Alexander Karim, the 48-year-old Swedish actor, was born to Ugandan parents. His parents, who have been together for over five decades, have four children, all in the entertainment industry.
Karim’s parents have maintained a very lowkey profile. Although neither his dad nor his mom appear in the events or on red carpets, they must be proud of their kids’ achievements. While Alexander pursues a career as an actor, his two brothers, Otham and Baker, are directors.
The 2018 Kristallen Award nominee has worked in over 35 movies and 25 television series since his debut in 2009. In 2024, he landed in another prominent movie, Gladiator II, starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nelson, and Denzel Washington.
The movie, which is a sequel to its 2000 film Gladiator, also stars Joseph Quinn (as Emperor Great), Tim McInnerny (as Thraex), and Rory McCann (as Tegula).
Key Takeaways:
- Alexander Karim was born to Ugandan refugee parents who moved to Sweden in 1975.
- Alexander has three siblings, including two brothers and a sister.
- Karim is Swedish-born with Ugandan roots.
- Alexander has never opened up about the identity of his parents.
Alexander Karim’s Parents Are From Native To Uganda
Karim was born as the third son to his Ugandian parents in Sweden. His dad and mom are native to Kampala, Uganda’s national and commercial capital bordering Lake Victoria, where they welcomed and raised two of their eldest children, Othman Karim and Baker Karim.
However, in 1975, the couple fled the country to escape despotic president Idi Amin and to search for a better place to raise their kids. They landed in Sweden, where they would raise two more children (Alex and his younger sister, who is an actor), making them parents of four.
They first settled in Uppsala and then moved to Skåne, where they would start their new lives. During their time in Skne, the kids entered the entertainment industry.
The family fled to be safe from Idi Admin’s regime. Idi was a politician and military officer from Uganda who led the country as its third president from 1971 until 1979. He was a military dictator regarded as one of the most ruthless tyrants in modern history.
Karim and his siblings have been quite successful in their respective careers, which shows that fleeing to another country might have been their best decision.
Neither Alexander Karim nor his siblings have revealed their parents’ identities. Likewise, their dad and mom are not seen publicly at events or with their kids. Despite all this, we can expect that the parents are proud of their son.
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Alexander Is Swedish By Birth But Has Ugandan Roots
Alexander Karim was born Ally Kimbugwe Karim on 26 May 1976 in Uppsala, Sweden, to a family of refugees from Uganda who came to Sweden in 1975. So, he was Swedish by birth and had Ugandan roots from his parents.
He had a somewhat complicated childhood, growing up as someone of African ethnicity in a Scavandian nation. However, he made the best of what he had. Following graduation from high school, he and his brothers relocated to the United States to train as actors at City College in Los Angeles.
Later on, he worked at The Hudson Theatre in the same city. Karim returned to Sweden in 2000 and began his career in movies. He and his brother Baker worked together on their first film of that year, the short film Rampljus (Stage Lights), which tells the story of an unemployed actor in Helsingborg.
The movie was a huge hit at the November festival in Trollhättan and won the best film award in the “heavyweight” category. This was the start of something magical.
Both Alexander and Baker’s careers started with this movie, and they have earned significant net worth and fame since then- the Tryant actor has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
The actor seems to have never returned to Uganda, where he has his roots.
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Karim’s Brother, Othman Karim, Is A Successful Director
Karim is the younger brother of Othman Karim, a Swedish film director and documentary producer. Moreover, Othman, born in Kampala, is a television presenter and photographer. He has directed 18 movies and has won four awards for his projects.
After earning a BA in Film and TV Production with honors from the Brooks Institute of Photography in California, he worked for Amblin Entertainment before returning to Sweden. He is married to film producer Malin Holmberg-Karim; they have four children.
He hosted the Swedish news programme Mosaik from 2000 until 2002. After that, he left to concentrate on his work as a director and his production business, One Tired Brother. His critically acclaimed 1999 documentary Uganda du Fria (The Promised Land) was entered into the 2001 Prix Europa by Sveriges Television.
Furthermore, Om Sara, Karim’s debut feature film, won the Golden St. George Award for Best Film at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival in 2006.
Shortly after, it received a Viewer’s Choice award at the Kolkata International Film Festival. In 2007, he was on the juries for the Nordisk Panorama Film Festival and the 29th Moscow International Film Festival.
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Alexander’s Other Brother, Baker, Is Also A Director
Alexander has another brother named Baker. Baker Karim, born Abu-Baker Karim, was born on April 7, 1974, in Kampala, Uganda. He is a director and writer known for Malcolm (2002), Fyra Kvinnor (2001), and Det odödliga (2005).
According to his LinkedIn profile, he started his career as a producer for a movie called Concorde/New Horizon in 1996.
After that, he went into production for HBO/Universal/Melkis in 1997 and worked there until 1998. Likewise, he started his career as a Director 2000 at Meta Film and worked there for 13 years until 2013.
After leaving Meta Film, he joined the Swedish Film Institute as a Feature Film Commissioner. Now, he is a freelance director.
You can find him on Instagram under the username @karimbaker74.
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Bidhya Sagar Shrestha is an experienced content writer with a solid content creation and digital marketing background. His majors in entrepreneurship and marketing give him a deep understanding of business environments and marketing strategies.
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