If you’re not yet a fan of Hamza Haq, it’s time to get in formation—the decision has been made and we are officially stanning. Hamza, 29, stars in new Canadian medical drama, Transplant as Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed—a Syrian doctor who’s fled his home country for Toronto with his younger sister. Whether you’re considering watching, already watching or hadn’t even heard of the show until now, it's well worth your time and a big part of its appeal is its new leading man.Hamza’s been around for a hot minute, so it’s about time we got to know him better. Here are some facts you need to know to join our new Hamza Fandom.

1. He started out studying neuroscience

Ah, the age-old trope: he plays a doctor on TV but was almost a doctor himself. Well, sort of. Hamza told The Globe & Mail that when he started his unbergrad at Carleton University in Ottawa, his first focus was neuroscience. When that wasn’t a fit, he switched his major to accounting and then eventually to film studies with a minor in law. Seems like a pretty well-rounded individual to us.[video_embed id='1907613']The cast of ‘Transplant’ tell us why audiences will relate to this highly-anticipated new series[/video_embed]

2. He learned to swim at 28 because of Aquaman

We love a man who can do the backstroke. Hamza admitted in April that it took him until last year to learn how to swim and it was all because he saw Jason Momoa in Aquaman. On the surface, that’s a funny concept, but he explained on Insta later that it was actually a matter of seeing himself represented on screen. “I learned a life skill as a result of someone who looks like me...ok I wish...but someone with the same skin colour as me, do something incredible on screen. Representation matters,” he wrote.

3. He’s the youngest of four siblings

Hamza may have expertly played twins in The Indian Detective—a feat similarly undertaken by such varied artists as Lindsay Lohan and Armie Hammer—but IRL, he’s the youngest of four and was always the family ham, dancing it up at weddings from a young age.

4. He embraces all parts of his multi-layered identity

Our boy is more than willing to talk about his heritage while also keeping it real about how complicated that can be. Hamza was born to Pakistani parents (his mom’s an organic chemist and his dad is an engineer) in Saudi Arabia before immigrating to Canada at the age of nine. He told The Hollywood Reporter in his 2017 Rising Star profile that the best part of being Canadian is the “ability to call myself a Canadian proudly without having to negate or deny Pakistani heritage.” He’s more candid about identity on his Instagram where he wrote, “Saudi Arabia never felt like home, Pakistan never felt like home, Canada comes close, but...” He’s hitting on something that’s very real and complex for many Canadians and we love to see that kind of raw honesty.

5. He’s worked with some big names

Ever heard of William Shatner? Priyanka Chopra? Evangeline Lilly? Sigourney Weaver? Those are just some of the big Hollywood names who can attest to Hamza’s talent.

6. He’s got a CSA nom under his belt

Yeah, that’s right; you’re looking at a critically acclaimed actor. Hamza scored a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for Best Guest Star in a Drama Series for his role as Raza Ali on This Life.

7. He does video game voices, too

Hamza follows in a long tradition of screen actors (Mark Hamill, Samuel L. Jackson and Ellen Page come to mind) who dabble in voicing video game characters. He’s credited on titles like Assassin’s Creed: Origins and The Outer Worlds.

8. He’s in the new Rob Ford movie

One of the reasons we’re so stoked for Run This Town is that it’s not only a local story, it features a lot of our fave Canadian talent (haaay Nina Dobrev and Mena Massoud!). Hamza is also in the Toronto-based film and plays Detective Sharma.

9. He hosted a kids TV show

If you’re a serious actor who worked on a kids show, you better believe someone is going to unearth the receipts. Thankfully, Hamza did the heavy lifting for us and posted some adorable clips of himself dressed as a flying pig singing about probability on CBC’s Look Kool. He’s even written an episode of the show. Excuse us, is there anything this guy can’t do?

 

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A post shared by Hamza Haq (@hmzlhq) on Sep 3, 2019 at 5:57am PDT

Catch Hamza as Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed on the premiere episode of Transplant, airing Feb. 26 at 9/10MT on CTV.[video_embed id='1907623']BEFORE YOU GO: You have to see Chrissy Teigen’s daughter crash our interview[/video_embed]