Nabil Shaban
Actor
Biography
Nabil Shaban (1953-2025) was born in Amman, Jordan and arrived in England when he was three for treatment for his osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle-bone disease). He spent the next six years in hospital and seven in a children's home. In 1980, he and Richard Tomlinson founded Graeae (pronounced Grey Eye), a professional theatre company of disabled performers. A writer and performer with many film and television credits, he was probably best known to television viewers for his role as ruthless businessman Sil in the Doctor Who stories 'Vengeance on Varos' and 'The Trial of a Time Lord' (BBC, 1985 + 1986).
As Director
Filmography
Children of Men
as Bexhill Market Hustler 2006
City of Joy
as Anouar 1992
Wittgenstein
as Martian 1993
Born of Fire
as The Silent One 1987
Walter
as Ben Gunn 1982
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos
as Sil 1985
Doctor Who: Mindwarp
as Sil 1986
Slave of Dreams
1995
Deptford Graffiti
as George 1991
Skallagrigg
as Alan 1994
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor
as Sil 2019
Sorry About Last Night
as Lawyer 1995
Trouble Sleeping
as Lawyer 2008
Iranian Nights
as Caliph 1989
Morticia
as Dr. Moores 2009
The Skin Horse
as Narrator 1983
The Story of Doctor Who
2003