- Born
- Height5′ 8½″ (1.74 m)
- Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Iqbal Theba came to the US as a college freshman at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. While in college in Oklahoma, Iqbal studied Civil Engineering and eventually obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Engineering Management. After realizing his true passion was acting, Iqbal returned to the University of Oklahoma to study acting. Thoroughly enjoying his time in Oklahoma (he is a true Sooner football fan) and after leaving college, Iqbal decided to move to New York City to pursue his love of acting. After struggling in New York for over two years, Iqbal decided to make the move to Los Angeles in hopes of more acting work. Broke and not knowing anyone in Los Angeles, Iqbal stayed with friends in San Bernardino until he could save up enough money to finally move full-time to Los Angeles.
Once in Los Angeles, things started to turn around for Iqbal. He soon found a niche acting in television commercials. His first big commercial was for the Wherehouse Music Chain, where he sang the Chris Isaak song "Wicked Game". This was followed by commercials for McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, AT&T, Sprint, American Express, Capital One, Holiday Inn, Kellogg's Cereal, Tostitos, Got Milk, and many others. Iqbal was the first South Asian to have appeared in dozens of mainstream national commercials in the '90s. It was through these television commercials that he was able to get his SAG card, which opened the door to more mainstream television and film opportunities.
Iqbal's big television break came after booking a role on the NBC pilot "Death and Taxes" (his second job in Los Angeles as an actor). Although the pilot wasn't picked up, this led to numerous co-starring and guest-starring roles in television and film, including work on TV shows such as "L.A. Law", "Living Single", "Mad About You", and "Seinfeld". Over the next 10 years, Iqbal continued to hone his craft and work guest starring on television shows such as "Ellen", "Caroline in the City", "Everybody Loves Raymond", "Friends", "King of the Hill", "The West Wing", "Judging Amy", "Alias", "Arrested Development", and "Weeds", to name a few, as well as recurring roles on "The George Carlin Show", "Sister, Sister", "Rosanne", "Married With Children", "Family Matters", "ER", "JAG", and "Life With Bonnie". Some of Iqbal's film work includes "Indecent Proposal", "Driven", "BASEketball", "Dancing at the Blue Iguana", "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Playing for Keeps".
After successfully establishing himself as one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood, Iqbal's big break came from his being cast as Principal Figgins in the hugely successful FOX television series "Glee". Although originally written for a Caucasian, Iqbal won the role and has in the process brought his own unique perspective to the character. As the beleaguered principal of William McKinley High School, Principal Figgins tries to walk the tightrope between being fair with teacher Will Schuster (Matthew Morrison) while being constantly blackmailed and harassed by coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch). In addition to "Glee", Iqbal is also simultaneously starring in the NBC series "Community" playing Danny's dad.
2010 has proven to be a busy and successful year for Iqbal. He started the year off by winning a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for his work on "Glee", continues filming new episodes of "Glee" and "Community", and is looking at several feature film offers. In addition to his acting career, Iqbal enjoys spending time with his wife Humera and their two children and traveling. His favorite writer is Anton Chekov, his favorite movie is "2001: A Space Odyssey", and works with his favorite charity, Edhi Foundation.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Mosaic Public Relations
- ChildrenMikael ThebaRanya Theba
- Went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman and is a Sooner football fan. He arrived in Los Angeles with $37 in his pocket. He stayed with his friend Mujahid Bashir for three months in San Bernardino until he earned enough money from waiting tables and found a place to live in Los Angeles.
- He was one of 13 student actors who auditioned for summer stock theatre in college. 12 were picked. He was the only one who was left out.
- Left college in 1989 and moved to New York to pursue acting. In NYC, he stayed with his childhood friend Tariq Agha until he found a place of his own. Did a few non-paying acting gigs and worked as a waiter. Went broke in early 1991 and decided to leave NYC for Los Angeles. He stopped in Norman, OK, for two days because he was almost out of money. He worked at Misal Restaurant for one shift and made $60. His best friend Akbar Sultan gave him $50. He finally arrived in San Bernardino with only $37. He did not know anyone in Los Angeles so he had to stay in San Bernardino with a friend until he had saved enough money (from waiting tables) and moved to LA in March 1991.
- During his freshman year in college, he was a dishwasher at The Street Restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma. He was promoted to be a cook after a couple of months of washing dishes. The restaurant closed a year later.
- Has one son, Mikale, and one daughter, Ranya.
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