Hisham Tawfiq is an American actor who was born in New York City on May 17, 1970. He pursued several other careers before becoming an actor and didn’t begin his acting career until around 2008. He is best known for playing Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington in the NBC television series ‘The Blacklist’. This is a role he has played since 2013. He has also played many film roles and has worked in the theater. Although he is now relatively well known, there are still many facts that people do not know about him. Here are 10 interesting things that you probably didn’t know about Hisham Tawfiq.
1. Poetry Inspired His Passion for Acting
Tawfiq first realized that he was interested in the performing arts when he was in high school. He performed the Maya Angelou poem ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ in an English lesson and realized that he wanted to perform. This led to him studying acting and dancing at the Negro Ensemble Company. Tawfiq also took lessons with acting coach Susan Batson.
2. He Once Worked as a Dancer
For a brief period after leaving high school, Tawfiq worked as a professional Jazz and West African dancer, says TV Guide. This was his first experience of working in the entertainment industry. Since then, he has not danced in a professional capacity.
3. He Was in the Marines
According to IMDb, Hisham Tawfiq was in the Boy Scouts when he was a child, and this gave him a passion for outdoor activities and an active lifestyle. It also led to him joining the United States Marine Corps. He served for five years, eventually becoming a platoon leader, and he was involved in Operation Desert Storm. After leaving the Marine Corps in 1995, he spent a short time working as a security guard.
4. Tawfiq Served in the Fire Department
Tawfiq has served in the New York City Fire Department for 20 years. He was first invited to join the fire service in 1996. He has said that it was a great honor to be invited to serve with the department and that he was grateful for the opportunity to give something back to the community in New York City. He continued to serve as a firefighter while trying to pursue a career as an actor. He was one of fewer than 200 African American firefighters in the service. Other than fighting fires, part of his role was in recruitment, and he would give talks in schools about the work of the fire department.
5. He Landed His Dream Role in a Theater Production
After many years trying to establish himself as an actor, Hashim Tawfiq landed his dream role. This was playing the role of Walter Lee in a theater production called ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ with the Arkansas Repertory Theater. With the same theater company, he performed in a play called ‘Intimate Apparel’. This was an experience that he thoroughly enjoyed.
6. Tawfiq is Inspired by His Father
The biggest inspiration in Hashim Tawfiq’s life is his father. This is a subject that Tawfiq spoke about in an interview with NBC News. His father is a Muslim and a leader in the community. Tawfiq says that his father raised him as a Muslim and taught him what it was like to live in a community as marginalized people. His father also taught him about being a leader, having courage, using your intelligence, and standing your ground no matter what your beliefs. Tawfiq has used his experiences growing up and his relationship with his father to inspire his acting, especially his role in ‘The Blacklist’.
7. He Keeps His Personal Life Private
Hashim Tawfiq does not talk much about his personal life in interviews as he prefers to keep this private. However, it is known that he is married to Spirit Tawfiq and that they have a son together. He has said in interviews that he tries to parent his son in the same way that his father raised him. He is rarely photographed with his wife or son.
8. He is a ‘Game of Thrones’ Fan
In his free time, Hashim Tawfiq enjoys relaxing and watching television. His favorite television series is ‘Games of Thrones’. He has talked about the series in interviews and posts about the storylines and characters on his social media pages. He is also interested in topics related to this series, such as dragons. Another series that he enjoys is ‘Insecure’. He has described himself as a sci-fi geek and enjoys reading comic books.
9. He Has a Large Social Media Following
As a popular actor, Hashim Tawfiq has now grown a large following on social media. His Twitter account has got more than 59.6 thousand followers. ON this account, he has a picture of himself as a child with his father as his profile picture, and he also tweets about his relationship with his father. Other topics about which he tweets are his work projects and his opinions about television series storylines, such as ‘Game of Thrones’. He also posts photographs relating to his work and the events he has attended.
10. He has Some Upcoming Projects
As a cast regular in ‘The Blacklist’, it is for this series that Tawfiq has become best known. Although he is continuing to appear in this series as a member of the main cast, he also has some ongoing and upcoming projects. He played The Author in the 2019 television short ‘About the People’. He is also playing Officer Daniel Nack in a 2020 episode of ‘Conrad’. He played this role once before in a 2018 episode. Tawfiq is in the process of filming the television movie ‘To Live and Die in Bed-Stuy’, in which he is playing the role of Big Ed.
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