Michel Dimitri Shalhoub, known as Omar Sharif (Arabic: عمر الشريف), also spelled Omar El-Sherif, born April 10, 1932 in Alexandria and died July 10, 2015 in Cairo, is an Egyptian actor. The son of a precious wood merchant, he grew up in a united Christian family with his parents and his sister. Enrolled at Victoria College, a prestigious British school in Alexandria, the teenager studied science, and foreign languages, and would later discover theater classes. A brilliant student, he continued his studies at Cairo University where he obtained his diploma in mathematics and physics. Caught up in his taste for acting, he was spotted at 21 by director Youssef Chahine who offered him a leading role in Struggle in the Valley (1954). The success was immediate, thanks to this role, the young leading man walked the red carpet of the Croisette at the Cannes Film Festival the same year. He became a star of Egyptian cinema then in full expansion, and collaborated again with Youssef Chahine (The Devil of the Desert, Black Waters). In 1962, he took on the role of Prince Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia under the direction of David Lean. This film, the first outside Egypt for the actor, marks the beginning of a long friendship with Peter O'Toole and a turning point in Omar Sharif's career. He won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and decided to leave his native country for Hollywood. In 1955, Omar Sharif married the Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, whom he met on the set of Struggle in the Valley, and for whom he converted to Islam. Their son Tarek was born in 1957. The couple separated when the actor decided to pursue his career in Hollywood. Their divorce was finalized a few years later in 1974. The actor, a polyglot, then began an international career. David Lean offered him a new emblematic role with Doctor Zhivago (1965) in which he played opposite Geraldine Chaplin. His filmography includes more than a hundred films. The actor nevertheless had a more unhappy period on the big screen with some commercial failures (And Came the Day of Vengeance, The Rendezvous, The Horsemen). He returned to success in the 2000s with Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of the Koran by François Dupeyron for which he was awarded the César for Best Actor in 2004. The same year, he starred in Hidalgo by Joe Johnston. Rarer on film sets, in 2009 he accepted the role of a painter suffering from Alzheimer's disease in I Forgot to Tell You alongside Emilie Dequenne. He appeared in his last film, Rock the Casbah by Laïla Marrakchi, in 2012. In May 2015, his son, Tarek El-Sharif, announced in an interview that Omar Sharif had Alzheimer's disease. He died on July 10, 2015 following a heart attack. His funeral took place on July 12, 2015 in a mosque in Cairo and he was buried at the Sayyeda Nefisa cemetery in the south of the city.
Movie | The Crime | 2022-01-05 | |
Movie | Bara El Manhag | 2021-12-09 | |
Movie | Rock the Casbah | Moulay Hassan | 2013-09-11 |
Movie | A Castle in Italy | Omar Sharif | 2013-10-30 |
Movie | Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde | Intervenant | 2011-10-25 |
Movie | J'ai oublié de te dire | Jaume | 2010-03-12 |
Series | The Last Templar | Konstantine | 2009-01-25 |
Movie | The Traveller | Hassan | 2009-06-25 |
Movie | La Traversée du désir | Self | 2009-03-16 |
Movie | 10,000 BC | Narrator (voice) | 2008-03-04 |
Movie | Hassan and Marcus | Unknown | 2008-07-03 |
Movie | Fire at My Heart | Principe Nicola | 2006-01-01 |
Movie | One Night with the King | Prince Memucan | 2006-10-10 |
Movie | Shaka Zulu: The Citadel | The King | 2005-05-03 |
Movie | St. Peter | San Pietro | 2005-10-24 |
Movie | Looking for Sophia | Himself | 2004-09-17 |
Movie | Hollywood Legenden | Self | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Hidalgo | Sheikh Riyadh | 2004-02-04 |
Movie | Monsieur Ibrahim | Monsieur Ibrahim | 2003-09-17 |
Movie | The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia' | Self (archive footage) | 2003-09-22 |
Series | Monk | Unknown | 2002-07-12 |
Movie | Pyramid | Nakht (voice) | 2002-10-28 |
Movie | The Parole Officer | Victor | 2001-08-10 |
Movie | Going Public | Unknown | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | Cleopatra's Palace: In Search of a Legend | Narrator | 1999-03-14 |
Movie | The 13th Warrior | Melchisidek | 1999-08-13 |
Movie | Mysteries of Egypt | Grandfather | 1998-01-01 |
Movie | Heaven Before I Die | Khalil Gibran | 1997-01-01 |
Series | Gulliver's Travels | Sorcerer | 1996-02-04 |
Movie | Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Self (archive footage) | 1996-04-06 |
Movie | Catherine the Great | Razumovsky | 1996-04-28 |
Movie | Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt | Narrator | 1996-10-09 |
Movie | The Rainbow Thief | Dima | 1994-01-19 |
Movie | Lie Down with Lions | Safar Khan | 1994-06-12 |
Movie | 588 rue Paradis | Hagop | 1992-01-14 |
Movie | Heavenly Sin | Unknown | 1992-10-03 |
Movie | Beyond Justice | Emir Beni-Zair | 1992-12-02 |
Movie | Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris | Marquis Hippolite | 1992-12-27 |
Movie | Mother | Hagop | 1991-11-27 |
Movie | Desert Law | Emir Beni-Zair | 1991-03-19 |
Movie | Memories of Midnight | Constantin Demiris | 1991-11-30 |
Movie | Citizen Masrey | Mayor Abdel Razek El-Shershaby | 1991-12-23 |
Movie | Mountains of the Moon | Arab Chief in Cairo (uncredited) | 1990-02-16 |
Movie | Journey of Love | Rico | 1990-12-07 |
Movie | The Puppeteer | Mohamed Gad Al-Karim | 1989-12-18 |
Movie | Les pyramides bleues | Alex | 1988-01-02 |
Movie | Keys to Freedom | Jonathan | 1988-01-01 |
Movie | The Possessed | Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky | 1988-02-24 |
Movie | Grand Larceny | Rashid Saud | 1987-01-01 |
Series | Peter the Great | Prince Feodor Romodanovsky | 1986-02-02 |
Movie | Harem | Sultan Hassan | 1986-02-09 |
Movie | Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna | Czar Nicholas II | 1986-12-07 |
Movie | The Far Pavilions | Koda Dad | 1984-04-21 |
Movie | Top Secret! | Agent Cedric | 1984-06-08 |
Movie | Ayoub | Ayoub/Abdul Hamid Al-Sukkari | 1983-07-07 |
Movie | La Martingale | Alex Joski | 1983-10-13 |
Series | Wogan | Self | 1982-05-04 |
Movie | Inchon | Indian Brigadier | 1981-05-04 |
Movie | Green Ice | Meno Argenti | 1981-05-21 |
Movie | The Baltimore Bullet | The Deacon | 1980-04-01 |
Movie | S+H+E: Security Hazards Expert | Baron Cesare Magnasco | 1980-02-23 |
Movie | Oh! Heavenly Dog | Bart | 1980-07-11 |
Movie | Pleasure Palace | Louie Lefevre | 1980-10-22 |
Movie | Ashanti | Prince Hassan | 1979-02-21 |
Movie | Bloodline | Ivo Palazzi | 1979-06-29 |
Movie | Crime and Passion | Andre Ferren | 1976-02-06 |
Movie | Funny Lady | Nick Arnstein | 1975-03-15 |
Movie | The Tamarind Seed | Feodor Sverdlov | 1974-07-11 |
Movie | Juggernaut | Captain Alex Brunel | 1974-09-25 |
Series | Mysterious Island | Captain Nemo | 1973-12-17 |
Movie | The Right to Love | Pierre | 1972-08-15 |
Movie | The Burglars | Abel Zacharia | 1971-10-27 |
Movie | The Last Valley | Vogel | 1971-01-28 |
Movie | The Horsemen | Uraz | 1971-08-16 |
Movie | Mackenna's Gold | Colorado | 1969-03-18 |
Movie | Che! | Che Guevara | 1969-06-27 |
Movie | The Appointment | Federico Fendi | 1969-05-22 |
Movie | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein | 1968-09-19 |
Movie | Mayerling | Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria | 1968-10-31 |
Movie | The Night of the Generals | Major Grau | 1967-01-29 |
Movie | More Than a Miracle | Prince Rodrigo Fernandez | 1967-10-19 |
Movie | Poppies Are Also Flowers | Dr. Rad | 1966-05-20 |
Movie | Genghis Khan | Genghis Khan / Temujin | 1965-04-15 |
Movie | The Car That Became a Star | Davich (archiveFootage) | 1965-01-01 |
Movie | Marco the Magnificent | Sheik Alla Hou | 1965-08-06 |
Movie | Pasternak | Himself | 1965-12-31 |
Movie | The Mamluks | Ahmed | 1965-10-04 |
Movie | Doctor Zhivago | Dr. Yuri Zhivago | 1965-12-22 |
Movie | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Sohamus | 1964-03-24 |
Movie | Behold a Pale Horse | Francisco | 1964-08-14 |
Movie | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Davich | 1964-12-31 |
Movie | A Man in Our House | Ibrahim Mohammed | 1961-04-17 |
Movie | Lawaat Al-Hub | Unknown | 1960-10-01 |
Movie | My Only Love | Adel | 1960-10-03 |
Movie | Eshaet Hob | Hussien | 1960-11-21 |
Movie | A Beginning and an Ending | Hassanein | 1960-10-31 |
Movie | The River of Love | Khalid | 1960-11-12 |
Movie | Rendezvous with a Stranger | Magdi | 1959-01-01 |
Movie | We the Students | Unknown | 1959-01-02 |
Movie | Struggle on the Nile | Muhassab | 1959-10-18 |
Movie | Goha | Goha | 1959-05-06 |
Movie | Beach of Secrets | Mamduh Ezzat | 1958-02-03 |
Movie | Sayedat el kasr | Adel | 1958-11-17 |
Movie | Land of Peace | Ahmed | 1957-01-02 |
Movie | Sleepless | Aziz | 1957-10-31 |
Movie | Dark Waters | Ragab | 1956-01-16 |
Movie | The Lebanese Mission | Mokrir | 1956-09-12 |
Movie | Our Best Days | Ahmad | 1955-03-07 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1955-07-29 |
Movie | The Blazing Sun | Ahmed | 1954-03-01 |
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