Amr Waked
| Amr Waked | |
|---|---|
 Waked in Qatar, 2009 | |
| Born |
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 France) |
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
- "Lahazat Harega" "Critical Moments, Season One" (32+ episodes, 2007)[8][10]
- House of Saddam (3 episodes, 2008)[1]
- The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall (2008)[1]
- "Lahazat Harega" "Critical Moments, Season Two" (32+ episodes, 2010)[8][10]
- Abwab el khoof (2011)
- Awlaad Al-Shaware'a
- Spiral (season 4) (2012)
- Flight of the Storks (2013)
- Marco Polo (TV series) (2014)
Theater
- 1992, Afareet Hamza We Fatma as Hamza
- 1992, Vinegar Tom as The Devil
- 1993, Crimes Of The Heart as Doc
- 1993, Al Ghaba Al Saeeda as The Fox
- 1994, Tales From Agabad as Hero
- 1994, Compass Berserk as Montigu
- 1994, The Bus as Ahmed[20]
- 1995, Oedipus The President as Prometheus
- 2000, Al Ze'ab Yohaddid Al Madinah as The Journalist[21]
- 2002, Shabab Rewish Tahn as Ahmed
Recognition
Awards & nominations
- 1999, won 'Film Writers and Critics Special Award' at Alexandria International Film Festival
- 1999, won 'Best Supporting Actor' award at Alexandria International Film Festival for Gannat al shayateen[8]
- 2003, won 'Best Actor' award at Alexandria International Film Festival for Dail el samakah[8]
- 2006, won 'Special Award for Arabs in The International Cinema' at Cairo International Film Festival for Syriana
- 2006, won 'Horus Award' for 'Best Supporting Actor' at Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema for Dam el ghazal
- 2010, won 'Best Supporting Actor' at Dear Guest Festival for Ibrahim Labyad
- 2010, won "Best Actor for Second Role" at Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema for Ibrahim Labyad
- 2013, won "best actor" at Dubai Film Festival for the Egyptian movie Winter of Discontent
References
- 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.
- 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.
- 1 2 Scott Galupo; Kevin Chaffee (21 December 2005). "Stork's gift". The Washington Times.
- 1 2 Patel, Anhoni (10 December 2005). "Syriana - A Jigsaw Puzzle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- 1 2 Bowman, James (23 November 2005). "See No Evil, Hear No Fact". New York Sun. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- 1 2 H.A.R. (22 December 2005). "Amr Waked & Syriana". Waleg. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ "A different vehicle". Al-Ahram Weekly. 6–12 September 2001. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Amr Waked bio". lahazat-harega.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ↑ "Ultimate sacrifice". The Spectator. 7 September 2001. pp. c–04. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- 1 2 3 Hassan, Hassan (March 2007). "A Doctor in the House?". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ Tarbush, Susannah (21 April 2010). "'House of Saddam' brings Saddam's complexities to the small screen". Saudi Gazette. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- 1 2 Williams, Daniel (23 October 2007). "Egyptian Actor Attacked for Film With Israeli as Saddam Hussein". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ Pearson, Bryan (9 September 2007). "Egyptian actor Amr Waked faces ban". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ↑ Fahim, Joseph (11 November 2009). "33rd Cairo International Film Fest kicks off". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ Holden, Stephen (1 February 2001). "review: Gannat al Shayateen (1999)". New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ "Eyes wide open". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ Nakhla, Sherif Iskander (10–16 April 2003). "Sherif Iskander". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ "Nothing to laugh about". Al-Ahram Weekly. 8–14 April 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Nakhla, Sherif (15–21 January 2004). "Mafia Inc.". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ↑ Rakha, Youssef (7–13 December 2000). "Surplus ministrations". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
External links
- Amr Waked at the Internet Movie Database
- Carlo Coppola, Anche l’attore Amr Waked sulle barricate del Cairo per la libertà, lsdmagazine.com (Italian)