This month, the AFI Catalog shines a spotlight on the illustrious Egyptian actor Omar Sharif, who would have celebrated his 93rd birthday on April 10. Known as one of the first and most prominent Arab actors to achieve stardom in Hollywood,[i] Sharif performed in over 100 American and international films including LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), his breakout role, for which he earned an Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Other stellar performances included leading roles in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) and FUNNY GIRL (1968) with Barbra Streisand in her first feature film. At a time in which derogatory racial stereotypes of Arab characters were pervasive in Hollywood, Omar Sharif presented a compelling alternative as a sophisticated, debonair gentleman who defied typecasting.[ii] He remained an indelible icon throughout his life and was honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for his profound contribution to promoting cultural diversity, just a decade before his death in 2015.[iii] UNESCO’s Sergei Eisenstein Medal, which has been bestowed upon on only 25 recipients, reflected Sharif’s achievement in advancing discourses around representation and equity in the film industry.
Born with the name Maechel Chalhoub to a prosperous family in Alexandria, Egypt, Sharif was raised Catholic and attended an Egypt-based British boarding school where he honed an appreciation for French literature, theater and foreign cultures – he became fluent in six languages by the time he reached adulthood. During Sharif’s youth, Egypt was known as “the Hollywood on the Nile” for being the epicenter of the Arab film market and Sharif was eager to find his place in the burgeoning industry, even though it was generally regarded as artless by the upper class.[iv] In 1954, Sharif was “discovered” by director Youssef Chahine, who cast the young performer opposite Islamic starlet Faten Hamama in SIRAA FIL-WADI (THE BLAZING SUN). Although it was unthinkable in 1950s Egypt for a Catholic to marry a Muslim, the two actors fell in love and Sharif converted to Islam so they could wed. He also formally changed his name at this time, as he was reticent to cast a shadow on his family name by engaging in the movie business.[v] Sharif and Hamama continued to star in Egyptian films together, with Hamama elevating her new husband into an iconic status as Egypt’s premier leading man, and the two bore a son, Tarek.
Sharif may have continued to work solely in Egypt if not for a chance change of casting in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. During production, director David Lean noticed that the French actor hired to play the character Sherif Ali had green eyes, and took issue with the fact that this color did not contrast enough with Peter O’Toole’s signature blue eyes.[vi] [vii] Lean initiated a casting call for Arab actors and soon brought on Sharif in his first role in an international picture. With an Oscar® nomination and two Golden Globe Awards (Best Supporting Actor and Best New Actor), Sharif was catapulted into widespread recognition at age 30 and secured a seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures (earning only £8,000 per film).[viii] [ix] Deemed “exotic” by Hollywood, Sharif was the go-to actor to play leading men of various ethnic backgrounds, including the title roles in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965) – for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor – GENGHIS KAHN (1965), and CHE! (1969) as Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, among many others.[x]
While Sharif became a worldwide sensation living abroad, he was unable to bridge the distance to Egypt and his marriage disintegrated. He was romantically associated with various women, most notably Barbra Streisand during the making of her film debut FUNNY GIRL (1968), which garnered an Oscar® for Best Actress. In the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War in the Middle East, the relationship between Sharif and a Jewish star (Streisand) was deemed not only adulterous but a political threat to Egypt, and Sharif was accused of being an Israeli spy.[xi] Still, Sharif maintained his Egyptian nationality, even though he was unable to travel to his homeland for many years. A consummate bachelor, Sharif made his home in French hotel rooms and took up the game of bridge, becoming one of the world’s premier players, and developed a passion for gambling and horse racing. During times when he lost money in high-stakes bets, he would accept well-paying roles in B-movies such as OH HEAVENLY DOG (1980) and TOP SECRET! (1984) to replenish his bank account.[xii] Sharif also wrote several books and a syndicated column about bridge that ran in hundreds of newspapers, as well as an autobiography, “The Eternal Male” (1976).
In 2003, Sharif made a comeback, starring in the French film MONSIEUR IBRAHIM, for which he won France’s highest honor in cinema, a César Award, for Best Actor. The movie tells the story of a Jewish boy who befriends a Muslim shopkeeper, and it gave Sharif the opportunity to share his humanistic values of religious freedom, tolerance and the need for peace in the Middle East.[xiii] (MONSIEUR IBRAHIM made its U.S. premier at AFI FEST during a retrospective tribute to Sharif.)[xiv] Over time, the French government refused to continue renewing Sharif’s tourist visa and he returned to Cairo, where he inhabited a room in the Semiramis Hotel, overlooking Tahrir Square. There, in 2011, he witnessed the birth of a new Egyptian Revolution and was uplifted by the power of the younger generations to advocate for change. Sharif was always a proponent for human rights, according to Sharif’s grandson and namesake, who came out as gay in an op-ed article that went viral.[xv] While Omar Sharif, Jr.’s declaration was met with death threats in Egypt, the elder Sharif quickly and publicly came to his grandson’s defense.
Continuing to accept roles in Egyptian and French films, Sharif spent his later years battling Alzheimer’s disease but refused to admit he was losing his photographic memory and denied treatment. Upon his death from a heart attack in 2015, Sharif left behind what his son Tarek described as just enough belongings to fit into two suitcases.[xvi] A self-professed “citizen of the world” and a polyglot, Sharif famously claimed to have no mother tongue and felt more comfortable with the life of a nomad, moving between film sets and hotel rooms instead of settling down in one home, or in one country.[xvii] Although Sharif had a public persona as a lothario and a reputation for losing his temper, he was also quite modest.[xviii] He attributed his success not to his talent but to a series of lucky breaks and reported to have truly loved only one woman, his former wife Faten Hamama, who died six months before him. Sharif maintained close relationships with his son and grandchildren, particularly toward the end of his life. As a man who knew no borders, Sharif and his diverse movie roles came to represent the possibilities for universal empathy and compassion in a world far too often at war.
