Omar Sharif, born Michel Demitri Chalhoub, died at the age of 83. He was perhaps the only Arab actor – Egyptian from Lebanese descent – that reached international stardom without being confined to characters usually reserved to Arabs.
He did, off course, play his fair share of Arab characters – Sherif Ali in
Lawrence of Arabia or Prince Hassan in
Ashanti, among many – but most of his memorable roles were very ethnically diverse, so to speak.
He was a Russian poet in
Doctor Zhivago, an American gambler in
Funny Girl, a Spanish priest in
Behold a Pale Horse, a Mongol leader in
Genghis Khan, an Austrian prince in
Mayerling, a German officer in
Night of the Generals, a German teacher in
The Last Valley, an Armenian king in
The Fall of the Roman Empire, a Soviet diplomat in
The Tamarind Seed, a Mexican outlaw in
Mackenna’s Gold, a British ship captain in
Juggernaut, a Greek police officer in
Le Casse, a South American revolutionary in
Che!, and a very silly French spy in
Top Secret!
Omar Sharif’s exceptionally diverse career shows that the film industry would be well advised to see Arab actors more like actors and less like Arabs.
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| Ashanti (1976) |
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| Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |
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| Doctor Zhivago (1965) |
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Funny Girl (1968)
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| Behold a Pale Horse (1964) |
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| The Last Valley (1970) |
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| Mayerling (1968) |
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| Mackenna’s Gold (1968) |
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Night of the Generals (1967)
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The Tamarind Seed (1974)
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| The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) |
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| Juggernaut (1974) |
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| Le Casse (1971) |
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Che! (1969)
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