Avari is one of only two actors, along with
Alexis Cruz, to appear in both the original
Stargate movie and the continuing TV series
Stargate SG-1 (three episodes). Before arriving in Los Angeles in 1991, his extensive work onstage garnered him praise from theater critics across America, most notably as Vasquez, in ''
'Tis Pity She's a Whore'' with
Val Kilmer at the
Joseph Papp Public Theater, and as Sir Richard at
The Guthrie Theater's memorable production of
The Screens. In the video game
Zork Grand Inquisitor, he played Grand Inquisitor
Mir Yannick, a ruthless dictator who serves as the game's main villain. He also appeared in ''
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines''. Beginning in the autumn of 2006, a photograph of Avari and a recording of his voice were used in the role of
Chandra Suresh in
Heroes. He did not appear onscreen until the episode "
Seven Minutes to Midnight", as his character is part of the
backstory and had died before the events of the pilot. Over the course of his career, Avari has portrayed representatives of more than 24 ethnicities. As of November 2006, he has appeared in 33 feature films and over 70 television episodes. Avari has appeared with
Brent Spiner in three different productions:
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987),
Independence Day (1996), and
The Master of Disguise (2002). He performed opposite
Richard Gere in a drama film based on a true story, ''
Hachi: A Dog's Tale'', in which he played Jasjeet, an Indian hot dog vendor. In 2001, he played Tival in
Tim Burton's
Planet of the Apes. Avari was scheduled to reprise his role as Kasuf in the
Stargate SG-1 Season Six finale "Full Circle", but was unable to do so due to his commitment to
Dragnet (2003). In January 2009, he played a mobile-phone salesman in
Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and in October 2009, he was cast as Omar on
Days of Our Lives. In 2014, Avari voiced Master Rahool in the science fiction video game
Destiny, a role he reprised in a sequel. In 2019, Avari portrayed
Nicodemus in the television historical series
The Chosen based on the life of Jesus Christ. He said in a 2023 interview that he considered himself retired prior to the series and mostly retired since, but may have an unspecified project in the works. == Filmography ==