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Hopeful
Omid Djalili's childhood was unconventional, to say the least. He was raised in a beautiful, chaotic, cramped, colorful, and legally dubious guesthouse where his parents fed and watered Iranian nationals flocking to the UK for medical treatment on the NHS. Over 20 years, almost 2000 "cousins" passed through the Djalili's doors, and the young Omid played translator to each. Although these years taught him a lot about the rich tapestry of life, this parenting by committee led to a slightly checkered school career which saw Omid taking his A levels a record six times, and eventually fake his own university entrance papers. Desperate to be free of his cramped living quarters he escapes to the University of Ulster, where he lives a life of wonderful solitude. Full of the warmth and intelligence that makes Omid such a successful comedian and sought-after actor, this memoir takes us on an incredible and laugh-out-loud funny journey through an unusually British life.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2014
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82 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
April 22, 2019
Born in 1965 in Kensington, London, to Iranian parents, Omid Djalili takes us through his early years and to the point of being in films like Notting Hill, The Gladiator and The Mummy. I have seen Omid a couple of times at a local comedy club in west London where he performs his material before going on his big tours. He is a fantastic comedian.
This book is very funny in places especially when he talks about his A Level re-takes but there is something missing. He glosses over his marriage to Annabel and the three children they have and there is hardly any mention about him being a comedian and how he has hit the big time doing that. I can only presume he is saving that up for another book. Instead he talks a bit more about the films. Anyone remember the two seasons on the BBC ‘The Omid Djalili Show’? Nothing about that either. Very strange indeed.
This book is very funny in places especially when he talks about his A Level re-takes but there is something missing. He glosses over his marriage to Annabel and the three children they have and there is hardly any mention about him being a comedian and how he has hit the big time doing that. I can only presume he is saving that up for another book. Instead he talks a bit more about the films. Anyone remember the two seasons on the BBC ‘The Omid Djalili Show’? Nothing about that either. Very strange indeed.
May 3, 2018
Very funny autobiography of a man who is in fact now a stand up comedian, so I would have been upset had it not been funny! I was laughing out loud from the first few chapters and generally there was a joke or a laugh or two to be had in each chapter.
The book focuses of Omid's life growing up as a British born Iranian man, whose parents ran an incredibly worthy guest house that meant that there were strangers in and out of Omid's life the whole time.
There are chapters detailing his love of football, I will forgive him being a Chelsea fan as it was his local team and it sounds as though he was a useful player too. His experiences with education were fascinating, honest and what struck me was the level of determination this man has and arguably his delusions of grandeur.
There were chapters involving visits to Iran as a child and his extended family, and I really enjoyed delving into this different culture.
Overall this is an incredibly insightful, interesting and entertaining look at the life so far of a comedian I enjoy watching, split into easy to follow chapters, detailing his childhood, education, assorted jobs and attempting to become an actor amongst other elements. I really enjoyed reading this.
The book focuses of Omid's life growing up as a British born Iranian man, whose parents ran an incredibly worthy guest house that meant that there were strangers in and out of Omid's life the whole time.
There are chapters detailing his love of football, I will forgive him being a Chelsea fan as it was his local team and it sounds as though he was a useful player too. His experiences with education were fascinating, honest and what struck me was the level of determination this man has and arguably his delusions of grandeur.
There were chapters involving visits to Iran as a child and his extended family, and I really enjoyed delving into this different culture.
Overall this is an incredibly insightful, interesting and entertaining look at the life so far of a comedian I enjoy watching, split into easy to follow chapters, detailing his childhood, education, assorted jobs and attempting to become an actor amongst other elements. I really enjoyed reading this.
July 10, 2019
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the week:
Comedian and actor Omid Djalili is one of Britain's funniest men. His memoirs take us through his unconventional childhood growing up in an Iranian household in London and chart his progression from serious acting into comedy.
It's a laugh-out-loud, intelligent and deeply touching journey through a fascinating life.
In the opening episode, Omid recalls occasions when he's provoked laughter for all the wrong reasons.
Abridger ..... Lu Kemp
Producer ..... Kirsty Williams
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2014.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04f...
Comedian and actor Omid Djalili is one of Britain's funniest men. His memoirs take us through his unconventional childhood growing up in an Iranian household in London and chart his progression from serious acting into comedy.
It's a laugh-out-loud, intelligent and deeply touching journey through a fascinating life.
In the opening episode, Omid recalls occasions when he's provoked laughter for all the wrong reasons.
Abridger ..... Lu Kemp
Producer ..... Kirsty Williams
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2014.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04f...
lookedinto-decidedagainst
August 30, 2014
BOTWDescription: Comedian and actor Omid Djalili is one of Britain's funniest men. His memoirs take us through his unconventional childhood growing up in an Iranian household in London and chart his progression from serious acting into comedy.
It's a laugh-out-loud, intelligent and deeply touching journey through a fascinating life.
In today's episode, Omid recalls occasions when he's provoked laughter for all the wrong reasons.
Writer and Reader ..... Omid Djalili
Abridger ..... Lu Kemp
Producer ..... Kirsty Williams
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4
A memoir is only enticing if the personality is known to one.
June 19, 2020
By far the funniest book I have ever read!!!
January 9, 2020
Delightful memoir from a master of accents who's successfully balanced acting and standup, moving from his eccentric British-Iranian Bah'ai childhood in London, university days in Coleraine (somewhere he'd never heard of before) to unsuccessful drama school auditions and tentative forays into standup and footballing trials before finishing with some appropriate Hollywood anecdotes. Perhaps a few more genuine bellylaughs would have been welcome but a thoroughly warm and respectful read. Also the only modern-day autobiography I've read where the few swear words are printed as such: 'p*** off', 'f***ing' etc.
July 23, 2019
Omid was born in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself. The first significant success of his stand-up comedy career was at 1995's Edinburgh Fringe. This was in "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son". He followed this with "The Arab and the Jew" in 1996. Djalili has also appeared in many films, most notably Gladiator. Others include The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Sex and the City 2.
With such a varied background, you would expect his autobiography to be full of hilarious anecdotes. And it is! His book covers his birth through to the awful TV show, Splash! If you’ve ever seen Omid you’ll notice he tends to keep intimate life stories out of his stand-up. And the opposite is true in this book: he keeps most of his comedy out of his life story. Saying that, Omid does have a skill of pulling together various tales and details, that are at first unrelated. However, these ultimately come together and to form an inspiring message. This is persistence and being a nice guy, in the long run, pays off.
If you’ve ever seen Omid you’ll notice he tends to keep intimate life stories out of his stand-up. And the opposite is true in this book: he keeps most of his comedy out of his life story.
An entertaining read which I recommend.
The abridged version is available from the BBC here
With such a varied background, you would expect his autobiography to be full of hilarious anecdotes. And it is! His book covers his birth through to the awful TV show, Splash! If you’ve ever seen Omid you’ll notice he tends to keep intimate life stories out of his stand-up. And the opposite is true in this book: he keeps most of his comedy out of his life story. Saying that, Omid does have a skill of pulling together various tales and details, that are at first unrelated. However, these ultimately come together and to form an inspiring message. This is persistence and being a nice guy, in the long run, pays off.
If you’ve ever seen Omid you’ll notice he tends to keep intimate life stories out of his stand-up. And the opposite is true in this book: he keeps most of his comedy out of his life story.
An entertaining read which I recommend.
The abridged version is available from the BBC here
September 5, 2025
I was a little disappointed with this, not because it was in any way badly written, but because the things Omid chose to focus on weren't really what I picked the book up for.
There are some entertaining stories in here (his bizarrely intimate experience with Oliver Reed being a stand-out gem), but Omid focuses most of the narrative upon his pursuit and progression of an acting career. Nothing wrong with that, obviously it's something he's very proud of and rightly so, but I've always loved his work as a stand-up comedian and was hoping there'd be some insights into how his comedy developed and grew, and was sad to find that this is only really spoken of briefly in the prologue.
This just wasn't what I'd expected and I struggled to maintain interest through the majority of this book, but this may very well appeal to most readers. In fact, there is one chapter about Omid's mother that is so heart-felt and beautifully written, that it made the whole book a worthwhile read.
I guess what I'm getting at is that my score should not be an indication of the book's quality, but more a reflection of my own personal investment and interest. Omid's tongue-in-cheek style is present throughout and I'm glad that I read this, but I dont think I was the right audience for this one.
There are some entertaining stories in here (his bizarrely intimate experience with Oliver Reed being a stand-out gem), but Omid focuses most of the narrative upon his pursuit and progression of an acting career. Nothing wrong with that, obviously it's something he's very proud of and rightly so, but I've always loved his work as a stand-up comedian and was hoping there'd be some insights into how his comedy developed and grew, and was sad to find that this is only really spoken of briefly in the prologue.
This just wasn't what I'd expected and I struggled to maintain interest through the majority of this book, but this may very well appeal to most readers. In fact, there is one chapter about Omid's mother that is so heart-felt and beautifully written, that it made the whole book a worthwhile read.
I guess what I'm getting at is that my score should not be an indication of the book's quality, but more a reflection of my own personal investment and interest. Omid's tongue-in-cheek style is present throughout and I'm glad that I read this, but I dont think I was the right audience for this one.
January 20, 2018
A very funny and entertaining read. Thank you Omid.
July 14, 2019
listened to the excellent (heavily) abridged reading on Radio 4
July 16, 2019
An enjoyable read covering life, comedy and Iranian anecdotes - well worth the time.
October 9, 2019
Such a funny man. Omid, can you imagine him as a kid? He got up to all kinds of trouble. Couldn't put the book down.
April 6, 2023
I loved this book. It’s a laugh out loud feel good book. You can almost hear Omid standing by you talking.
Well worth a read. Easily one of the best books I’ve read for a while.
Well worth a read. Easily one of the best books I’ve read for a while.
October 29, 2023
The audiobook by Omid really brings it to life.
Read
February 29, 2016I will admit that I am an autobiography fan, often reading books written by people I know little about. If they are a comedian or sports person who seems to had an interesting life, I will give their book a go. ‘Hopeful’ by Omid Djallili is a prime example of this. Djallili is a comedian I recognise, but know little about, but his autobiography sounded interesting and it was. Being raised in the UK, but with Iranian heritage, makes Djallili’s path an interesting one. You can read on the pages how his past created the man. It was interesting to see how his family home was often full of ill Iranian people who came over to the UK for treatment. Having to chaperone people to hospital and translate for them as a youngster could really change your outlook on life.
The reason that ‘Hopeful’ works is not because of the level of fame that Djallili has achieved, but the fact that he is a very personable writer. The book has little on the later years of his life and instead concentrates mostly on the years before fame struck. This is probably born from necessity as tbh his level of fame has not reached that much height, so his stories may have been limited. Thankfully, he manages to bring to life the manic upbringing – something that feels like it could be a future sitcom.
Djallili feels like somewhat of a happy go lucky chancer and this comes across in his writings and his tales. He is obviously unable to believe his own good fortune, so you find it hard to begrudge him getting into university, despite falsifying his grades. From being a child, to being an adult, Djallili seems to live with his head in the clouds. This in turn leads to a book light on celebrity gloss, but heavy in heart and warmth.
The reason that ‘Hopeful’ works is not because of the level of fame that Djallili has achieved, but the fact that he is a very personable writer. The book has little on the later years of his life and instead concentrates mostly on the years before fame struck. This is probably born from necessity as tbh his level of fame has not reached that much height, so his stories may have been limited. Thankfully, he manages to bring to life the manic upbringing – something that feels like it could be a future sitcom.
Djallili feels like somewhat of a happy go lucky chancer and this comes across in his writings and his tales. He is obviously unable to believe his own good fortune, so you find it hard to begrudge him getting into university, despite falsifying his grades. From being a child, to being an adult, Djallili seems to live with his head in the clouds. This in turn leads to a book light on celebrity gloss, but heavy in heart and warmth.
February 25, 2015
A really inspiring story always warm and easy to read with touching stories and some amazing funny stories that leave you with that "at least it's not just me that stuff happens to feeling". Maybe a little bit more on how Omid copes with his current family life would have been interesting you find yourself wondering about him now, there didn't seem to be much on his real break through as a comedian but some great anecdotes about his times on set on The Mummy and Gladiator. I read the Kindle edition and the photographs appear at the end part of me thinks they should maybe have interrupted the text but actually after reading the story it was quiet poignant putting names to faces and wondering..."what happened to all that hair!"
Still an easy read and evidence of how you can live a life doing something different...
The book leaves you wanting more and since he's not dead yet I look forward to a sequel!
Still an easy read and evidence of how you can live a life doing something different...
The book leaves you wanting more and since he's not dead yet I look forward to a sequel!
March 6, 2017
I am also British-Iranian (English mother & Persian father). So Omid's autobiography has some relevance. Although I am much funnier (typical Iranian bullshit !) than Omid. I have both the book and the audiobook version. He reads his own autobiography and his rendition is very good and amusing, who could have done it better ? I have also seen him live at the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith; he was very funny. Perhaps he could have written more about his comedy act and career as this is what he is most famous for; he writes more about his acting. For somebody (me) who has finally decided to learn Farsi, there are also some Persian words thrown in in the earlier chapters. Omid proves that Iranians do have a good sense of humour which is a good thing in the current climate. Rule Britannia & Long Live Iran. Recommended.
February 1, 2015
'Hopeful' was not just your usual listing of life-events, but a well thought-out and almost analytical look back at Omid's life, his passions, influences and heroes. I vastly enjoyed the anecdotes, but at the same time found that by about 75% through, I was starting to get a bit 'hopeful' that the end would come soon.
Worth a read for any diehard Omid fans, and actually, fans of the acting/comedy/show business industry, but for the casual reader like myself, maybe not an entirely gripping read.
Worth a read for any diehard Omid fans, and actually, fans of the acting/comedy/show business industry, but for the casual reader like myself, maybe not an entirely gripping read.
September 29, 2015
It’s a book that I found slow paced and difficult to get into until the end of the book when Omid details his journey into Hollywood - the roles in the Mummy and his awkward introduction to Russell Crowe were funny! His battle for Annabel’s affection; his unfortunate, embarrassing incidents; his busy home life do make for heart-warming reading. But there are passages in the book which aren’t as entertaining as they seem to have been put in as page fillers such as his journey through Czechoslovakia.
April 16, 2015
I'd heard Omid Djalili interviewed on the radio and decided to read his autobiography as a result. There were episodes that were skimmed over that it would have been interesting to have had in more detail. It was a bit strange because I know him mainly as a comedian but the book reveals him as primarily an actor with very little about his stand up career. His self-belief and persistence are outstanding. I learnt quite a lot about Iran. On the whole though I was disappointed by this book.
October 1, 2015
Funny, surprising, heartwarming, heartbreaking and inspiring. 'Hopeful' is a book that every fan of Omid Djalili will want to read. It's a warm and engaging read that occasionally made this reader feel a little conspiratorial (in a good way).
If you're a fan of Omid's work then don't hesitate!
If you're a fan of Omid's work then don't hesitate!
March 16, 2016
A haphazard, bittersweet journey of a hopeless, lost daydreamer who is one of the very few among us like-minded souls that doggedly pursued and eventually fulfilled his life's aspirations. An enjoyable and at times, moving read. Hopeful indeed.
September 6, 2016
Great people can come from anywhere , but most have at least visited Northern Ireland just to test their metal. A grand story .
Can I ask if you are a Catholic Bahai or a Protestant Bahai ?
Grand
Stan
Can I ask if you are a Catholic Bahai or a Protestant Bahai ?
Grand
Stan
September 6, 2016
I am not a big reader of autobiographies but this book has opened my eyes as to how good they can be. I highly recommend, the book was honest but hilarious, emotionally open without being slushy and informative without being preachy. Well done Omid.
May 12, 2015
Amazing memoir of Omid's life through diversity, adversity and life's challenges a very deep and connected read!
April 6, 2021
Funny and entertaining.
Read
September 6, 2014Touching, funny and honest. And read by the author so all the right sentiment.
March 27, 2017
HOPEFUL! is a really well written book by a very accomplished guy. Recommended !
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews