Shelley Malil Biography

Shelley Mathew Malil (born December 23, 1964) is an American actor who has appeared in a number of films and TV shows.

Malil, an Indian American, was born in Kerala, India and emigrated to the United States in 1974.

Acting career

Shelley began pursuing his dream of entertaining people on the high school stage, where his leading turns often earned awards in district competitions in Texas, where his family settled after emigrating to the U.S. in 1974. As a child, he had dreams of becoming a comedic actor like Bob Hope, whom he first saw on a neighbor’s TV set, the only one in the fishing village on the southern tip of India.

Shelley first came to Hollywood in 1995, after a two-year stint at New York's famed American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He had a supporting role in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Holes (2003), Collateral Damage, Getting There (2002), Boys From Madrid (2000), My Favorite Martian (1999), Columbus Day and Just Can't Get Enough: the Chippendales Story and appeared in shows like Scrubs, Reba, NYPD Blue, The West Wing and ER.

Shelley was selected as one of the ”Top 10 Overlooked Performances of 2005” by the Associated Press for his performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He is the recipient of a Clio Award (for the Budweiser commercials), a Los Angeles Ovation Award as Best Featured Actor for his performance as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and was nominated for the Los Angeles Ovation Award for his performance in subUrbia. [wikipedia.org]