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Bilal Baig

Bilal Baig
Born1995 (age 29–30)[1]
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada[2]

Bilal Baig is a Canadian writer and actor. They are best known for their play Acha Bacha and CBC series Sort Of (2021–2023).[3]

Early life

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Baig was raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.[2]

Career

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Acha Bacha, a play which centers on a non-binary Pakistani-Canadian person struggling to reconcile their gender with their Muslim upbringing,[4] was staged in a joint production by Theatre Passe Muraille and Buddies in Bad Times in 2018, and presented at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace.[5][6]

Baig is the co-creator, a co-writer, and star of Sort Of, a CBC Television comedy series centering on a genderfluid character.[3] Baig is the first queer South Asian Muslim actor to lead a Canadian primetime television series.[7] The series premiered on CBC in 2021.[7]

Sort Of was the top winner overall in television categories at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 and Baig shared the award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series with writing partner Fab Filippo. Baig had declined to submit their performance for 2022 award consideration due to the gendered categories of Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[8] Subsequently, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced that beginning with the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, gender-neutral awards for Best Performance will be presented instead of gendered actor and actress categories[9] Baig was the winner of the inaugural Canadian Screen Award for Best Leading Performance in a Comedy Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, in addition to their second award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series, again shared with Fab Fillipo.[10]

Theatre credits

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Year Title Role Theatre Director(s) Ref.
2018 Acha Bacha Playwright Theatre Passe Muraille Brendan Healy
[11]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2021–2023 Sort Of Sabi Mehboob Lead/Creator

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022 Gotham Independent Film Awards Outstanding Performance in a New Series Nominated [12][13]
2022 Peabody Awards Entertainment Sort Of Nominated [14]
2022 Canadian Screen Awards Best Writing, Comedy Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo Won [15]
2023 Canadian Screen Awards Best Lead Performer, Comedy Bilal Baig Won [16]
2023 Canadian Screen Awards Best Writing, Comedy Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo Won [17]

References

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  1. ^ https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/bilal-baig-sort-of-queer-identity/
  2. ^ a b "Toronto Star ePaper".
  3. ^ a b "Entertainment news: New CBC comedy will star genderqueer playwright Bilal Baig as a gender-fluid millennial". Toronto Star, 15 October 2020.
  4. ^ J. Kelly Nestruck, "Review: With Acha Bacha, there’s no time like the present". The Globe and Mail, 7 February 2018.
  5. ^ Jose Teodoro, "Acha Bacha explores queer South Asian-Canadian life with humour and heart" Archived 2021-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. Now, 8 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Acha Bacha | The Toronto Theatre Database". Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  7. ^ a b "Nonbinary millennial is front and center in HBO Max dramedy 'Sort Of'". NBC News. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  8. ^ Sadaf Ahsan, "Trans, non-binary actors push for more recognition as awards season approaches". Toronto Star, 20 June 2022.
  9. ^ Joseph Pugh, "Canadian Screen Awards switching to gender-neutral performance categories". CBC News, August 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "The Porter, Sort Of showered in awards on the CSAs' final night". CBC News, 14 April 2023.
  11. ^ Taylor, Christopher. "Baig's Acha Bacha Shows That Sometimes Real Stories Don't Have Happy Endings." The Theatre Times, June 30, 2018.
  12. ^ Gotham (2022-10-25). "2022 Gotham Awards Nominations Full List | The Gotham". Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  13. ^ Gotham (2022-11-28). "32nd Annual Gotham Awards Winners Announced | The Gotham". Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  14. ^ Voyles, Blake (September 20, 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Nominees". Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo". Academy.ca. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  16. ^ "Bilal Baig". Academy.ca. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  17. ^ "Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo". Academy.ca. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-02-07.