Cliff Simon

Cliff Simon (born 7 September 1962) is a South African athlete and actor, best known for his portrayal of Ba'al in Stargate SG-1.

Early life

Simon was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the fourth child of Emmanuelle and Phylis Simon. Both of his parents are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent from Poland and Lithuania. From a very young age, Cliff aspired to be the first South African swimmer to win an Olympic Gold medal. His mother, a swimming teacher, taught him from a very young age, and at age 6 he began to show talent as a gymnast. By age 15, Cliff had reached a national level in South Africa in both swimming and gymnastics, but he decided to discontinue training in gymnastics to better focus on swimming.

In 1975, his parents decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom, due to the then-current turmoil in Africa. It was there that Simon completed his schooling and was chosen to swim in the British International squad. He competed in Olympic trials and qualified for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The University of Houston and Southern Methodist University in Texas offered him scholarships, where he trained with the United States swimming team, the Mustangs. This would have culminated in him competing in the 1984 Olympic Games. However, after three years of intense training, he decided to quit and return to South Africa, due to his concerns that he was missing out on his social life.