Arabic Electronic Mail Journal
London Phone: (0044) 07 919  021 409
Edited by S Suwellam, London, UK /
The legendary
Egyptian actor
Omar Sharif
 Egyptian Art and Culture
(Born in Alexandria, Egypt 1932- ) Egyptian film
actor with world-wide success.
His original name was Michel Shahoub, and he was
educated at Victoria College in Cairo. He was
working in the lumber business when he was offered
a lead role in an Egyptian film in 1954. In this film
Fatin Hamama played, whom he later married.
Sharif's rise to fame, came when he played in
Lawrence of Arabia, and later got the lead in Doctor
Zhivago. He has scores of Egyptian films as a star
before he became an international film star
FILMOGRAPHY
1956: La Châtelaine du Liban, La (playing the role of
Mokrir)
1959: Goha (playing the role of Goha)
1960: Bidaya wa Nihaya
1962: Lawrence of Arabia (playing the role of Sherif Ali)
1964: Behold a Pale Horse (playing the role of Francisco)
— The Fall of the Roman Empire (playing the role of
Sohamus)
1965: Marco the Magnificent (playing the role of Emir
Alaou)
— Moscow In Madrid
— Pasternak
— Doctor Zhivago (playing the role of Yuri Zhivago)
— Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean (playing
the role of Himself)
— Genghis Khan (playing the role of Genghis Khan)
— Ashanti (playing the role of Prince Hassan)
1980: Oh, Heavenly Dog! (playing the role of Bart)
— Pleasure Palace (playing the role of Louie Lefevre)
— The Baltimore Bullet (playing the role of The Deacon)
— S*H*E (playing the role of Baron Cesare Magnasco)
1981: Green Ice (playing the role of Meno Argenti)
1984: Top Secret! (playing the role of Cedric)
— The Far Pavilions (TV Series, playing the role of Koda Dad)
1986: Harem (playing the role of Sultan Hassan)
— Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (playing the role of Czar Nicholas II)
1987: Grand Larceny (playing the role of Rashid Saud)
— Martingale, La
— Paradise Calling (playing the role of Alex)
— Peter the Great (TV Series, playing the role of Prince Feodor Romodanovsky)
1988: Les Possédés (playing the role of Stepan)
1989: Il Principe del deserto, Il (TV Series)
1990: The Rainbow Thief (playing the role of Dima)
— Journey of Love (playing the role of Rico)
— Mountains of the Moon
1991: Mayrig (TV Series, playing the role of Hagop)
— al-Aragoz (playing the role of Mohamed Gad El Kareem)
— War in the Land of Egypt
—Sidney Sheldon's Memories of Midnight (TV Series, playing the role of Costa Damiros)
1992: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (playing the role of Marquis Hippolite)
— Tengoku no Taizai (playing the role of Tsai Mang Hua)
— 588 rue paradis (playing the role of Hagop)
1992: Beyond Justice (playing the role of the Emir)
1993: Dehk, wa leab wa gad wa hubb
1994: Lie Down with Lions (playing the role of Safar Khan)
1995: Catherine the Great (playing the role of Razumovsky)
1996: Lebanon... Imprisoned Splendour (playing himself)
— Umm Kulthum (narrator)
— Gulliver's Travels (playing the role of The Sorcerer)
1997: Heaven Before I Die (playing the role of Khalil Gibran)
1998: Mysteries of Egypt (playing the role of the Grandfather)
1999: The 13th Warrior (playing the role of Melchisidek)
2000: Shaka Zulu: The Citadel (TV Series)
2001: Return of the Thief of Baghdad
— The Yellow Rolls-Royce (playing the role of Davich)
1966: Poppies Are Also Flowers (playing the role of Dr. Rad)
1967: C'era una volta (playing the role of Prince)
— The Night of the Generals (playing the role of Major Grau)
1968: Sophia: A Self-Portrait (playing the role of Guest)
— Mayerling (playing the role of Archduke Rudolph)
— Funny Girl (playing the role of Nick Arnstein)
1969: The Appointment (playing the role of Federico Fendi)
— Che! (playing the role of Che Guevara)
— Mackenna's Gold (playing the role of Colorado)
1970: The Festival Game
— The Last Valley (playing the role of Vogel)
1971: The Horsemen (playing the role of Uraz)
1972: Le Droit d'aimer (playing the role of Pierre)
— Le Casse (playing the role of Abel Zacharia)
1973: La Isla misteriosa y el capitán Nemo (playing the role of Captain Nemo)
1974: Juggernaut (playing the role of Captain Brunel)
— The Tamarind Seed (playing the role of Feodor Sverdlov)
1975: Ace Up My Sleeve (playing the role of Andre Ferren)
1976: The Pink Panther Strikes Again (playing the role of Egyptian Assassin)
1978: Mysteries of the Great Pyramid (playing the role of Host)
1979: Bloodline (playing the role of Ivo Palazzi)
FACTUAL & ARTS TV
 10.10.02
Omar Sharif features in BBC ONE's Pyramid
The BBC announced today that legendary
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif is to be the
voice of Nakht, the central character in
Pyramid - BBC ONE's ambitious history
programme which airs on Monday 28
October at 9.00pm.
The programme tells the story of the Great
Pyramid of Giza through the eyes of the
men who built it and centres on the tale of
Nakht an Egyptian conscript.
Pyramid is one of the most ambitious and
visually stunning history projects ever
made by the BBC and employs the
cinematic production values of a feature
film to bring the construction of this
extraordinary Egyptian monument to life.
It is shot entirely on location on 35mm and
uses complex state-of-the art special effects,
produced by Mill TV - the Oscar
award-winning company who created the
special effects for Gladiator.
During his recording session for Pyramid,
Omar Sharif said: "I grew up in Cairo and it's a
family tradition among Cairenes [people who
live in Cairo] to visit the pyramids.
"I can remember clearly the first time I went to
Giza as a boy, and being simply overwhelmed by
the vastness of what I saw.
"So vast and so stark. There's a line in the script for Pyramid which describes it well.
Mountains, but mountains made by men. That's exactly how they seemed to me."
After an abortive career in the family lumber business Sharif appeared in over 20 films in his
native Egypt before embarking on an international screen career with movies such as
Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago and Funny Girl.
"I have lived away from Egypt for many years now, though I still go back. But the
importance of the pyramids will never leave me," he said.
"For every modern Egyptian they are an immense source of pride. No matter what happens to
our nation, even when Egypt may fall on hard times, we can never be ignored.
"The world will always beat a path to Egypt's door because of our monuments, and the
most magnificent of them all is Khufu's pyramid, the Great Pyramid, at Giza.
"This is an eternal legacy for the world, for all time, something that can never be taken
away.
"I am proud of it, very proud. It's the real reason I am so happy to be involved with this
programme."
Omar Sharif's character Nakht is not a real historical figure, but every aspect of his life is
based on the most up-to-date findings of archaeology: the journey he travels, the clothes
he wears, the tasks he's assigned.
Pyramid's Emmy award-winning producer Jonathan Stamp says: "Nakht's story provides a
powerful emotional focus enabling the viewer to engage directly with the past.
"I'm delighted that such a distinguished actor and one of the world's most famous
Egyptians has agreed to take part in this programme.
"We learn of the hardships and the great dangers of the Pyramid builders' world, and also
of its comradeship and fulfillment.
"By the time we have arrived at the end of Nakht's story we will understand the Pyramid
as never before."