![Image of Omar Sharif](https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w342/fY5azKFkoIGzyzMC51Y0Zrz58ju.jpg)
Michel Dimitri Shalhoub, known as Omar Sharif (Arabic: عمر الشريف), also spelled Omar El-Sherif, born April 10, 1932 in Alexandria and died July 10, 2015 in Cairo, is an Egyptian actor. The son of a precious wood merchant, he grew up in a united Christian family with his parents and his sister. Enrolled at Victoria College, a prestigious British school in Alexandria, the teenager studied science, and foreign languages, and would later discover theater classes. A brilliant student, he continued his studies at Cairo University where he obtained his diploma in mathematics and physics. Caught up in his taste for acting, he was spotted at 21 by director Youssef Chahine who offered him a leading role in Struggle in the Valley (1954). The success was immediate, thanks to this role, the young leading man walked the red carpet of the Croisette at the Cannes Film Festival the same year. He became a star of Egyptian cinema then in full expansion, and collaborated again with Youssef Chahine (The Devil of the Desert, Black Waters). 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, marks 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. In 1955, Omar Sharif married the Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, whom he met on the set of Struggle in the Valley, and for whom he converted to Islam. Their son Tarek was born in 1957. The couple separated when the actor decided to pursue his career in Hollywood. Their divorce was finalized a few years later in 1974. The actor, a polyglot, then began an international career. David Lean offered him a new emblematic role with Doctor Zhivago (1965) in which he played opposite Geraldine Chaplin. His filmography includes more than a hundred films. The actor nevertheless had a more unhappy period on the big screen with some commercial failures (And Came the Day of Vengeance, The Rendezvous, The Horsemen). He returned to success in the 2000s with Monsieur Ibrahim and The Flowers of the Koran by François Dupeyron for which he was awarded the César for Best Actor in 2004. The same year, he starred in Hidalgo by Joe Johnston. Rarer on film sets, in 2009 he accepted the role of a painter suffering from Alzheimer's disease in I Forgot to Tell You alongside Emilie Dequenne. He appeared in his last film, Rock the Casbah by Laïla Marrakchi, in 2012. In May 2015, his son, Tarek El-Sharif, announced in an interview that Omar Sharif had Alzheimer's disease. He died on July 10, 2015 following a heart attack. His funeral took place on July 12, 2015 in a mosque in Cairo and he was buried at the Sayyeda Nefisa cemetery in the south of the city.
Series | Building the Great Pyramid | Unknown | 2025 |
Series | Taht El Wesaya | Yaseen | 2023-03-23 |
Movie | The Crime | 2022-01-05 | |
Series | Finding Ola | 2022-02-03 | |
Series | God Bless Your Home | 2022-04-02 | |
Movie | Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age | Self - Actor (archive footage) | 2021-05-07 |
Movie | Bara El Manhag | 2021-12-09 | |
Movie | Omar Sharif: Citizen of the World | Self - Actor / Various Roles (archive footage) | 2020-02-15 |
Series | TV Story Superstar | Self (archive footage) | 2020-01-23 |
Movie | 1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham | Grandfather | 2015-12-13 |
Movie | Stardust Hollywood - Sternenstaub und Götterwelten | Self | 2013-02-23 |
Movie | A Castle in Italy | Omar Sharif | 2013-10-30 |
Movie | Rock the Casbah | Moulay Hassan | 2013-09-11 |
Movie | Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde | Self | 2011-10-25 |
Movie | J'ai oublié de te dire | Jaume | 2010-03-12 |
Movie | 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift | archival footage | 2010-08-03 |
Series | The Last Templar | Konstantine | 2009-01-25 |
Movie | A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics | Self | 2009-12-20 |
Movie | The Traveller | Hassan | 2009-06-25 |
Movie | La Traversée du désir | Self | 2009-03-16 |
Movie | 10,000 BC | Narrator (voice) | 2008-03-04 |
Movie | Hassan and Marcus | Unknown | 2008-07-03 |
Movie | Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs | Self - Presenter | 2007-09-24 |
Movie | Fred Zinnemann - Der Mann, der 'High Noon' machte | Self | 2007-01-01 |
Series | Hanan W Haneen | Unknown | 2007-06-06 |
Movie | The Coptic Museum | Narrator | 2006-01-01 |
Movie | Fire at My Heart | Principe Nicola | 2006-01-01 |
Series | Kronprinz Rudolf | Hans Canon | 2006-04-30 |
Series | The Ten Commandments | Jethro | 2006-04-10 |
Movie | One Night with the King | Prince Memucan | 2006-10-10 |
Movie | Shaka Zulu: The Citadel | The King | 2005-05-03 |
Series | St. Peter | Pietro | 2005-10-24 |
Movie | St. Peter | San Pietro | 2005-10-24 |
Movie | Hollywood Legenden | Self | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Hidalgo | Sheikh Riyadh | 2004-02-04 |
Movie | Looking for Sophia | Himself | 2004-09-17 |
Movie | Monsieur Ibrahim | Monsieur Ibrahim | 2003-09-17 |
Movie | The Making of 'Lawrence of Arabia' | Self (archive footage) | 2003-09-22 |
Series | Monk | Unknown | 2002-07-12 |
Movie | Pyramid | Nakht (voice) | 2002-10-28 |
Movie | The Parole Officer | Victor | 2001-08-10 |
Movie | Going Public | Unknown | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | The Making of Lawrence of Arabia | Self | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | The 13th Warrior | Melchisidek | 1999-08-13 |
Movie | Cleopatra's Palace: In Search of a Legend | Narrator | 1999-03-14 |
Series | Vivement dimanche | Self | 1998-09-20 |
Movie | Mysteries of Egypt | Grandfather | 1998-01-01 |
Movie | Heaven Before I Die | Khalil Gibran | 1997-01-01 |
Movie | Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt | Narrator | 1996-10-09 |
Series | Gulliver's Travels | Sorcerer | 1996-02-04 |
Movie | Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Self (archive footage) | 1996-04-06 |
Movie | Catherine the Great | Razumovsky | 1996-04-28 |
Series | Viva el lunes | Self | 1995-10-16 |
Movie | The Rainbow Thief | Dima | 1994-01-19 |
Movie | Lie Down with Lions | Safar Khan | 1994-06-12 |
Movie | Laughter, Joy, Work and Love | Unknown | 1993-11-29 |
Movie | 588 rue Paradis | Hagop | 1992-01-14 |
Series | Parabéns | Self | 1992-09-19 |
Movie | Heavenly Sin | Unknown | 1992-10-03 |
Movie | Beyond Justice | Emir Beni-Zair | 1992-12-02 |
Movie | Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris | Marquis Hippolite | 1992-12-27 |
Movie | Desert Law | Emir Beni-Zair | 1991-03-19 |
Movie | Mother | Hagop | 1991-11-27 |
Series | Memories of Midnight | Constantin Demiris | 1991-11-25 |
Movie | Citizen Masrey | Mayor Abdel Razek El-Shershaby | 1991-12-23 |
Movie | Mountains of the Moon | Arab Chief in Cairo (uncredited) | 1990-02-16 |
Movie | Journey of Love | Rico | 1990-12-07 |
Movie | The Puppeteer | Mohamed Gad Al-Karim | 1989-12-18 |
Movie | Keys to Freedom | Jonathan | 1988-01-01 |
Movie | The Possessed | Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky | 1988-02-24 |
Movie | Les pyramides bleues | Alex | 1988-01-02 |
Movie | Grand Larceny | Rashid Saud | 1987-01-01 |
Series | Peter the Great | Prince Feodor Romodanovsky | 1986-02-02 |
Series | Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna | Czar Nicholas II | 1986-12-07 |
Movie | Harem | Sultan Hassan | 1986-02-09 |
Series | Harem | Sultan Hassan | 1986-02-09 |
Movie | David Lean: A Life in Film | Self | 1985-01-01 |
Movie | Vicious Circle | Garcin | 1985-04-28 |
Series | The Mind of David Berglas | Unknown | 1985-12-25 |
Movie | Top Secret! | Agent Cedric | 1984-06-08 |
Series | The Far Pavilions | Koda Dad | 1984-04-22 |
Movie | La Martingale | Alex Joski | 1983-10-13 |
Movie | Ayoub | Ayoub/Abdul Hamid Al-Sukkari | 1983-07-07 |
Series | Wogan | Self | 1982-05-04 |
Series | Champs-Elysées | Self | 1982-01-16 |
Movie | Green Ice | Meno Argenti | 1981-05-21 |
Movie | Inchon | Indian Brigadier | 1981-05-04 |
Movie | S+H+E: Security Hazards Expert | Baron Cesare Magnasco | 1980-02-23 |
Movie | Pleasure Palace | Louie Lefevre | 1980-10-22 |
Movie | Oh! Heavenly Dog | Bart | 1980-07-11 |
Movie | The Baltimore Bullet | The Deacon | 1980-04-01 |
Movie | Ashanti | Prince Hassan | 1979-02-21 |
Movie | Bloodline | Ivo Palazzi | 1979-06-29 |
Series | 30 millions d'amis | Self | 1976-01-06 |
Movie | Crime and Passion | Andre Ferren | 1976-02-06 |
Movie | The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Egyptian Assassin (uncredited) | 1976-12-15 |
Movie | Funny Lady | Nick Arnstein | 1975-03-15 |
Series | Numéro un | Self - Host | 1975-04-05 |
Movie | The Tamarind Seed | Feodor Sverdlov | 1974-07-11 |
Series | Spécial cinéma | Self | 1974-09-25 |
Movie | Juggernaut | Captain Alex Brunel | 1974-09-25 |
Movie | The Mysterious Island | Captain Nemo | 1973-03-17 |
Series | Mysterious Island | Captain Nemo | 1973-12-17 |
Series | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self | 1973-04-02 |
Series | Le Grand Échiquier | Self | 1972-01-12 |
Movie | The Right to Love | Pierre | 1972-08-15 |
Series | Samedi soir | Self | 1971-01-09 |
Movie | The Last Valley | Vogel | 1971-01-28 |
Movie | The Horsemen | Uraz | 1971-08-16 |
Movie | The Burglars | Abel Zacharia | 1971-10-27 |
Series | V.I.P. Schaukel | Self | 1971-05-09 |
Series | Cadet Rousselle | Self | 1971-11-04 |
Series | الحب الضائع | عمر | 1969-01-01 |
Movie | The Appointment | Federico Fendi | 1969-05-22 |
Movie | Mackenna's Gold | Colorado | 1969-03-18 |
Movie | Che! | Che Guevara | 1969-06-27 |
Movie | Mayerling | Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria | 1968-10-31 |
Movie | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein | 1968-09-19 |
Movie | The Night of the Generals | Major Grau | 1967-01-29 |
Movie | More Than a Miracle | Prince Rodrigo Fernandez | 1967-10-19 |
Movie | The Poppy Is Also a Flower | Dr. Rad | 1966-05-20 |
Movie | The Car That Became a Star | Davich (archiveFootage) | 1965-01-01 |
Movie | Zhivago: Behind the Camera with David Lean | Self | 1965-01-01 |
Movie | Genghis Khan | Genghis Khan / Temujin | 1965-04-15 |
Movie | Pasternak | Himself | 1965-12-31 |
Movie | Moscow in Madrid | Self | 1965-12-31 |
Movie | Marco the Magnificent | Sheik Alla Hou | 1965-08-06 |
Movie | Doctor Zhivago | Dr. Yuri Zhivago | 1965-12-22 |
Movie | The Mamluks | Ahmed | 1965-10-04 |
Movie | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Sohamus | 1964-03-24 |
Movie | Behold a Pale Horse | Francisco | 1964-08-14 |
Series | Die Drehscheibe | Self | 1964-04-01 |
Movie | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Davich | 1964-12-31 |
Movie | Lawrence of Arabia | Sherif Ali | 1962-12-11 |
Movie | A Man in Our House | Ibrahim Mohammed | 1961-04-17 |
Movie | I Love My Master | Unknown | 1961-02-13 |
Movie | Agony of Love | Unknown | 1960-10-01 |
Movie | Eshaet Hob | Hussein | 1960-11-21 |
Movie | My Only Love | Adel | 1960-10-03 |
Movie | A Beginning and an Ending | Hassanein | 1960-10-31 |
Movie | The River of Love | Khalid | 1960-11-12 |
Movie | We the Students | Unknown | 1959-01-02 |
Movie | Rendezvous with a Stranger | Magdi | 1959-01-01 |
Movie | For the Sake of a Woman | شكري زدحمد | 1959-03-16 |
Movie | Scandal in Zamalek | Unknown | 1959-01-23 |
Movie | Goha | Goha | 1959-05-06 |
Movie | Struggle on the Nile | Muhassab | 1959-10-18 |
Movie | Beach of Secrets | Mamduh Ezzat | 1958-02-03 |
Movie | Sayedat el kasr | Adel | 1958-11-17 |
Movie | Ghaltet Habibi | Salah | 1958-04-14 |
Movie | Land of Peace | Ahmed | 1957-01-02 |
Movie | Sleepless | Aziz | 1957-10-31 |
Movie | Dark Waters | Ragab | 1956-01-16 |
Series | Cinépanorama | Self | 1956-02-04 |
Movie | The Lebanese Mission | Mokrir | 1956-09-12 |
Movie | Our Best Days | Ahmad | 1955-03-07 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1955-07-29 |
Movie | The Blazing Sun | Ahmed | 1954-03-01 |
Movie | The Devil of the Desert | Essam | 1954-12-27 |
Series | The Oscars | Self | 1953-03-19 |
Series | Bambi Awards | Self | 1948-01-01 |