Biography
Hisham Tawfiq is an American actor. He was born on 17 May 1970 in New York City. He is best known for playing Dembe Zuma in the NBC series The Blacklist (2013–2023), appearing in over 200 episodes after promotion to series regular from season 3.
Tawfiq studied at the Negro Ensemble Company and with acting coach Susan Batson. Before acting full-time, he served in the US Marines during Operation Desert Storm, worked as a corrections officer at Sing Sing, and was a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department for 20 years.
His other television credits include episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, Kings and The Equalizer.
