Kiran Shah
Kiran Jethalal Shah (born 28 September 1956) is a Kenyan actor and stunt double. He lived in Kenya until he was twelve years old, when he moved to India with his family. While living in India, he became interested in films, and when his family moved to Feltham, he became involved in show business.
Kiran Shah

.Martin. · ".Martin."'s flickr account · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Kiran Shah
- Born
- 28 September 1956
- Birthplace
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Occupation
- Actor, stuntman
- Nationality
- Kenya.
- Languages
- English.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Kiran Jethalal Shah (born 28 September 1956) is a Kenyan actor and stunt double. He lived in Kenya until he was twelve years old, when he moved to India with his family. While living in India, he became interested in films, and when his family moved to Feltham, he became involved in show business.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Kiran Shah. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q709329 · wikipedia · Kiran Shah
In this article
Biography
Biography
His first film was Candleshoe (1977), as a stand-in. When stunt coordinator Bob Anderson asked him to do stunts as well, his career was started. Shah played the part of Bolum in The People That Time Forgot (1977). He is the world's shortest stuntman according to the Guinness World Records. He has appeared as an actor in 31 films and 37 as a stuntman or body double.

Comiccon Brussels FINALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HEART OF EUROPE! You will find us at the beautiful Tour Taxis site near the Brussels North train station. At Comic Con Brussels you will find Dealers, Artists, Actors,... It's a Con that brings together all the things you love: MOVIES, GAMING, COMICS, MANGA, COLLECTIBLES, ANIME, TV, CLOTHING, TOYS AND GADGETS AND A LOT MORE! Hope to see you ther
Miguel Discart · 2016-03-19_14-59-04_ILCE-6000_DSC07453
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kiran Shah • Born — 28 September 1956 • Birthplace — Nairobi, Kenya • Occupation — Actor, stuntman • Height — 4 ft 2 in • Years Active — 1975–present
Stand-in, stunt, and background work
Stand-in, stunt, and background work
He has been in several blockbuster films since, such as Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Dark Crystal (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Legend (1985), Aliens (1986), The Sign of Four (1987), Bullseye! (1990), Braveheart (1995), and Titanic (1997) where he stunt doubled all the children in the film. He has appeared as a stunt double or stand-in in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. He was the scale double for Elijah Wood as Frodo, though he doubled for all the other main hobbits, being the only scale-double capable of stunts. He doubled Bilbo Baggins as played by both Martin Freeman (in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) and Ian Holm (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). He is one of only three actors to play the titular character in the Hobbit films.
Character work
Character work
His most featured role was in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where he played Ginarrbrik. He also portrayed an Andaman islander in the Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four, and the monster who came out of a painting and attacked Natasha Richardson in the 1986 film Gothic. In addition to doubling for Martin Freeman as Bilbo in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, he also appeared as the Goblin Scribe. Shah appeared as the mysterious figure in the Steven Moffat scripted "Listen", the fourth episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who, also episode 2 of series 10 as Emojibot 1 in "Smile". Shah appeared in the 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as Teedo, a small, brutish scavenger that roams the planet Jakku's vast wasteland on his semi-mechanical Luggabeast.
Poetry
Poetry
In addition to being an actor and a stuntman, Kiran is also a poet. His poetry has been published in Great Britain and the United States.
Filmography (selected)
Filmography (selected)
• The People That Time Forgot (1977) as Bolum • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as Abu • The Dark Crystal (1982) as Additional Performer • Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) as Ewok / EG-6 • Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) as Primate Sequences • Legend (1985) as Blunder • Gothic (1986) as Fuseli Monster • Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four (1987) as Tonga • The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) as Executioner's Assistant • Bullseye! (1990) as Little Boss at Auction • Black Beauty (1994) as man with Tambourine (uncredited) • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as Goblin (uncredited) • Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) as scale double for Elijah Wood as Frodo. • The Biggest Step (2002) as Luk • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) as Ginarrbrik • The Dork of the Rings (2006) as himself • The Passion (2008) as Jude • Harvey Putter and the Ridiculous Premise (2010) as Dumpy the Houseschmuck • Your Highness (2011) as Tiniest One • Kong Curling (2011) as Pepsimannen • A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012) as Small Man in Duvet • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) as Goblin Scribe • Doctor Who: "Listen" (2014) as Figure, "Smile" (2017) as Emojibot • Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) as Teedo • The Throbbit (2015) as himself • Rogue One (2016) as Oolin Musters (uncredited) • Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) as Neepers Panpick • Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) as Karjj • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as Nambi Ghima • Prop Culture (2020) as himself, Episode: "The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" • Andor (TV series) (2022) as Granik • There's Something in the Barn (2023) as main elf
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1956
Kiran Shah was born on 28 September 1956.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q709329: Kiran Shah
Unverified · Wikidata
reference work
- “Kiran Shah”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Honours and awards
In the 2024 King's Birthday Honours, Shah was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the film industry.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,408 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Kira ReedPerson
- Kira SoltanovichPerson
- Kiran RaoPerson
- Kiran RathodPerson
- Kirana LarasatiPerson
- Kirat BhattalPerson
- Kirby Bliss BlantonPerson
- Kirby Howell-BaptistePerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Kiran Shah?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.