Speaker Hamza Haq

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Hamza Haq

Actor, Transplant

Named one of Canada's Rising Stars by The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Hamza Haq stars as Bashir “Bash” Hamed in CTV medical dramaTRANSPLANTfor which he earned a 2021 Canadian Screen Award win for Best Lead Actor. The series, a 2021 Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Drama series, and currently filming Season 2, centres around an ER doctor who fled his native Syria to come to Canada where he must overcome numerous obstacles to resume a career in the high stakes world of emergency medicine.

In 2018, Hamza appeared alongside William Shatner and Russell Peters as twins Amal and Gopal in the CTV mini-series INDIAN DETECTIVE, and earned critical acclaim with a 2018 Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Guest Performance for his role as Raza Ali in the CBC drama THIS LIFE. Other notable credits include recurring roles on the Cinemax series JETT opposite Carla Gugino, QUANTICO starring Priyanka Chopra, and THE ART OF MORE with Denis Quaid and Kate Bosworth. Additional television credits include DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, THE BOLD TYPE, BEING HUMAN, and BEST LAID PLANS. He hosted two seasons of the International Emmy® Award nominated children’s series LOOK KOOL and plays Jassie the CBC Gem digital original drama THE 410.  

On the big screen, he appears opposite Margaret Qualley in the MY SALINGER YEAR which opened the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020, and in the upcoming DELIA’S GONE with Marisa Tomei and Stephan James. He also holds supporting roles in BON COP BAD COP 2 with Colm Feore, THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN directed by Xavier Dolan, Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER! and RUN THIS TOWN. 

 

In 2020, Hamza was honoured as Playback’s Breakout Star of the Year, and was a recipient of RBC'sTop 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. He spoke atTEDxTORONTOFall digital event series ‘Uncharted’ using his public platform to speak on issues important to him, including refugees’ rights, racial injustice, and combating stereotypes, and has partnered with the Canada Media Fund’sMADE | NOUSinitiative as ambassador for Islamic History Month in October, as well as their ‘Seek More’ campaign in Spring 2021. He is loyal advocate for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which brings awareness to and support to those fleeing violence and persecution, and has helped raise funds for their Cash Assistance Program providing refugees with money that enables them to fulfil their needs in a dignified manner and contribute to the local economy. 

 

Raised in Ottawa, Hamza is youngest of four siblings born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and has called Canada home since he was nine years old. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies with a minor in Law from Carleton University.

Speaking on: Master Class: Transplant

At the Banff Media Festival, we met with Netflix and took a ride up Sulphur Mountain on the gondola. That’s where we made the pitch.
- Naveen Prasad, EVP and GM, Elevation Pictures

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