Kiran Shah
Kiran Shah | |
---|---|
Shah in 2006 | |
Born |
Nairobi, Kenya | September 28, 1956
Occupation | Actor/Stuntman |
Years active | 1977–present |
Height | 4 ft 2 in (127 cm) |
Kiran Shah (born September 28, 1956) is a Kenyan-Indian actor and a stuntman.
Shah was born in Nairobi, Kenya. He lived in Kenya until he was twelve years old, when he moved to India with his family. While living in India, he became interested in films, and when his family moved to London Crawley, he became involved in the show business. His first film was the 1977 movie Candleshoe, as a stand-in for a girl called Sara Tamakuni, and when stunt coordinator Bob Anderson asked him to do her stunts as well, his career was started. Kiran played the part of Bolum in the 1977 film The People That Time Forgot.
Kiran is often confused with Deep Roy; they are both dwarf Kenyan actors of Indian descent who got their starts in film and television in the late 1970s. Although he is most well known for being the world's shortest stuntman according to the Guinness Book of World Records, he has appeared as an actor in 31 films, compared to his 37 as stuntman or body double.
Stand-in, stunt, and background work
He has been in several blockbuster films since, such as Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Dark Crystal (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Legend (1985), Aliens (1986), The Sign of Four (1987), Bullseye! (1990), Braveheart (1995), and Titanic (1997) where he stunt doubled all the children in the film.
He has appeared as a stunt double or stand-in in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. He was the scale double for Elijah Wood as Frodo.[1] He doubled Bilbo Baggins as played by both Martin Freeman (in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) and Ian Holm (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). He is one of only three actors to play the titular character in the Hobbit films.
Character work
The most featured of these was as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where he played Ginarrbrik. He also portrayed an Andaman islander in a Sherlock Holmes film, The Sign of Four. A favorite film role is the monster who came out of a painting and attacked Natasha Richardson in the 1987 film Gothic. In addition to doubling for Martin Freeman as Bilbo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he also appeared as the Goblin Scribe.
Shah appeared as the mysterious figure in the Steven Moffat scripted "Listen", the fourth episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who starring Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, and also episode 2 of series 10 as Emojibot 1 in smile.[2]
Shah appeared in the 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as Teedo, a small, brutish scavenger that roams the planet Jakku's vast wasteland on his semi-mechanical Luggabeast.[3][4]
Poetry
In addition to being an actor and a stuntman, Kiran is also a poet. His poetry has been published in Great Britain and the United States, and is based on his personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences.[5]
Filmography
- The People That Time Forgot (1977) as Bolum
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as Abu
- The Dark Crystal (1982) as Additional Performer
- Return of the Jedi (1983) as Ewok / EG-6
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) as Primate Sequences
- Legend (1985) as Blunder
- Gothic (1986) as Fuseli Monster
- Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four (1987) as Tonga
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) as Executioner's Assistant
- Bullseye! (1990) as Little Boss at Auction
- Black Beauty (1994) as Man with Tambourine (uncredited)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as Goblin (uncredited)
- The Biggest Step (2002) as Luk
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as Ginarrbrik
- The Dork of the Rings (2006) as Himself
- Harvey Putter and the Ridiculous Premise (2010) as Dumpy the Houseschmuck
- Your Highness (2011) as Tiniest One
- Kong Curling (2011) as Pepsimannen
- A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012) as Small Man in Duvet
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) as Goblin Scribe
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) as Teedo
- The Throbbit (2015) as Himself
- Rogue One (2016) as Oolin Musters (uncredited)
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) as Neepers Panpick
References
- ↑ J.W. Braun, The Lord of the Films (ECW Press, 2009).
- ↑ "The making of Smile - Smile: Behind the Scenes - Smile, Series 10, Doctor Who - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
- ↑ Marston, George (2015-08-12). "J.J. ABRAMS: REY and FINN's Last Names in STAR WARS: FORCE AWAKENS Are Purposely Secret". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
- ↑ "Teedo (Species)". StarWars.com. 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
- ↑ Milliken, Neil (2016-01-04). "Kiran Shah – Actor and Stuntman". AXSChat. Retrieved 2017-02-04.