| Amr Waked | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 2, 1972 Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990-present |
Amr Waked (Arabic: عمرو واكد; born August 2, 1972) is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor, known for his roles portraying Middle Eastern and Mediterranean characters.[1] He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood as the terrorist leader in the 2005 film Syriana (2005).[2][3][4][5][6] He also played the role of Rafik in Steven Soderbergh's movie Contagion.
Contents |
Waked was born on August 7, 1972. He is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, and has performed in theater from 1992 through 2002. He originally just moonlighted as an actor, and relied on his day job as a stock trader, before finally dedicating himself to a career as an actor.[1] Waked joined the 2011 Egypt anti-government protests.
Waked's first major role was in Ashab wala business (2001),[7] for which reviewer's offered that he portrayed the role of "Gehad " so well that many viewers left the theater believing he was actually a Palestinian actor, rather than Egyptian.[8][9] His first lead role was as Ahmed in Deil el Samaka (The Fish's tail) (2003), and in 2005 he worked alongside George Clooney in the film Syriana, for which in 2006 he won a 'Special Award for Arabs in The International Cinema' at the Cairo International Film Festival. Waked joined the cast of the Egyptian television series "Lahazat Harega" "Critical Moments" in 2007,[10] shooting 32 episodes for season one.[8]
In 2008, Waked joined the cast of the BBC/HBO television series House of Saddam to portray Saddam Hussein's son-in-law Hussein Kamel.[11][12] Since the lead role of Saddam Hussein was played by Israeli actor Yigal Naor, Waked faced punishment by Egypt's Actors Union which opposes normalization of ties with Israel. The union threatened banning him from all future projects in Egypt.[1][12][13]
In 2009 he was invited co-host of the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival,[14] and in 2010 he rejoined the cast of Lahazat Harega.[8]
| Year | Movie | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Lilly | ||
| 1998 | Gannat Al Shayateen | Won the 'Best Supporting Actor' award at Alexandria International Film Festival[8] (1999) | |
| 2001 | Ashab Walla Business | Jihad | |
| 2003 | Min Nazret Ain | ||
| 2003 | Dail Al Samaka | Won the 'Best Actor' award at Alexandria International Film Festival[8] (2003) | |
| 2003 | Sahar Al Layaly | ||
| 2004 | Ahla Al Awqat | ||
| 2004 | Khalty Faransa | ||
| 2004 | Tito | Faris | |
| 2004 | Seeb Wana Aseeb | ||
| 2005 | Dam Al Ghazelle | ||
| 2005 | Syriana | Muhammad Sheikh Agiza | 'Special Award for Arabs in The International Cinema' at Cairo International Film Festival (2006) |
| 2006 | Kalam Fel Hob | ||
| 2006 | Elaqat Khassa | ||
| 2008 | Genenet Al Asmak | ||
| 2009 | Ibrahim Al Abyad | Ashri | Won the 'Best Supporting Actor' at Dear Guest Festival (2010)
Won the 'Best Actor for Second Role' at Cairo National Festival (2010) |
| 2009 | Al Mosafer | ||
| 2010 | Il Padre e lo Straniero | Walid | |
| 2011 | Contagion | Rafiq | |
| 2012 | Alf Leila We Leila [post production] | King Shahryār | |
| 2012 | Salmon Fishing in the Yemen [post production] | Sheikh Muhammad |
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "egypttoday2" defined in <references> is not used in prior text; see the help page.
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "alahramweekly5" defined in <references> is not used in prior text; see the help page.
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "alahramweekly4" defined in <references> is not used in prior text; see the help page.
Cite error: <ref> tag with name "alahramweekly3" defined in <references> is not used in prior text; see the help page.
<ref> tag with name "newyorktimes1" defined in <references> is not used in prior text; see the help page.