Christopher Maher
Introduction '''Christopher Maher''' (born as '''Maher Boutros'''; born 1955) is an American film and television actor, as well as a chef.
Background Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Maher's family moved to Toronto in the 1960s. He started pre-med studies but changed to acting at the University of Toronto. Arriving in New York in 1978, he studied acting further at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.Maher worked at Tavern on the Green, where he met Drew Nieporent.He broke into Entertainment with a year-long role as assassin Colonel Hashim on Another World.
Career ===Acting===In 1982, Maher moved to Los Angeles to pursue motion-picture roles. He changed his name from Maher Boutros to Christopher Maher. "I was typecast as a dumb Arab or a bad Arab, one or the other. It depressed me, and I just refused to do any more. "He has appeared in feature films and television episodes from ''Taxi'' and ''Hill Street Blues'' to ''Law and Order'', ''24'', ''The West Wing'' and ''NCIS''. He was in the film Olive, in which he starred with Gena Rowlands.===Cooking===Maher was also recognized by the James Beard Foundation as one of the great regional chefs of America and has cooked at the Beard House in New York City.He runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" plus natural and organic food venture in Taos. The food products are sold under the name "Caleb&Milo", named after their two sons. They sell their products in whole food markets and other gourmet markets.
Personal Maher lives in Taos, New Mexico, where he runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" with wife Valerie
Filmography  Year Title Role Notes1984 ''Best Defense''  Sayyid, Landry's Tank Crew 1987 ''Mannequin''  Armand 1989 ''Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog''  Emile 1996 ''Executive Decision''  Kahlil 2002 ''Enough''  Phil 2004 ''The West Wing''  Iranian ambassador 2009 ''The Men Who Stare at Goats''  Iraqi Driver 2011 ''Olive''  Cyrus
References
External links * *  Cooking Studio Taos:  bio