Nej Adamson

Nej Adamson
Born
Nejdet Salih

(1958-12-23) 23 December 1958 (age 65)
London, England
OccupationActor

Nej Adamson (born 23 December 1958), also credited as Nejdet Salih, is a British actor.

Career

Born in London, Adamson is of Turkish Cypriot descent.[1] He played Ali Osman in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, a role he played from the series' inception in 1985 until 1989. During his time on the show his character battled with the loss of a child, gambling addiction, the breakdown of his marriage to Sue (Sandy Ratcliff) and her subsequent mental health problems. During EastEnders he was credited as Nejdet Salih, but after his departure in 1989, he changed his name to Nej Adamson.

Other television credits include Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Doctor Who, Wall of Silence and in 2004 he appeared in the comedy sketch show Bo' Selecta!, where he played his EastEnders alias, Ali Osman, in a spoof sketch. He also featured in the 1992 film Carry On Columbus and in 2003 he played a short sailor in the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006).

Adamson believes he has been typecast due to his role in EastEnders. On the show's 25th anniversary in 2010, he commented, "I have had to live with Ali for 25 years. I'm just trying to get on with my life. I don't give interviews. I am still acting but it is hard when to everyone I'm still Ali from the cafe."[2]

Personal life

During the 1980s, he dated Linda Davidson, his co-star on EastEnders who played Mary Smith.[3] Adamson married his drama school sweetheart, Susan Stevens, in 1989. The marriage ended in 1990 when Adamson briefly moved to Hollywood.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Carry On Columbus Fayid
2004 Wall of Silence Mustafa Television film
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Short Sailor
2017 American Assassin Turkish Operative
2018 Sleep Warm Grandpa Short film
2020 Heckle Stage Manager

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1983 Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Turkish Site Worker Episode: "Home Thoughts from Abroad"
1984 The Brief Sergeant Episode: "Can Kill, No One to Kill"
Big Deal Taxi Driver Episode: "Some You Win..."
1985 Doctor Who Juan Episode: "The Two Doctors"
1985–1989 EastEnders Ali Osman Series regular; 363 episodes
1992 The Bill Nico Theodorakis Episode: "A Nice Little Line in Plastic"
2004 Bo' Selecta! Ali Osman Episode: "The Bear Takes Over"

References

  1. ^ "Sea monster devours bickering Cypriots". Cyprus Mail. 7 October 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "EastEnders: We track down the soap stars who left Walford". Daily Mirror. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  3. ^ Kingsley, Hilary (1990). The EastEnders Handbook. BBC books. ISBN 9780563362920.


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