Amr Waked

Amr Waked

Waked in Qatar, 2009
Born (1973-04-12) April 12, 1973
Cairo, Egypt
Alma mater American University in Cairo
Occupation Actor
Years active 1999 - present
Notable work Syriana
Lucy
House of Saddam

Amr Waked (Arabic: عمرو واكد; born April 12, 1973) 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 for his role in the 2005 film Syriana.[2][3][4][5][6] Other prominent roles include the Yemeni Sheikh Muhammad in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and Pierre Del Rio in Luc Besson's Lucy.

Background

Waked was born on April 12, 1973, in Cairo, Egypt. He is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, and has performed in theatre 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 and he also joined June 2013 Egyptian protests against Mohamed Morsi.

Career

Waked's first ever major role was in Ashab wallah business (2002) (Are we friends or just a business),[7] for which reviewers 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 to ban him from all future projects in Egypt.[1][12][13]

In 2009, Waked co-hosted the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival,[14] and in 2010 he rejoined the cast of Lahazat Harega. He joined Hollywood stars Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow in the 2011 film, Contagion and co-starred in the British film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen with Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, and Kristin Scott Thomas.[8] and also co-starred in Lucy alongside Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson .

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
1999[1][15] Gannat al shayateen
(The Paradise of the Fallen Angels) 		Nona
2001[1][8] Li li Shiekh Abdel Al
2001[1] Ashab wala business
(Are we friends or just a business )		 Gihad
2003[16] Men nazret ain
(At First Sight)		 Akram
2003[1][17] Dail el samakah
(The Fish Tail)		 Ahmed
2003 Sahar el layaly
(staying up nights) 		(Voice)
2004[18] Ahla al awkat
(Best Times) 		Hisham
2004[1] Khalty Faransa
( My aunt Faransa)		 Yousif
2004 Tito Faris
2004[1] Sib wana Aseeb
(Loose and I'll loose) 		Kariem
2005 Kalam fel hob
(Talking about love)		 Hassan
2005 Dam el ghazal
(The Gazelle's Blood) 		Atef
2005[1][3][4][5][6] Syriana
2008[1] Genenet al asmak
(The Aquarium) 		Yousif El nady
2009 Ibrahim labyad
(Ibrahim the white) 		Ashry
2009[1][2] The Traveller
2010 Il padre e lo straniero
(the father and the stranger)		 Walid (post production)
2010[19] Alf Leila We Leila
(One Thousand and One Nights)		 Meg Windermere
2011 Contagion Rafik
2012 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
2012 Winter of Discontent Amr
2014 El Ott
The cat
2014 Lucy Pierre Del Rio
2014 The Blue Mauritius
2017 Geostorm Dussette

Television

Theater

Recognition

Awards & nominations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Eskandar, Wael (5 September 2008). "Amr Waked sticks to his guns". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 Schemm, Paul (1 July 2008). "Egito aposta no renascimento do cinema, e Omar Sharif volta à ação". Associated Press (in Portuguese) (G1). Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  3. 1 2 Scott Galupo; Kevin Chaffee (21 December 2005). "Stork's gift". The Washington Times.
  4. 1 2 Patel, Anhoni (10 December 2005). "Syriana - A Jigsaw Puzzle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  5. 1 2 Bowman, James (23 November 2005). "See No Evil, Hear No Fact". New York Sun. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  6. 1 2 H.A.R. (22 December 2005). "Amr Waked & Syriana". Waleg. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  7. ↑ "A different vehicle". Al-Ahram Weekly. 6–12 September 2001. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Amr Waked bio". lahazat-harega.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  9. ↑ "Ultimate sacrifice". The Spectator. 7 September 2001. pp. c–04. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 Hassan, Hassan (March 2007). "A Doctor in the House?". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Tarbush, Susannah (21 April 2010). "‘House of Saddam’ brings Saddam’s complexities to the small screen". Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  12. 1 2 Williams, Daniel (23 October 2007). "Egyptian Actor Attacked for Film With Israeli as Saddam Hussein". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  13. ↑ Pearson, Bryan (9 September 2007). "Egyptian actor Amr Waked faces ban". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  14. ↑ Fahim, Joseph (11 November 2009). "33rd Cairo International Film Fest kicks off". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  15. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1 February 2001). "review: Gannat al Shayateen (1999)". New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  16. ↑ "Eyes wide open". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  17. ↑ Nakhla, Sherif Iskander (10–16 April 2003). "Sherif Iskander". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  18. ↑ "Nothing to laugh about". Al-Ahram Weekly. 8–14 April 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  19. ↑ Sherif Awad; Lamia Hassan (May 2010). "Egypt’s First 3D Movie in the Works". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Nakhla, Sherif (15–21 January 2004). "Mafia Inc.". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  21. ↑ Rakha, Youssef (7–13 December 2000). "Surplus ministrations". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.

External links

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