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Allan Mustafa

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Allan Mustafa
Born
Allan Kamal Arif Mustafa

(1985-09-29) 29 September 1985 (age 39)
London, England
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, writer
Years active2012–present

Allan Kamal Arif Mustafa[1] (born 29 September 1985), also known by his nickname Seapa, is a British actor, comedian and writer who is best known for portraying Anthony "MC Grindah" Zografoff in the BBC mockumentary series People Just Do Nothing, which he co-created and co-wrote with Steve Stamp, Hugo Chegwin and Asim Chaudhry.[2][3]

Early and personal life

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Allan Kamal Arif Mustafa was born on 29 September 1985 to immigrant parents; his mother is from the Czech Republic and his father was Kurdish-Iraqi. His parents fled Baghdad, due to Saddam Hussein's regime, in the early 1980s.[4][5][6] He has an older sister.[7] His father died in 2012.[5]

Mustafa grew up in Chessington, Kingston upon Thames.[6] As a teenager he had jobs at Chessington World of Adventures and as a cleaner at a carpet shop.[8] He has said that he was arrested around six times as a teenager, mainly for graffiti, the first time being when he was around 14 years old.[9][10]

Growing up, Mustafa had a passion for music and used to rap, MC and was involved in pirate radio.[11] He did a music production course at Thames Valley College, which he ended up dropping out of.[12][1] He later worked in a call centre with Hugo Chegwin, Asim Chaudhry, and Daniel Sylvester Woolford. With whom, along with their friend Steve Stamp, he would go on to create the show People Just Do Nothing.[1][13]

Career

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Mustafa met Hugo Chegwin, through a mutual friend, after which Chegwin introduced Mustafa to Steve Stamp and Asim Chaudhry, with whom he created YouTube mockumentary videos about a fictional pirate radio station. This led to the group being commissioned for People Just Do Nothing, a BBC mockumentary about West London pirate radio station Kurupt FM. The pilot aired on BBC iPlayer in July 2012. The show ran for five series, winning a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society Award. In 2019, production began on a feature length adaptation of the series called People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan. The film was positively received by both fans and critics.[14]

Mustafa appeared in the 2020 Netflix film Love Wedding Repeat as Chaz, the boyfriend of Freida Pinto's character Amanda.[15][16]

Mustafa starred for two series of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom Ability as the "useless carer" Bob, for the character played by comedian Lee Ridley, who also wrote the series.[17]

In 2022, he starred in the Channel 4 series The Curse,[18] and the BBC Three series Peacock.[19]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 BBC Comedy Feeds Sniper Episode: "People Just Do Nothing"
2014–2018 People Just Do Nothing Grindah 27 episodes; also co-writer and co-creator
2017 Chicken Shop Date MC Grindah Episode: "Kurupt FM"
Sounds Like Friday Night Grindah Episode #1.1
2018 Kurupt FM vs Top Gear Grindah Television film
2020 Love Wedding Repeat Chaz Feature film
2021 People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan MC Grindah Also co-writer
2022 The Witchfinder Grocer Episode #1.5
Kurupt FM the Greatest Hits MC Grindah Online video
2022–2023 The Curse Albert 6 episodes; also co-writer
2022–2024 Peacock Andy Peacock Series lead (9 episodes)
2023 Jackdaw Feature film[20]
2024 Ludwig Gary Jennings 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wollaston, Sam (27 October 2018). "'The joke is always on us': how People Just Do Nothing struck comedy gold". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Allan Mustafa". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. ^ "One of the funniest TV shows of recent years has been renewed for a final season". Shortlist. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. ^ Stecher, Nicolas (13 February 2022). "'How the F-k Did This Get on the Telly?': Inside the Cult-Hit UK Mockuseries 'People Just Do Nothing'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b Cumming, Ed (17 May 2023). "Allan Mustafa on People Just Do Nothing and the problem with 'working class TV'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "People Just Do Nothing's Allan Mustafa interview: 'Everything I did, I failed at'". The Independent. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. ^ "'I used to walk around junior school thinking I was Snoop': Allan Mustafa's honest playlist | Music | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  8. ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (8 November 2018). "Kurupt FM On Their First Dates, Jobs and Drug Experiences". Vice. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  9. ^ JaackMaate's Happy Hour (1 September 2022). "304 – KURUPT FM – Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa & Hugo Chegwin Discuss People Just Do Nothing!". Spotify. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024. Alt URL
  10. ^ "Kurupt FM On Their First Dates, Jobs and Drug Experiences – VICE". vice.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  11. ^ Tate, Gabriel (18 July 2014). "Radio gag-gag: introducing the stars of BBC3's new mockumentary People". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  12. ^ Nadal, Rich (30 June 2017). "Interview: How staying Kurupt Beats the daily Grindah". Around Ealing. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  13. ^ "People Just Do Nothing: How BBC3's latest comedy started with a series". The Independent. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  14. ^ "'People Just Do Nothing' Movie Adaptation Shooting In Japan & UK For Focus Features & BBC Films". Deadline. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Curtis Brown". curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Love Wedding Repeat: Netflix rom com's multiple timelines explained". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  17. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Ability – Radio 4 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
  18. ^ Seale, Jack (6 February 2022). "The Curse review – a sublime crime caper with an unfeasibly brilliant cast". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  19. ^ Day, Harvey (25 April 2022). "Peacock's Allan 'Seapa' Mustafa: 'People are being more open about body image issues'". BBC Three. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  20. ^ Tabbara, Mona (2 February 2023). "Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Jenna Coleman star in Anton's UK-set action thriller 'Jackdaw'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
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