Nabil Shaban (born 12 February 1953 in Amman, Jordan) is a British actor. He founded The Graeae (pronounced 'grey-eye') - a theatre group which promotes performers with disabilities. He has a son named Zenyel.

"Nabs" was a student at the University of Surrey in the late seventies and contributed to the Student Union newspaper "Bare Facts".

One of his most memorable television roles was that of the hideous reptilian alien Sil in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Shaban played Sil in two serials: Vengeance on Varos (1985) and Mindwarp (1986).

He has appeared in several films including Born of Fire (1983), City of Joy (1992) and Gaias børn (1998), and has also worked as part of the Crass Collective.

In 2004 he made a TV documentary in which explored the possibility that viking chieftan Ivar the Boneless may have had osteogenesis imperfecta, the same condition as himself.

Further reading

Dreams my Father Sold Me — poetry and artworks by Nabil Shaban (ISBN 0954829409)

External links

• An interview with Nabil Shaban on the bbc.co.uk website
• Graeae Theatre Copmany
• Sirius Pictures website of Shaban's film company
• Nabil Shaban's homepage
• Shaban's page about Ivar the Boneless

1953 births | Doctor Who actors | English actors | Living people