox. 30 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Blessed to be part of it". www.socceroos.com.au. 10 November 2022.
  10. ^ Knox, David (31 May 2023). "Felicity Ward to lead The Office Australia". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. ^ Domjen, Briana (14 October 2023). "House Husbands star Firass Dirani no longer part of The Office Australia". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  12. ^ "In Conversation with Firass Dirani". JMC Academy. 17 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Inside Firass Dirani's low-key love life". New Idea. 20 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Jeremy Eden – Firass". Art Gallery NSW. 2021.
  15. ^ "Blessed to be part of it". www.socceroos.com.au. 10 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Airdate: The Combination | TV Tonight". 15 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Top cast join Top End drama for ABC | TV Tonight". 15 June 2011.
  18. ^ "House Husbands cast announced for Nine | TV Tonight". 18 May 2012.
  19. ^ "Stars to get Real Dirty Dancing for Seven | TV Tonight". 3 June 2019.
  20. ^ "SAS Australia culls Firass Dirani, Candice Warner. | TV Tonight". 18 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Firass Dirani". AusStage.
  22. ^ "The Effect". Time Out. 27 March 2018.
[edit]
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Firass_Dirani&oldid=1273076945"