Saagar Shaikh

{{Infobox person

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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1986}}

| birth_place = Alief, Texas, U.S.

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| alma_mater = University of Texas at San Antonio

| occupation = Actor

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| known_for = Ms. Marvel, Deli Boys

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Saagar Shaikh (born 1986){{Cite web |last=Martinez |first=Kiko |date=2025-03-10 |title=UTSA grad shares why Pakistani-Americans will love Hulu's ‘Deli Boys’ |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/article/saagar-shaikh-deli-boys-hulu-20213224.php |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=My San Antonio}} is an American actor best known for his role as Aamir Khan on Ms. Marvel and Raj Dar on Deli Boys.

Life and career

Shaikh was born in Alief, Texas{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Ahmed |date=2022-06-17 |title=Muslim actor from Texas has prayers answered starring in MCU’s Ms. Marvel |url=https://www.fox26houston.com/news/texas-actor-makes-dream-come-true-starring-in-mcus-ms-marvel |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=FOX 26 Houston |language=en-US}} and raised in Houston until age 14, when his family moved to San Antonio. He is of Pakistani descent and was raised in a Muslim family.{{Cite web |last=Martinez |first=Kiko |title=San Antonio-tied actor Saagar Shaikh hits pinnacle of career with Disney+ series Ms. Marvel |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/movies-tv/san-antonio-tied-actor-saagar-shaikh-hits-pinnacle-of-career-with-disney-series-ms-marvel-29022708 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=San Antonio Current |language=en}} He has two brothers.{{Cite web |title=Speed Date with Saagar Shaikh |url=https://www.tmrwmagazine.com/en/news/speed-date-with-saagar-shaikh |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=www.tmrwmagazine.com |language=en}} His father worked at a gas station and eventually became the owner of three convenience stores. Shaikh worked part-time at his father's convenience store when he was a teenager. He graduated from Marshall High School in 2005 and received his bachelor's degree in business from University of Texas at San Antonio.

Shaikh began to pivot to acting while in college after he secured an internship at a talent management company. Against his parents' wishes, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time after graduation. Shaikh struggled to find acting roles due to limited opportunities for South Asian actors. In 2015 he began to take post-production jobs to stay employed in the entertainment industry even though his primary interest was acting. He worked in post-production roles for five years. He also took classes and performed at UCB Theatre for several years. Shaikh is a founding member of The Get Brown, a South Asian comedy troupe that formed at UCB in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Babayan |first=Siran |date=2018-08-13 |title=The Get Brown at UCB Brings Down Stereotypes by Bringing Them Up on Its Terms |url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-get-brown-at-ucb-brings-down-stereotypes-by-bringing-them-up-on-its-terms/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=LA Weekly |language=en-US}}

He gained prominence in the role of Aamir Khan on the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.{{cite web |last1=Martinez |first1=Kiko |title=Things to know about 'Marvels' star Saagar Shaikh |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/article/ms-marvels-disney-san-antonio-18472539.php |website=My San Antonio |access-date=6 March 2025}} He also appeared in the film The Marvels. Shaikh also co-hosted the comedy podcast The Bollywood Boys with Shaan Baig, where they revisit classic and some contemporary Bollywood films.{{Cite web |last=Tseng |first=Ada |date=2018-05-24 |title=How '90s Bollywood movies became cool again for two desis in the US |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2018/05/24/how-90s-bollywood-movies-became-cool-again-two-desis-us |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=The World from PRX |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Brown Girl |date=2018-06-11 |title=Brown Boy Saagar Shaikh on Acting, Refusing to Play the Role of a Terrorist, and How he Dissects Bollywood Movies |url=https://browngirlmagazine.com/brown-boy-saagar-shaikh-acting-how-he-dissects-bollywood-movies/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Brown Girl Magazine |language=en-US}} He is a lead role in the 2025 Hulu comedy Deli Boys, created by Abdullah Saeed.{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Matt |date=2025-03-05 |title=In ‘Deli Boys,’ Two Actors Find Dream Roles Playing No One’s Hero |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/arts/television/deli-boys-hulu-pakistani-american.html |access-date=2025-03-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}