Allan Mustafa

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Allan Mustafa
Born (1985-09-29) 29 September 1985 (age 38)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Actor, comedian, writer
Years active2012–present

Allan ‘Seapa’ Mustafa[1] (born 29 September 1985) is a British actor, comedian and writer who is best known for portraying Anthony "MC Grindah" Zografos 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[edit]

Allan Mustafa, also known by his nickname ‘Seapa’, was born on 29th of 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.[8]

Mustafa grew up in Chessington, Kingston upon Thames.[9] As a teenager he had jobs at Chessington World of Adventures and as a cleaner at a carpet shop.[10] He has said that he was arrested around 6 times as a teenager, mainly for graffiti, the first time being when he was around 14 years old.[11][12]

Growing up Mustafa had a passion for music, he used to rap and MC and was involved in pirate radio.[13] He did a music production course at Thames Valley College, which he ended up dropping out of.[14][15] He later worked in a call centre with Hugo Chegwin, Asim Chaudhry, and Danny Rankin. With whom, along with their friend Steve Stamp, he would go on to create the show People Just Do Nothing.[16][17]

Career[edit]

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.[18]

Mustafa appeared in the 2020 Netflix film Love Wedding Repeat as Chaz, the boyfriend of Freida Pinto’s character Amanda.[19][20]

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.[21]

In 2022, he starred in the Channel 4 series The Curse,[22] and the BBC Three series Peacock.[23]

Filmography[edit]

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 Sounds Like Friday Night Series 1 episode 1
2018 Love Pool Taxi Pool Driver Short film
Kurupt FM vs Top Gear Grindah
2019 Amaro and Walden Shotting Short film; also writer
2020 Love Wedding Repeat Chaz
2021 People Just Do Nothing: Big in Japan MC Grindah Also co-writer
2022 The Witchfinder Grocer Series 1 episode 5
The Curse Albert 6 episodes; also co-writer
Kurupt FM the Greatest Hits MC Grindah Online video
Peacock Andy 3 episodes
TBA The Out Liam Short film
2023 Jackdaw Feature film[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ "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. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "People Just Do Nothing's Allan Mustafa interview: 'Everything I did, I failed at'". The Independent. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (8 November 2018). "Kurupt FM On Their First Dates, Jobs and Drug Experiences". Vice. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Kurupt FM On Their First Dates, Jobs and Drug Experiences – VICE". www.vice.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  13. ^ Tate, Gabriel (18 July 2014). "Radio gag-gag: introducing the stars of BBC3's new mockumentary People". Evening Standard. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  14. ^ Nadal, Rich (30 June 2017). "Interview: How staying Kurupt Beats the daily Grindah". Around Ealing. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  15. ^ "'The joke is always on us': how People Just Do Nothing struck comedy gold | TV comedy | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  16. ^ "'The joke is always on us': how People Just Do Nothing struck comedy gold | TV comedy | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  17. ^ "People Just Do Nothing: How BBC3's latest comedy started with a series". The Independent. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  18. ^ "'People Just Do Nothing' Movie Adaptation Shooting In Japan & UK For Focus Features & BBC Films". Deadline. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  19. ^ "Curtis Brown". www.curtisbrown.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Love Wedding Repeat: Netflix rom com's multiple timelines explained". Radio Times. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  21. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Ability – Radio 4 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide.
  22. ^ Seale, Jack (6 February 2022). "The Curse review – a sublime crime caper with an unfeasibly brilliant cast". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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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