Amr Waked
Waked at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in 2009
Born (1973-04-12) April 12, 1973 (age 50)
Sharqia Governorate, Egypt
Alma materAmerican University in Cairo
OccupationActor
Years active1999–present
Notable work
Spouse
​
(m. 2015)​

Amr Waked (Arabic: عمرو واكد Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʕɑm.ɾe.wæːked];[a] born (1973-04-12)April 12, 1973)[1]is an Egyptian film, television and stage actor. 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 a Yemeni Sheikh called Muhammad in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Pierre Del Rio in Luc Besson's Lucy and Farouk Hassan in Ramy.

In 2019, Waked was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Egyptian military court for spreading false news and insulting state institutions. For that reason, he has no intention of returning to Egypt.[7] He has been residing in Spain since October 2017.

Career

Waked's first major role was in Ashab wallah business (2002) (Are we friends or just a business).[8] Reviewers reported 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.[9][10] 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,[11] shooting 32 episodes for season one.[9]

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.[12][13] 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.[14][13][15] Waked was also criticized by supporters of the Palestinian cause for taking acting role in Wonder Woman 1984 starring Israeli actress and former IDF soldier Gal Gadot.[16]

In 2009, Waked co-hosted the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival,[17] 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.[9] and also co-starred in Lucy alongside Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson. In 2017, he moved to Spain and was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Egyptian court for making pro-democracy comments on social media. Due to these charges, Waked is not able to return to Egypt.[18]

Since 2019, Waked has played the father of main character Ramy Hassan on the Hulu series Ramy.

In 2021 Amr Waked hosted the web series Decoded (Dahaleez) in both Arabic and English. This was the first time he hosted for a news channel which also led him to being featured on The Muslim 500. Decoded won a Telly Award in 2022.[19]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
1999[14][20] Gannat al shayateen
(The Paradise of the Fallen Angels) 		Nona
2001[14][9] Li li Shiekh Abdel Al
2001[14] Ashab wala business ?
(Are we friends or is it just business?) 		Gihad
2003[21] Men nazret ain
(At First Sight) 		Akram
2003[14][22] Dail el samakah
(The Fish Tail) 		Ahmed
2003 Sahar el layaly
(Staying up nights) 		(Voice)
2004[23] Ahla al awkat
(Best Times) 		Hisham
2004[14] Khalty Faransa
(My aunt France) 		Yousif
2004 Tito Faris
2004[14] Sib wana Aseeb
(Lose and I'll lose) 		Kariem
2005 Kalam fel hob
(Talking about love) 		Hassan
2005 Dam el ghazal
(The Gazelle's Blood) 		Atef
2005[14][3][4][5][6] Syriana
2008[14] Genenet al asmak
(The Aquarium) 		Yousif El nady
2009 Ibrahim labyad
(Ibrahim the white) 		Ashry
2009[14][2] The Traveller
2009[24][25] Al-Gondorji
(The Shoemaker) 		Saber
2010 Il padre e lo straniero
(The father and the stranger) 		Walid
2010[26] Alf Leila We Leila
(One Thousand and One Nights) 		Meg Windermere
2011 Contagion Rafik
2012 Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Sheikh Muhammed bin Zaidi bani Tihama
2012 Winter of Discontent Amr
2014 El Ott
The cat
2014 Lucy Pierre Del Rio
Colt 45 Baron
2014 The Blue Mauritius
2017 Geostorm Dussette
2020 Wonder Woman 1984 Emir Said Bin Abydos
2021 Super-héros malgré lui Ivan Stona / Le Schizo
2023 Firebrand Dr. Mulay Al-Farabi

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2007-2010 Lahazat Harega ( Critical Moments) Dr. Ramy
2008 House Of Saddam Hussein Kamal 3 Episodes
2008 The Shooting of Thomas Hurdell Mohammad
2010 Abwab El Khoof Adam Yassin
2010 El-Gamaah Amr
2010 Ostrich's Feather Karem 30 Episodes
2011 Odysseus Eukaristos 2 Episodes
2012 Spiral Yannis 7 Episodes
2014 Marco Polo Yusuf 9 Episodes
2017 El Herbaya Mokhtar
2017 Riviera Delormes 10 Episodes
2019-Present Ramy Farouk Hassan 28 Episodes
2021 Decoded (Aljazeera) Himself Host

Theater

Recognition

Awards and nominations

See also

Notes

  1. ^ pronounced separately Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ʕɑmɾ], Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈwæːked]

References

  1. ^ http://www.luxorafricanfilmfestival.com/en/PastEditions/2012/JuryMember/Amr%20Waked
  2. ^ a b Schemm, Paul (1 July 2008). "Egito aposta no renascimento do cinema, e Omar Sharif volta à ação" (in Portuguese). G1. Associated Press. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b Galupo, Scott; Chaffee, Kevin (21 December 2005). "Stork's gift". The Washington Times.
  4. ^ a b Patel, Anhoni (10 December 2005). "Syriana - A Jigsaw Puzzle". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  5. ^ a b Bowman, James (23 November 2005). "See No Evil, Hear No Fact". New York Sun. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  6. ^ a b H.A.R. (22 December 2005). "Amr Waked & Syriana". Waleg. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Egyptian Actor Amr Waked Sentenced to Eight Years in Jail for "Spreading False News and Insulting State Institutions"". Egyptian Streets. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  8. ^ "A different vehicle". Al-Ahram Weekly. 6–12 September 2001. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Amr Waked bio". lahazat-harega.com. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Ultimate sacrifice". The Spectator. 7 September 2001. pp. c-04. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  11. ^ Hassan, Hassan (March 2007). "A Doctor in the House?". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ a b Williams, Daniel (23 October 2007). "Egyptian Actor Attacked for Film With Israeli as Saddam Hussein". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Eskandar, Wael (5 September 2008). "Amr Waked sticks to his guns". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 15 May 2010.[dead link]
  15. ^ Pearson, Bryan (9 September 2007). "Egyptian actor Amr Waked faces ban". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
  16. ^ Khalaf, Rayana (November 19, 2019). "Egyptian actor criticized for taking 'acting role' with Israel's Gal Gadot". StepFeed.
  17. ^ Fahim, Joseph (11 November 2009). "33rd Cairo International Film Fest kicks off". Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 14 May 2010.[dead link]
  18. ^ "Sisi's Script". Reuters. December 12, 2019.
  19. ^ "حكايات متصدرة - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  20. ^ Holden, Stephen (1 February 2001). "review: Gannat al Shayateen (1999)". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  21. ^ "Eyes wide open". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  22. ^ Nakhla, Sherif Iskander (10–16 April 2003). "Sherif Iskander". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  23. ^ "Nothing to laugh about". Al-Ahram Weekly. 8–14 April 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  24. ^ "Amr Waked". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  25. ^ "The Shoemaker". Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  26. ^ Awad, Sherif; Hassan, Lamia (May 2010). "Egypt's First 3D Movie in the Works". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  27. ^ Nakhla, Sherif (15–21 January 2004). "Mafia Inc". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  28. ^ Rakha, Youssef (7–13 December 2000). "Surplus ministrations". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 14 May 2010.

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