Iqbal Theba was born in Karachi in the state of Sindh Pakistan.Theba is a Pakistani-American Television Actor & Film Actor who mainly known for his work in Television Serials.Theba is known for his recurring role as Principal Figgins in the show Glee.

Biography

The actor is known as Principal Figgins in Fox series Glee. He has appeared in 58 episodes throughout the six seasons. He rose to fame after appearing in Friends and Nip/Tuck. He was featured in other famous shows including, The George Carlin Show, Married With Children, ER, Two And A Half Men, Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond. He was also seen in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.^[1] Biography 

Family Background

Iqbal theba forefathers are from Sindh.His parents are from Gujrat, India.They speak Urdu and Gujrati at home.^[2] Family Background 

Education

Started college as a Freshman at the University of Oklahoma in 1981. Studied Civil Engineering at first and have a BS in Construction Engineering Management. Hated his job in a Construction Company in Oklahoma City, so, Went back to the University of Oklahoma in 1986 and majored in Acting. Spent a year in NYC and moved to LA in 1991. Waited on about a million tables in the process.
^[3] Education 

Career

Theba stumbled into acting from very humble beginnings. He moved to New York City from Oklahoma to pursue his newfound career. He waited tables and acted in a few non-paying gigs before he went broke and decided to leave New York for Los Angeles—he entered Hollywood with just $37.^[4] Career

Commercials

Theba was the first South Asian to have appeared in dozens of mainstream national commercials in the 90s, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Card. This membership opened the door to more mainstream television and film opportunities.

Big Break

He got his big break as a series regular in NBC’s “Death and Taxes” in 1993. Since then, Theba has worked on shows including

1. Ellen
2. Caroline in the City 
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. Friends
5. King of the Hill
6. The West Wing 
7. Judging Amy
8. Alias
9. Arrested Development 
10. Weeds
11. The George Carlin Show
12. Sister, Sister
13. Rosanne
14. Married With Children 
15. Family Matters 
16. ER
17. JAG 
18. Life With Bonnie

Some of his more well-known film work includes

1. Indecent Proposal 
2. Driven
3. Basketball
4. Dancing at the Blue Iguana
5. Dark of the Moon
6. Playing for Keeps

Principal Figgins on the FOX

Theba’s longest-running role has been as Principal Figgins on the FOX television series “Glee.” Throughout the course of the show’s six seasons, he has appeared in 58 episodes.

Loves To

Theba is a music aficionado,he loves Indian and Pakistani music. In an interview, he mentioned that his favorite song is “Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni Mein Hum Tum Miley” from the Hindi movie “Chori Chori” starring Nargis Dutt and Raj Kapoor. He is also a huge fan of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s music and infamously humane Sufi philosophy. Other artists he loves include the B-52’s, Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse.Theba loves Pakistani food. Some of his favorite dishes include zarda, biryani, and kebabs.

Fun Facts

As he began his acting career, Iqbal worked as a waiter and cook in several restaurants in Oklahoma and New York to earn money.

Awards

Screen Actors Guild Award, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, 2010 (for Glee).^[5] Awards

Filmography

List of Movies

1. Indecent Proposal (1993)
2. Just Looking (1995)
3. Driven (1996)
4. Sour Grapes (1998)
5. BASEketball (1998)
6. Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000)
7. Guardian (2001)
8. Blind Dating (1996)
9. Frankenhood (2009)

Television

1. The George Carlin Show (recurring, 1994-1995)
2. Married with Children (recurring, 1995-1997)
3. Family Matters (recurring, 1995-1997)
4. Sister, Sister (recurring, 1996)
5. Roseanne (recurring, 1996)
6. ER (recurring, 1997-2001)
7. Kitchen Confidential (recurring, 2005-2006)
8. Community (recurring, 2009-2010)
9. Glee (recurring, 2009-present)

Last Time Visited Karachi

I was in Karachi about a year ago in December 2009. I LOVE, LOVE Karachi. I love Lahore, too but Karachi is the only city in Pakistan that offers a glimpse of every part of Pakistan. And I don’t mean just the ethnic variety but the religious variety as well. It is fairly common to see Pakistani Hindus in all walks of life something no other city offers. In addition to our Sindhi, Punjabi, Pushtoon, Balochi, Baruhi brothers and sisters, the city also has a good number of Tamil, Sinhalese, Bengali, Gujrati, Madrasi, Malabari, Marathi…etc speaking immigrants which makes it an amazing, interesting mixture of people. I know there is a lot of ethnic and political strife in Karachi but overall it is the most open-minded and accepting city in the country and I am very proud to say that I am from Karachi. What I miss the most about Karachi is its great restaurants and people who live there. Karachi Pakistan hai. It is a mini Pakistan, Iqbal said in interview.^[6] Last Time Visited Karachi