Qasim Akhtar
Qasim Akhtar is an English actor, known for his roles as Chesney Karib in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless and Zeedan Nazir in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Early life
Akhtar was born and raised in Burnage, Manchester to a British Pakistani family. Since childhood, Akhtar had an interest in acting. He trained at the Manchester School of Acting.Career
Prior to making his breakthrough appearance in Shameless, Akhtar had his first acting experience through the 2006-released Mischief Night, written and directed by Penny Woolcock, and in the film, he stars as Asif Khan.Akhtar gained prominence through his role as Chesney Karib in Shameless, appearing in 85 episodes between 2007 and 2013. This was followed by two different roles in Waterloo Road: Aron in 2007 and Wayne Bodley in 2011.
In 2014, Akhtar joined the cast of the long-running soap opera Coronation Street as Zeedan Nazir, a son of Kal Nazir. Upon his first exit of the show in 2018, Akhtar began another stint within the show in 2021 but exited again in February 2023.