Ali Badshah
Description
Ali Badshah is a Canadian actor, voice artist, writer, producer, director, and comedian known for his work in both live-action and animated productions. Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1978, he has built a diverse career that includes significant contributions to voice acting for animation and anime-influenced series. Badshah is an alumnus of The Second City and Yuk Yuk's, renowned comedy institutions that helped shape his background in observational humor, often drawing on his experiences growing up in and around Toronto.
One of his prominent voice roles in the anime genre is Murph in the 2023 revival of the series Bakugan. He also voices the character of a Researcher in the seventh episode of the same series. Beyond this role, Badshah is perhaps best known for his work as the male lead in the Oscar-nominated animated feature film The Breadwinner (2017), where he voiced the character of Nurullah.
His career spans various television and digital projects. Badshah has written and performed for the music-themed comedy series Video on Trial and worked as an associate producer for MuchMusic. He created, executive produced, wrote, and starred in the CBC web comedy series Bloody Immigrants, a notable achievement as the network's first web comedy series. He has also written and starred in five televised comedy specials for major networks including CBC, CTV, The Comedy Network, MTV, and ABC2 Australia. In recognition of his comedic talent, he was featured on the Comedy Network's Nubian Disciples Special alongside Russell Peters and Dave Chappelle, cited as part of the next generation of great Canadian comics. He was also named on the front page of the Toronto Star as one of the Top Ten People in the country, marking him as the only actor or comedian to ever appear on that list.
In addition to his work in animation, Badshah's voice acting portfolio includes roles in children's programming, such as providing voices for multiple characters in The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (including Timmy Tippy Toes, Greg the Gecko, and Marty the Lemur). His live-action acting credits include appearances in the film Shazam! (2019) and the television series The Listener, alongside a substantial body of work as a writer and producer for film and radio, including the CBC Radio One series Laugh Out Loud.
One of his prominent voice roles in the anime genre is Murph in the 2023 revival of the series Bakugan. He also voices the character of a Researcher in the seventh episode of the same series. Beyond this role, Badshah is perhaps best known for his work as the male lead in the Oscar-nominated animated feature film The Breadwinner (2017), where he voiced the character of Nurullah.
His career spans various television and digital projects. Badshah has written and performed for the music-themed comedy series Video on Trial and worked as an associate producer for MuchMusic. He created, executive produced, wrote, and starred in the CBC web comedy series Bloody Immigrants, a notable achievement as the network's first web comedy series. He has also written and starred in five televised comedy specials for major networks including CBC, CTV, The Comedy Network, MTV, and ABC2 Australia. In recognition of his comedic talent, he was featured on the Comedy Network's Nubian Disciples Special alongside Russell Peters and Dave Chappelle, cited as part of the next generation of great Canadian comics. He was also named on the front page of the Toronto Star as one of the Top Ten People in the country, marking him as the only actor or comedian to ever appear on that list.
In addition to his work in animation, Badshah's voice acting portfolio includes roles in children's programming, such as providing voices for multiple characters in The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (including Timmy Tippy Toes, Greg the Gecko, and Marty the Lemur). His live-action acting credits include appearances in the film Shazam! (2019) and the television series The Listener, alongside a substantial body of work as a writer and producer for film and radio, including the CBC Radio One series Laugh Out Loud.