Brian George

Brian George (born 1 July 1952) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Pakistani restaurateur Babu Bhatt in Seinfeld (1989–1998), the Indian gynecologist father of Raj Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), the voice of Chutney in Father of the Pride (2004–2005), and spiritual guide Guru Pathik in Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008). Early life George was born on 1 July 1952 in Jerusalem to Jewish parents of Lebanese, Indian, and Iraqi descent, who had immigrated to Israel. His father was born in Lebanon and grew up in Bombay, India in a multi religious family, with his half sister being Muslim. His mother was born in India. A year after his birth, the family moved from Israel to London and then, in 1966, to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. George is the youngest of four siblings. He attended an all-boys school in London but made the switch to a public co-ed high school when the family moved to Toronto. He attended the University of Toronto, where he was active in theatre productions. He left before graduation and formed a theatre group. When it failed to succeed, he moved on to join the Second City, where he trained with John Candy, among others. Career George appeared as a United Nations secretary in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, as Julian Bashir's father in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?", and on a recurring basis as Raj's father in The Big Bang Theory. In 2006, he landed a recurring role as Sasan's father Omid in So NoTORIous. He also provided the voice of Bob Fish in the last two series of Bob and Margaret.