Omar Sharif - Movies, Bio & Filmography

Meet Omar Sharif

★ Acting🎥 126 films📺 39 TV shows📅 1944–2022🔥 2

Also known as: Омар Шариф, Michel Dimitri Chalhoub, عمر الشريف, Omar El Sherif...

Born in Alexandria, Egypt

1932-04-10 (age 83 at death)

Died 2015-07-10

Omar Sharif (April 10, 1932 - July 10, 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. The son of a precious wood merchant, he grew up in a united Christian family of Syrian and Lebanese descent with his parents and his sister. Enrolled at Victoria College, a prestigious British school in Alexandria, the teenager studied science and foreign languages and later discovered theater classes. A brilliant student, he continued his studies at Cairo University, where he obtained his diploma in mathematics and physics. He later converted to Islam to marry Egyptian actress Faten Hamama.

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, marked 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.From Wikipedia
Omar Sharif (born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as his country's greatest male film star. He began his career in Egypt in the early 1950s. He is best known for his appearances in American, British, French, and Italian productions, and has been described as "the first Egyptian and Arab to conquer Hollywood". His career encompassed over 100 films spanning 50 years, and brought him many accolades including three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award for Best Actor.
Sharif played opposite Peter O'Toole as Sherif Ali in the David Lean epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and portrayed the title role in Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965), earning him the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He continued to play romantic leads in films like Funny Girl (1968) and The Tamarind Seed (1974) and historical figures like the eponymous characters in Genghis Khan (1965), The Mamelukes (1965), and Che! (1969). His acting career continued well into old age, with a well-received turn as a Muslim Turkish immigrant in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). Sharif made his final film appearance in 2015, the year of his death. 
Sharif spoke five languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian and Spanish. He bridled at travel restrictions imposed by the government of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s. He was a lifelong horse racing enthusiast, and at one time ranked among the world's top contract bridge players. He was the recipient of high civil honors from multiple countries, including the Egyptian Order of Merit and the French Legion of Honour. He was one of only 25 grantees of UNESCO's Sergei Eisenstein Medal, in recognition of his significant contributions to world film and cultural diversity.
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