Hari Dhillon
Encyclopedia
Hari Dhillon is an American television, film and stage actor, best known for playing Mr Michael Spence
in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City
.
heritage.
He attended UC Berkeley and took an acting class in his senior year as a means of filling an art credit. After graduation, he worked as a prison AIDS educator in California
and Hawaii
before helping some friends to set up a theater company in San Francisco. In 1994, he attended drama school in the United Kingdom.
Michael Spence. His appearances in US TV shows include Medium
, Charmed
, Without a Trace
and The Loop
. He also had minor, unnamed roles in the films Cradle 2 the Grave
, Wit
and Entrapment
.
Dhillon's theatre roles include the premiere production of Charles L. Mee
's A Perfect Wedding, which was the inaugural production of the Kirk Douglas Theatre
in Los Angeles
, and the original production of Stephen Belber
's Drifting Elegant at San Francisco's Magic Theatre
, which was later developed into a feature film. In London
, he appeared in the original production of Helen Edmundson
's Mother Teresa Is Dead at the Royal Court Theatre
.
, London, Drifting Elegant (2004), Magic Theatre
, San Francisco, A Perfect Wedding (2004), Kirk Douglas Theatre
, Los Angeles
, and Morbidity and Mortality (2006), Magic Theatre
, San Francisco.
wrote "Dhillon is terrific as a modest misanthrope cured by ultra-awkward amour"' while theater critic Robert Hurwitt of San Francisco Chronicle
wrote his performance was "engagingly candid".
in the category for "Best Drama Performance".
Michael Spence (fictional character)
Michael Spence is a fictional character from the BBC medical drama Holby City, portrayed by actor Hari Dhillon. The character first appeared on 20 November 2007, in the episode "Unfinished Symphony" - episode six of the show's tenth series. Dhillon had formerly appeared in the show on a recurring...
in over 100 episodes of the British television medical drama series Holby City
Holby City
Holby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
.
Background
Dhillon was born and raised in San Francisco, but spent nine months of his childhood in India due to his parents' concern that he would lose touch with their PunjabiPunjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
heritage.
He attended UC Berkeley and took an acting class in his senior year as a means of filling an art credit. After graduation, he worked as a prison AIDS educator in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
before helping some friends to set up a theater company in San Francisco. In 1994, he attended drama school in the United Kingdom.
Career
Dhillon originally appeared in Holby City in 2001 as recurring minor character Dr. Sunil Gupta, before returning in November 2007 as consultantConsultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
Michael Spence. His appearances in US TV shows include Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, Without a Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
and The Loop
The Loop (TV series)
The Loop is an American sitcom that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on Fox. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S....
. He also had minor, unnamed roles in the films Cradle 2 the Grave
Cradle 2 the Grave
Cradle 2 the Grave is a 2003 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak featuring martial artist Jet Li and rapper DMX.-Plot:...
, Wit
Wit (film)
Wit is a 2001 American television movie directed by Mike Nichols. The teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson is based on the 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same title by Margaret Edson....
and Entrapment
Entrapment (film)
Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.-Plot:Virginia "Gin" Baker is an investigator for Waverly Insurance. Robert "Mac" MacDougal is an international art thief. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one...
.
Dhillon's theatre roles include the premiere production of Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts.-Early Life and Early Career:...
's A Perfect Wedding, which was the inaugural production of the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the group's three stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy.- History :...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and the original production of Stephen Belber
Stephen Belber
Stephen Belber is an American playwright , screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Belber was born in Washington, D.C.. He studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and moved to New York at the age of 25. There he unwittingly moved in with a roommate with AIDS,...
's Drifting Elegant at San Francisco's Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
, which was later developed into a feature film. In London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he appeared in the original production of Helen Edmundson
Helen Edmundson
Helen Edmundson is a British playwright particularly well-known for her adaptations of various literary classics for the stage.Edmundson's first play Flying was produced at the National Theatre Studio in 1990...
's Mother Teresa Is Dead at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
.
Television
- Dream TeamDream Team (TV series)Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club....
(1997) - Arabian NightsArabian Nights (TV miniseries)Arabian Nights is a two-part 2000 American/British miniseries, adapted by Peter Barnes from Sir Richard Francis Burton's translation of the medieval epic One Thousand and One Nights. Mili Avital and Dougray Scott stars as Scheherazade and Shahryar respectively...
(2000) - Trial & RetributionTrial & RetributionTrial & Retribution is a feature-length ITV police proceduraltelevision drama series that began in 1997. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series Prime Suspect. Each episode of the Trial & Retribution series is broadcast over two nights. The...
(1 episode, 2000) - Lawless HeartLawless Heart-Plot:Devastated by Stuart's death, his brother-in-law, lover and best friend decide to take their lives in hand. Dan is a faithful and loving father and husband, until the day he meets Corinne. This buxom and sublime Frenchwoman seduces Dan with her honesty and hedonism, so much so that he wonders...
(2001) - The Agency (1 episode, 2002)
- She SpiesShe SpiesShe Spies is an action-adventure television show that ran from September 9, 2002 until May 17, 2004, in two seasons. The show was sold into syndication but the first four episodes premiered on the NBC network, whose syndication arm was one of the producers. Disappointing ratings during the show's...
(1 episode, 2003) - CharmedCharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
(2 episodes, 2005) - MediumMedium (TV series)Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
(1 episode, 2005) - Mr. Nice Guy (2006)
- Without a TraceWithout a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
(1 episode, 2007) - The LoopThe Loop (TV series)The Loop is an American sitcom that ran from March 15, 2006 to July 1, 2007 on Fox. The show starred Bret Harrison as Sam Sullivan, a young professional trying to balance the needs of his social life with the pressures of working at the corporate headquarters of TransAlliance Airways, a major U.S....
(5 episodes, 2007) - Holby CityHolby CityHolby City, stylised as Holby Ci+y, is a British medical drama television series that airs weekly on BBC One.The series was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a spin-off from the established BBC medical drama Casualty, and premiered on 12 January 1999...
(109 episodes, 2001–2003, 2007-)
Film
- EntrapmentEntrapment (film)Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.-Plot:Virginia "Gin" Baker is an investigator for Waverly Insurance. Robert "Mac" MacDougal is an international art thief. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one...
(1999) - New World DisorderNew World DisorderNew World Disorder is the fifth studio album by American band Biohazard. It features guest appearances from Sticky Fingaz, Christian Olde Wolbers and Igor Cavalera.-Track listing:#"Resist" 2:43#"Switchback" 3:33#"Salvation" 3:55...
(1999) - WitWit (film)Wit is a 2001 American television movie directed by Mike Nichols. The teleplay by Nichols and Emma Thompson is based on the 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same title by Margaret Edson....
(2001) - Cradle 2 the GraveCradle 2 the GraveCradle 2 the Grave is a 2003 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak featuring martial artist Jet Li and rapper DMX.-Plot:...
(2003)
Theatre
Dhillon has had positive reviews for many of the stage plays in which he performed. These include Mother Teresa Is Dead (2002), Royal Court TheatreRoyal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, London, Drifting Elegant (2004), Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
, San Francisco, A Perfect Wedding (2004), Kirk Douglas Theatre
Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the group's three stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy.- History :...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Morbidity and Mortality (2006), Magic Theatre
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront...
, San Francisco.
Theater recognition
Of Dhillon's performance as Dr. Anil Petal in the stage play Morbidity and Mortality, reviewer Dennis Harvey of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote "Dhillon is terrific as a modest misanthrope cured by ultra-awkward amour"' while theater critic Robert Hurwitt of San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote his performance was "engagingly candid".
Awards and nominations
Dhillon was nominated to the long-list of the 2010 National Television AwardsNational Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
in the category for "Best Drama Performance".