Alexander Abdallah

Alexander Abdallah
Born	(1993-04-30) April 30, 1993 Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
Occupation(s)	Actor, filmmaker
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Snabba Cash

Alexander Abdallah (originally named Jihad Abdallah; born 30 April 1993) is a Swedish actor and filmmaker. He gained widespread recognition for his role in the television series Snabba Cash (2021–2022), which earned him a Kristallen award for Best Actor as well as the . Additionally, Abdallah has appeared in Thunder in My Heart (2021–2023) and Paradis City (2025), while also contributing as a director and screenwriter.

Early life and education

Born Jihad Abdallah on 30 April 1993 at Uppsala University Hospital, he is the third child among four siblings in a family of Lebanese descent who immigrated to Sweden during the 1980s. Initially residing in Östhammar, his family moved closer to Uppsala following a racially motivated assault on his father. Abdallah attended and . At the age of 18, he legally changed his first name to Alexander and later graduated from the Malmö Theater Academy in 2018.

Career

In 2017, Abdallah took on supporting roles at the Helsingborg City Theatre, portraying Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and the king's son in Marina Steinmo’s adaptation of Rapunzel. He also performed in Snubben lättar på sitt hjärta at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Skärholmen and appeared in Oscar Liljas försvinnande at Malmö City Theater during 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Abdallah made his directorial debut with the short film Jag skiner inte utan er mina bröder, which presents a child's viewpoint following a shooting incident in Malmö. The film premiered at the Gothenburg Film Festival in 2019.

In 2020, he starred in the play Bye bye bror, produced collaboratively by Riksteatern and Teater Fryshuset. Although the script received mixed reviews, Abdallah’s acting was widely commended. In June of that year, it was announced that he would join the cast of Netflix’s adaptation of Jens Lapidus’ novel, Snabba Cash. The series debuted in April 2021, with critics describing Abdallah’s portrayal of Salim as "dangerously good." This role earned him the Best Male Actor award at Kristallen as well as the .

He participated in Spotify’s 2022 audio drama De Fria and played the character Sam in Thunder in My Heart from 2021 to 2023, receiving another nomination for Best Male Actor at Kristallen. Abdallah also took on the role of Emir in Paradis City.

Together with Mustafa al-Mashhadani, he co-developed the comedy-drama television series Halva halva, serving additionally as director and writer. Known as Home In You for English-speaking audiences, the show garnered favorable reviews from Tim Forster of the Special Broadcasting Service.

Abdallah has been cast in various forthcoming Netflix productions, including portraying King Gustav III in The Von Fersens and appearing in the crime drama series The Case, scheduled for release in 2026.

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
TBA	The Von Fersens†	Gustav III

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	Love Me	Rick
2021–2022	Snabba Cash	Salim
2021–2023	Thunder in My Heart	Sam
2022	De Fria	Rami (voice)	Audio drama format
2025	Paradis City	Emir
2026	The Case†

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Theater Venue	Additional Info
2017	Romeo and Juliet	Tybalt	Helsingborg City Theatre
2017	Rapunzel	King's son	Helsingborg City Theater
2018	Snubben lättar på sitt hjärta		Kulturhuset Stadsteatern Skärholmen
2019	Oscar Liljas försvinnande	Rémy	Malmö City Theater
2020	Bye bye bror	Ava	Riksteatern–Teater Fryshuset

Awards and nominations

Year	Award Name	Category	Work Title	Outcome
2021	Kristallen	Best Male Actor	Snabba Cash	Template:Won
	Såstaholm Film & Performing Arts Award			Template:Won
2023	Kristallen	Best Male Actor	Thunder in My Heart	Template:Nominated