Harith Iskander
{{short description|Malaysian actor and comedian (born 1966)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Malay name|Harith Iskander|Musa}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Harith Iskander
| image = Harith Iskander interviewed by MeleTOP.jpg
| caption = Iskander interviewed by MeleTOP during the Kuala Lumpur International Comedy Fest press conference on 15 September 2015.
| birth_name = Harith Iskander bin Musa
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|8|7|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| resting_place =
| occupation = Actor, comedian, television host, director, writer
| years_active = 1990–present
| alma_mater = Curtin University
| spouse = {{marriage|Jezamine Lim|2010|2024|reason=divorced}}
| children = 3
| website = {{URL|harithiskander.com}}
| awards =
| notable_works = Ah-ha {{br}} Baik Punya Cilok {{br}} Buli Balik {{br}} Komediri {{br}} Lawak Ke Der {{br}} Obviously Harith Iskander {{br}} Funniest Person in the World 2016
| signature =
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}}
Harith Iskander bin Musa (born 7 August 1966) is a Malaysian actor and comedian. He is considered to be "the Godfather of Stand-Up Comedy" in Malaysia (self claimed),{{Cite web|url=http://www.sgcomedyfringe.com/harith-iskander.html|title=Harith Iskander|website=Singapore Comedy Fringe 2016|language=en-SG|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218150357/http://www.sgcomedyfringe.com/harith-iskander.html|archive-date=18 December 2016|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://news.curtin.edu.au/cite/alumni-profiles/the-godfather-of-malaysian-stand-up-comedy-harith-iskander/|title=The 'godfather' of Malaysian stand-up comedy – Harith Iskander|last=Tulloch|first=Yvette|date=13 April 2015|publisher=Curtin University|newspaper=News and Events|language=en-GB|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404064727/https://news.curtin.edu.au/cite/alumni-profiles/the-godfather-of-malaysian-stand-up-comedy-harith-iskander/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/entertainment/godfather-of-malaysian-stand-up-harith-iskander-i-m-not-a-shock/3126660.html|title=Godfather of Malaysian stand-up Harith Iskander: "I'm not a shock comedian!"|last=Loh|first=Genevieve Sarah|date=14 September 2016|publisher=Channel NewsAsia|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161217143943/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/entertainment/godfather-of-malaysian-stand-up-harith-iskander-i-m-not-a-shock/3126660.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/8-questions-with-harith-iskander-malaysias-godfather-of-stand-up|title=8 Questions with Harith Iskander: Malaysia's godfather of stand-up|last=Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh|date=19 October 2015|newspaper=The Straits Times|access-date=15 November 2016}} having also won the Asia's Best Stand-Up Comedian Award 2014 by Top 10 of Asia Magazine.{{Cite web|url=http://metrotheatre.com.au/events/1970/01/01/harith-iskander-mal|title=HARITH ISKANDER (MAL) {{!}} Enmore Theatre|website=metrotheatre.com.au|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010174408/http://metrotheatre.com.au/events/1970/01/01/harith-iskander-mal|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.tallypress.com/publishing/2015/4/9/malaysias-top-10-comedians|title=Malaysia's Top 10 Comedians|newspaper=TallyPress|access-date=15 November 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.dirtywork.net.au/dwc-artists/harith/|title=Harith Iskander at the Sydney Comedy Festival|publisher=Dirty Work Comedy|access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218065758/http://www.dirtywork.net.au/dwc-artists/harith/|archive-date=18 February 2017|url-status=dead}}
He won the Laugh Factory Funniest Person in the World competition in December 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/12/10/harith-is-funniest-person-in-the-world/|title=Harith Iskander wins Funniest Person in the World competition - Nation {{!}} The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my|access-date=2016-12-10}}
Early life
Harith was raised in Johor Bahru in the state of Johore.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/05/19/tmj-plays-tour-guide-to-harith-iskander/|title=TMJ plays 'tour guide' to Harith Iskander|last=Tam|first=Michelle|date=19 May 2016|website=The Star|publisher=Star Media Group Berhad|access-date=15 November 2016}} His father, Musa Ibrahim, hailed from the state and was of Malay descent. His mother, Jane Musa, was of Scottish ancestry from the Grant clan, working in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as a secretary.{{cite news|url=http://www.thenutgraph.com/harith-iskanders-%E2%80%9Crace-malaysia%E2%80%9D/|title=Harith Iskander's "Race Malaysia"|last=Surin|first=Jacqueline Ann|date=8 November 2011|publisher=TheNutGraph|access-date=23 November 2016}} They met in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Congo Crisis, Musa being a member of the peacekeeping corps sent there by the Malaysian government while Jane worked as part of the UN staff.
He attended Curtin University in Perth, Australia, majoring in journalism and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English. He graduated in 1988.{{Cite web|url=http://www.herworld.com.my/hw55th/5-things-you-should-know-about-harith-iskander/|title=5 Things You Should Know About Harith Iskander|last=Yap|first=Stephanie|date=9 January 2015|website=Her World Malaysia|access-date=15 November 2016}}
During his university and young adult days, Harith made a conscious decision to embrace Australian
culture while he was an international student despite his aversion to studies. For example, his curiosity led him to trying the sport of cricket. On another occasion, Harith described a time where he entered an adult shop in Australia after arriving from Malaysia, only to find the place full of Malaysian students.
Career
Harith's career in stand-up comedy began during 1990 or 1991, when he was persuaded by a university friend to get on stage in the old Subang Airport Hotel lobby lounge to tell some funny stories. It was at this lounge where a member of the audience saw Harith and invited him to another function to perform on-stage.
In 2016, Harith was one of 89 international stand-up comedians nominated for Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World.{{Cite news|url=http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/171456/harith-iskander-running-funniest-person-world|title=Harith Iskander in the running for the Funniest Person in the World|date=7 September 2016|newspaper=New Straits Times}} Harith was announced as an ambassador for Culture and Tourism Malaysia by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (Tourism and Culture Minister) as he is now one of the attractions in Malaysia.{{cite web|title=Nazri: Harith now one of country's main attractions|url=https://www.malaymail.com/s/1269485/nazri-harith-now-one-of-countrys-main-attractions|publisher=Malay Mail|access-date=24 December 2016}}
After being crowned as the Laugh Factory's Funniest Person in the World in 2016, the following year Harith curated the Kuala Lumpur International Comedy Festival (KLICFest 2017), which is considered by many to be Asia's best comedy showcase.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/04/07/asias-best-comedy-festival-returns-comedians-from-around-the-world-to-tickle-audiences-funny-bone-at/|title=Asia's 'best comedy festival' returns - Metro News {{!}} The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my|access-date=2018-05-27}} The festival programme featured performances from the finest Malaysian acts, the biggest international stars and one local legend offering both English and Bahasa Malaysia comedy.
Thereafter, the kick-off show (KLICFest) in Kuala Lumpur, in 2018, Harith Iskander, in partnership with Celcom, toured his home ground again to deliver the laughs – the #KitaOK Live Comedy Tour 2018. The tour started off in Kuala Lumpur before showing at six other cities in Malaysia: including Johor Bahru, Melaka, Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Labuan.{{cite web|title=Comedian Harith Iskander to go on nationwide tour|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/groove/2018/02/335448/comedian-harith-iskander-go-nationwide-tour|website=New Straits Times|date=14 February 2018 }} Harith also succeeded in putting Malaysia on the comedy map the second time by releasing his Netflix original comedy special, I Told You So in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/my/title/80195429|title=Harith Iskander: I Told You So {{!}} Netflix Official Site|website=www.netflix.com|access-date=2018-05-31}}
Apart from that in 2018, Harith held his Australia tour named Harith Iskander The Tour - Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018, Adelaide Fringe 2018 and Perth Fringe 2018. Besides, Harith tickled audiences in the City of Angels (Los Angeles) in June 2017 where the organizer was The Laugh Factory.{{cite web|title=Funnyman Harith to tickle Los Angeles folk next month|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/groove/2017/05/242510/funnyman-harith-tickle-los-angeles-folk-next-month|website=New Straits Times|date=25 May 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017}}
Comedic philosophy
Iskander's view of comedy is that the best comedians are the most authentic comedians; that is to say, a good comedian does not become someone they are not just because they are on a stage. Iskander describes his comedy as 'totally observational and personal', filled with personal experience. He describes himself as 'not a shock comedian', but one who has his own 'personal barriers'; for example, one area in which he 'treads carefully' is the subject matter of politics. He notes that Malaysian comedy tends to be 'casually racist' sometimes.
Iskander's source of jokes come from everywhere around him and always using religion as a content of his joke and he is an advocate of cross-border relations between Singaporean and Malaysian comedians.
Personal life
On 12 June 2010, Iskander married doctor and FHM model Jezamine Lim after meeting her through Facebook.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mstar.com.my/hiburan/berita-hiburan/2010/04/02/harith-iskandar-akhiri-zaman-bujang-julai-ini/|title=Harith Iskandar Akhiri Zaman Bujang Julai Ini|last=Diyana Rose Kamalludeen|date=2 April 2010|website=mStar|language=ms|access-date=15 November 2016}} Sometime in June 2024, Jezamine Lim had filed for divorce from Iskander at the Syariah Lower Court in Kuala Lumpur.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/2024/07/09/harith-iskander039s-wife-dr-jezamine-lim-files-for-divorce|title=Harith Iskander's wife, Dr Jezamine Lim, files for divorce- Nation {{!}} The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my|access-date=2024-07-10}}
Filmography
= Film =
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |
| 1992
| Selubung | Brother Musa | |
| 1997
| Hanya Kawan | Harith | Also as director and writer |
| 1999
| Nikorn | |
| 2004
| Sepet | Abah | |
| 2005
| Baik Punya Cilok | Inspector Roslan | |
| rowspan="2"|2006
| Buli Balik | Dr. Kam | |
| Gubra
| Abah | |
| 2008
| Cuci | David | |
| 2009
| Harith | |
| 2010
| Aku Tak Bodoh | Bag Store Boss | Cameo appearance |
| rowspan="3"|2022
| Rahim | |
| Spilt Gravy on Rice
| Co-pilot "Angel" | |
| Ada Hantu 2
| Hos | Special appearance |
= Television =
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Title ! TV channel ! Role ! Notes |
| 1991–1999, 2007
| | |
| 1998
| Kugiran | TV3 | Ben | Telemovie |
| 2004–2005
| TV3 | | Also as director |
| 2007
| NTV7 | Himself, as talk show host | |
| 2009–2010
| Izzy | |
| | Rojak
| | Paul | |
| 2012–2016
| Lawak Ke Der! | rowspan="2"|Astro Warna | Himself | |
| 2015
| Komediri | Himself | |
| 2016
| Obviously Harith Iskander | Himself, as talk show host | |
| 2017
| Celebrity Car Wars Season 2 | Himself/participant | |
| 2018
| I Told You So | Netflix | Himself | |
| 2024
| ''Muzikal Lawak Superstar (season 4) | Himself, as jury | |
Discography
= Single =
| class="wikitable"
! Year ! Song Title ! Single |
| 2024
| "Bukit Mak" | Namewee & Harith Iskander |
Other appearances
Iskander has also appeared in various comedy sittings such as The Kings and Queens of Comedy Asia and the Best of Comedy Malaysia at Lower Town Hall, Melbourne.{{Cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-features/review-best-of-comedy-malaysia-featuring-harith-iskander/story-fncv4qxa-1226313428284|title=Review: Best of Comedy Malaysia featuring Harith Iskander|last=Schembri|first=Jim|date=29 March 2012|newspaper=HeraldSun|access-date=15 November 2016}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}