René Ifrah is an American actor born in Germany and raised in Brooklyn, New York City.[1][2] He is best known for his role as Bibi Hamed[1][3] on the Showtime series Homeland,[4][5][6] for which he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award (2016).[7][8] He is also known for his recurring roles on Showtime's crime drama Sneaky Pete,[9][10] where he played the character of Wali[11] (2017–2018); the Showtime Drama series The Affair[12][13][14] (2017); and the Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie[15][16][17] (2009–2011).

René Ifrah
René Ifrah
Born
Frankfurt, Germany
OccupationActor
Years active1996–present
Websitewww.reneifrah.com

Early life

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Rene Ifrah was born in Frankfurt, Germany,[1][2][18] and raised there and in Sicily[1] until moving to Brooklyn, New York,[1] with his family around the age of 10.[1] He is of German,[1] Sephardic,[1] and Italian[1] descent.

Career

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Film

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After his film debut in a small part in the 2002 film Hart's War,[16][19] starring Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell, Ifrah went on to co-star in the German ensemble film September as Ashraf, a Pakistani pizzeria owner in Hamburg, Germany, at odds with his German wife after the September 11 attacks. He then starred in the German film Grüße aus Kaschmir (2004), for which he won a Grimme-Preis[20][21][22] (2005) for best ensemble. He then appeared in Beyond the Sea[23][24] as well as The Taking of Pelham 123.[25]

Television

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After guest starring roles on shows including NBC's Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and American Broadcasting Company's Life on Mars, Ifrah landed a recurring role in the Showtime comedy series Nurse Jackie.[15][16][26]

He had a recurring role as Danny in the Starz miniseries Flesh and Bone[27] before landing the part of Bibi Hamed[1] for season five of the Showtime program Homeland.[28]

Since Homeland, Ifrah has had further recurring parts on Showtime's The Affair and Sneaky Pete[10][11] as well as additional guest appearances on Netflix's The Punisher and CBS's Blue Bloods and God Friended Me.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Berlintaxi Yussuf Short film
2002 Hart's War Pvt. T.S. Krasner
2003 September Ashraf
2004 Beyond the Sea 2nd Assistant Director
2005 Warum Ulli sich am Weihnachtsabend umbringen wollte Heino
2006 Fay Grim Cameo
2007 I'd Like to Die a Thousand Times Cameo
2009 Dry River Road Akeem Maleki Short film
2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Cameo
2018 Nancy Jake Lee

Television (selected roles)

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Altair in Starland Grizzl Main cast, nine episodes
2004 Blood of the Templars [de] Shareef TV movie
2005 Was Sie schon immer über Singles wissen wollten KC TV movie
2005 Der letzte Zeuge Madan Sansawar Episode: "Das Rad des Lebens"
2006 Zores Leo Rosen TV movie
2006 Kommissarin Lucas Mehmet Two episodes: "Skizze einer Toten", "Die blaue Blume"
2007 Law & Order: Criminal Intent George Lombardi Episode: "Amends"
2007 Email to Bill Gates Mr. Brill TV movie
2008 Die Sache mit dem Glück Manolo TV movie
2008 Die Patin – Kein Weg zurück Sandro TV miniseries: (as Rene David Ifrah)
2009 Damages Uniform Cop #2 Episode: "Hey! Mr. Pibb!"
2009 Life on Mars The Groom Episode: "Home Is Where You Hang Your Holster"
2007–2009 Law & Order Alex Chambers & Sid Maxwell Two episodes: "Human Flesh Search Engine", "Fallout"
2010 SOKO München Antonio Mori Episode: "Vendetta"
2010 The Sleeper's Wife Zaid Ben Yakin TV movie
2009–2011 Nurse Jackie Officer Ryan Recurring, five episodes
2012 Das Geheimnis der Villa Sabrini [de] Francesco Sabrini TV movie
2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Officer Bracken Episode: "Presumed Guilty"
2013 Die Pastorin Dr. Antonio Alvarez TV movie
2014 Believe Stimson Episode: "Together"
2014 Katie Fforde: Eine Liebe in New York Alejandro TV movie
2015 Franziskas Welt: Hochzeiten und andere Hürden Dr. Antonio Alvarez TV movie
2015 Flesh and Bone Danny TV miniseries: three episodes
2015 Homeland Bibi Hamed Recurring, season 5, seven episodes
2014 Katie Fforde: Das Schweigen der Männer Howard Harper TV movie
2016 Shakespeares letzte Runde Petruchio TV movie
2014 Sneaky Pete Wali Recurring, five episodes
2016–2017 The Affair Detective Romero Recurring, three episodes
2017 The Punisher Officer Jack Episode: "Danger Close"
2018 Get Christie Love Mamoun TV movie
2018 Blue Bloods Tariq Ali Episode: "Close Calls"

Voiceover work

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Year Title Role Ref.
2014 Altair in Starland Voices of Altair and Grizzl

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2005 Adolf Grimme Award Best Ensemble Cast Award (shared with the cast) Grüße aus Kaschmir Won [29]
2016 Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Ensemble Cast Award (shared with the cast) Homeland: Season 5 Nominated [30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j RAPP, ILANA (November 24, 2015). "A Conversation With Homeland Actor René Ifrah". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Schönstedt, Annika (April 7, 2016). "René Ifrah ist ein Pendler und Tänzer zwischen den Welten". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Warner, Judith (November 15, 2015). "'Homeland' Recap: Season 5, Episode 7, 'Oriole'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  4. ^ Ibarra, Rebeca. "'Homeland' Season 5, Episode 11 recap: It's all up to Carrie now". nydailynews.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  5. ^ Mackin, Laurence. "Homeland returns: here's the story so far". The Irish Times. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "'Homeland' Spoilers: What Happened In The Season 5 Finale? Recap Before Season 6 Premiere". International Business Times. January 15, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  7. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  8. ^ McNary, Dave (December 9, 2015). "SAG Award Nominations Led by 'House of Cards,' 'Trumbo'". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "Sneaky Pete". www.amazon.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Bryan Cranston Streaked at a Jack in a Box Drive Thru". Bay Area HQ. January 13, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Wali – Sneaky Pete | TVmaze". www.tvmaze.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  12. ^ TV.com. "René Ifrah". TV.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  13. ^ The Affair (TV Series) (2014), retrieved March 5, 2019
  14. ^ The Affair: Episode 4 | TVmaze, retrieved March 5, 2019
  15. ^ a b Linda (May 3, 2011). "Review – Nurse Jackie, Season 3, Episode 6 – "When the Saints Go"". Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "René Ifrah". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "The Business Reframing the Conversation of Middle Eastern, North African and South Asian Characters". SAG-AFTRA Foundation. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  18. ^ Schönstädt, Annika (March 31, 2016). "Zu gehetzt in New York, zu entspannt in Berlin". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  19. ^ "Hart's War Cast and Crew – Cast Photos and Info". Fandango. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  20. ^ "Grüße aus Kaschmir (ARD / BR)". www.grimme-preis.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  21. ^ "René Ifrah". www.grimme-preis.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  22. ^ "Hintergrund: Die Grimme-Preisträger 2005". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  23. ^ "Hintergrund: Die Grimme-Preisträger 2005". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  24. ^ "René Ifrah". BFI. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  25. ^ The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), retrieved March 5, 2019
  26. ^ Nurse Jackie: Season 3, retrieved March 5, 2019
  27. ^ Flesh and Bone: Season 1, retrieved March 5, 2019
  28. ^ Ong, Sally (January 21, 2016). "'Homeland' Season 5 Cast: Actor Rene Ifrah Says Show Deals With 'Moral' Issues". Christianity Daily. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  29. ^ "Adolf Grimme Preis".
  30. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
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