{"id":3732,"date":"2022-09-17T10:48:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-17T10:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/omar-sharif-the-egyptian-who-conquered-hollywood\/"},"modified":"2022-09-17T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-17T10:48:26","slug":"omar-sharif-the-egyptian-who-conquered-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=3732","title":{"rendered":"Omar Sharif: The Egyptian who conquered Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nDUBAI: In the history of Arab cinema, no star has shone brighter than Omar Sharif. The legendary Egyptian actor, who became Arab cinema\u2019s first major crossover star after 1962\u2019s \u201cLawrence of Arabia\u201d catapulted him to international fame, had talent so copious and personality so large that his presence has only grown in the public consciousness since his death in 2015, as the film world continues to search for his true successor.<\/p>\n
\nCurrent Egyptian superstar Asser Yassin, one of a few actors to have been dubbed \u2018The next Omar Sharif,\u2019 knows that search is futile.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was always compared to him and even told that I would be his successor. I\u2019d always reply, \u2018There will be only one Omar Sharif,\u2019\u201d Yassin tells Arab News.<\/p>\n
\nBorn in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1932 as Michael Yusef Dimitri Chaloub, Sharif \u2014 who took that name when he began his filmmaking career \u2014 was raised in a multi-lingual household, his parents having moved from Zahle, Lebanon decades before his birth, and he had an early affinity for languages, picking up not only Arabic, English and his mother\u2019s French, but Italian and Spanish, too.<\/p>\n
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (left) with English director David Lean (1908 – 1991) on the set of ‘Lawrence Of Arabia,’ 1962. (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\n\u2018Sharif\u2019 means nobleman, and it\u2019s easy to see why he took to the name. His mother Claire Saada was one of the country\u2019s most renowned socialites, hosting Egypt\u2019s King Farouk regularly throughout Sharif\u2019s youth, after his family moved to Cairo when he was four.<\/p>\n
\nPart of the lore of how the great Sharif found his way in front of the camera has been proven to be mythmaking. Sharif studied mathematics and physics at Cairo University before moving into film, and while reports often include the note that he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, the school itself has no record of him ever attending.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to renowned Egyptian filmmaker and newly appointed director of the Cairo International Film Festival Amir Ramses, the real story involved a bit more luck, and an encounter with Egypt\u2019s most acclaimed filmmaker, Youssef Chahine.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe was a really handsome young man who probably hadn\u2019t dreamed of working in cinema, who got noticed by a young and talented director, who made him a star within a couple of movies (alongside) Egypt\u2019s most prestigious actress,\u201d Ramses tells us.<\/p>\n
Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama in a scene from the film ‘Siraa Fil-Wadi’, 1954. (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\nChahine, only a few years into his filmmaking career himself, cast Sharif in two films in 1954, opposite the country\u2019s then-biggest star, Faten Hamama, who had been a major box-office draw for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
\nThe films, particularly \u201cThe Blazing Sun,\u201d proved to be a huge success, and led to Sharif teaming up with Chahine again and again throughout the 50s, and quickly becoming a star himself. Oh, and marrying Hamamah.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe proved to be a really charismatic and talented actor, which was really kind of miraculous,\u201d says Ramses. \u201cMost have to work for years from the time they know they want to make movies for a living before becoming a success, but for him it was a stroke of luck that led him to discover his talent. I guess that\u2019s part of his charm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nLuck also played its part in his step up to international fame. In 1962, English director David Lean was preparing to tell the story of Lawrence of Arabia, and demanded that his casting directors bring him Arab actors to give his film an air of authenticity.<\/p>\n
Asser Yassin and Omar Sharif. (Supplied by Asser Yassin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\nSharif, who, thanks to his childhood, spoke good English, was whisked off on a plane to the desert to meet the director.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs we came in to land we could see (Lean) sitting all by himself,\u201d Sharif recounted years later. \u201cWe landed right next to him, but he didn\u2019t move one step. When I got off the plane, he didn\u2019t say \u2018Hello\u2019. He simply walked round me to see my profile. Finally, he said, \u2018That\u2019s very good, Omar. Let\u2019s go to the make-up tent.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\nSharif\u2019s role, a fictional envoy named Sherif Ali, though the most physically demanding of his career (\u201cLean hated actors. I was one of the only actors he actually liked, in all his life\u201d the actor said later), was an instant hit, earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and winning him two Golden Globes (for the same role \u2014 it was the 60s, and it\u2019s the Globes), as well as netting him a long-term deal with Columbia Pictures. And so Sharif spent the majority of his subsequent decades in Hollywood and Europe.<\/p>\n
\nWhile he instantly became recognizable, Sharif was very conscious of being an Arab in an underrepresented environment, causing him to tread lightly behind the scenes in those early years, and accept less money than he thought he deserved.<\/p>\n
American actress and singer Barbra Streisand with co-star Omar Sharif on the set of the movie ‘Funny Lady’, 1975. (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI had to be very careful. For example, Columbia Pictures signed a five-year contract with me when I had made \u2018Lawrence of Arabia,\u2019 but they didn\u2019t pay me anything,\u201d Sharif said later.<\/p>\n
\nHis gamble paid off, however. Sharif went from sidekick to leading man, starring in a number of the decade\u2019s most popular films, including Lean\u2019s 1965 epic \u201cDoctor Zhivago,\u201d and the ever-popular romantic comedy \u201cFunny Girl,\u201d opposite Barbara Streisand in her first film role, in 1968.<\/p>\n
\nFrom that point, though, Sharif\u2019s remarkable rise tapered off. While the roles continued to pour in, Sharif seemed to lose his previously spot-on knack for picking good projects. Or perhaps he stopped trying as hard to do so.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI went 25 years without making a good film,\u201d he said candidly years later. \u201cI had to work all the time to support my family and myself, and all my expensive tastes. It got to the stage where my own grandchildren were making fun of my films. I decided it was time to stop, to keep some dignity, and wait for something that I felt enthusiastic about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nTowards the end of his life, it was once again the Arab world in which he often found his strongest inspiration, with acclaimed films such as \u201cThe Traveller,\u201d which garnered Sharif standing ovations at the Venice International Film Festival in 2009.<\/p>\n
\nRenowned Egyptian actor Amr Waked \u2014 Sharif\u2019s co-star in the film \u2014 remembers their trip to Venice vividly, he tells Arab News.<\/p>\n
Omar Sharif, Julie Christie in ‘Doctor Zhivago.’ Getty\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWhen we were leaving, we were on the same flight together to Paris. I can tell you, there wasn\u2019t a single person in either airport that did not stand in respect to Omar Sharif as he was passing,\u201d says Waked.<\/p>\n
\nLebanese filmmaker Daizy Gedeon, who directed Sharif in her film \u201cLebanon… Imprisoned\u00a0 Splendour\u201d in 1996 and continued a friendship with him for years afterwards, was always amazed not only by Sharif\u2019s talent in front of the camera, but his fantastic charisma in everyday life as well \u2014 the mark of a true star.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe loved acting, and he found a way to express the identity of an Arab in a way that people had never really seen,\u201d says Gedeon. \u201cWhen we met over the years across the world, every head in the room would turn, and he would draw the attention of every woman, because, even as he aged, he still looked stunningly handsome. His presence was unlike any other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nEven though Sharif died in 2015 at the age of 83, his legacy is such that he remains a major presence in the world of cinema, both regionally and internationally.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe\u2019s one of those people who didn\u2019t die, actually. His work still lives with us. We all will die before his work,\u201d says Waked. \u201cThere was something inside of him that just glowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThere will be only one Omar Sharif. But we were lucky to get even one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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