Name
Ahmed Zaki
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1949-11-18
Deathday
2005-03-27 (56 years old)
Place of Birth
Zagazig, Egypt
Biography
Ahmed Zaki (November 18, 1949 - March 27, 2005) was a leading Egyptian film actor who was characterized by his talent, skill, and ability to impersonate. Dubbed "The Emperor", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest male actors in the Arab world. Zaki has starred in six films that have been listed in the Top 100 Egyptian films.
Ahmed Zaki was born to a poor family in Sharqia, Egypt. His father died a few years after his birth, his mother remarried, and he was brought up to live with his grandfather. Zaki fell in love with acting when he was still in school, his headmaster saw his creative ability and pushed him to follow his passion. He would later travel to Cairo and earn his degree from the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in 1974. While studying, he first debuted in the stage play Hello Shalaby (1969). He also starred in very successful comedy plays such as School of Mischief (1973) and No Longer Kids (1979). Early in his career, he struggled with producers and directors as they believed he did not have the appearance to appeal to audiences. When he got objected by the film distributor to star in Al Karnak (1975) after he was cast as the character Ismail, he entered a severe depression. He did not overcome it until after poet and playwright Salah Jahin supported him, as Jahin was convinced of his talent and would later write films and a TV show Zaki starred in.
Many of his films had a strong political message that exposed governmental and police corruption. Two of his greatest successes were playing Egypt's presidents in two popular movies that became landmarks of Arabic cinema. He played Gamal Abdel Nasser in Nasser 56 (1996) and Anwar Sadat in Days of Sadat (2001). He also portrayed other prominent Egyptian figures such as writer Taha Hussien. Zaki was a method actor who immersed himself profoundly in his roles, absorbing every aspect of the character he was portraying whether he was fictional or real in origin. In 1983, he married actress Hala Fouad but the marriage did not last. She gave birth to his only son Haitham Zaki in 1984, who would also grow up to be an actor until his sudden and tragic death in 2019. His former wife died in 1993 after a battle with breast cancer.
He was a known heavy smoker. In 2005, Ahmed Zaki died of lung cancer during the shooting of Sherif Arafa's biography Halim (2006), in which he portrayed the legendary singer Abdel Halim Hafez, a role he's always dreamed to play. His son Haitham was roped in to fill the scenes and play the lead on behalf of his father. Years after his passing, he is remembered with great reverence and fondness within the film industry and outside it, his contributions seen as monumental by his contemporaries as well as the generations that followed.
Known For
8.467
In a high school plagued by five unruly students who have failed to graduate for over a de...
6.517
Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, 18-year-old Yehia retreats ...
7.086
A police officer is chosen in the late 1960s for a unique and lifelong mission: to infiltr...
7.188
A philosophy teacher finds himself and his ethics surrounded by a corrupt society, and as ...
7.524
A simple minded peasant was recruited in the Egyptian army where he was deceived to believ...
7.917
After a crash, a group of passengers are stranded in the desert. They attempt to cope with...
7.2
The film puts the lights on the struggle of youngsters to afford a proper life for marriag...
6.1
An Egyptian goes to Germany to work in a factory and become a boxing legend called black t...
7.867
A biopic depicting the life of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, following his earl...
7.9
When Mona marries the seemingly decent police officer Hisham, she finds out there is more ...
- 1984 Jail Cell as Magdy
- 1979 No Longer Kids as Kamal
- 1974 Bedour as Saeed
- 1973 The School of Mischief as Ahmed
- 1977 Star Maker as Mamdouh
- 1972 My Son as عصفور
- 1969 Hello Shalaby as راضي
- 1969 Cairo in a Thousand Years
- Soon Victims Hotel
- 1993 Mr. Karate as صلاح عبدالراضى
- 1984 Black Tiger as Mohammad Hasan Al Masri
- 1993 Al Basha as Hazem El-Shennawy
- 1995 The Third Man
- 1991 The Escape as Montaser Abdel Ghaffar
- 2001 Days of El Sadat as Anwar El Sadat
- 2000 Land of Fear as Yehia / Adam
- 1988 Dreams of Hind and Camilia as Eid
- 1992 Against the Government as Mustafa Khalaf
- 1986 The Beginning as Adel
- 1990 The Egg and the Stone as Mustataa Al-Taazi
- 1974 Sons of Silence as Mahmoud
- 1981 A Dinner Date as شكري
- 1978 Shafiqa and Metwally as متولي
- 1981 Sleepless Eyes as Ismail
- 1988 The Wife of an Important Man as Hisham Abu Al-Wafa
- 1986 Market of The Fish as Ahmed Abo Kamel
- 1986 Love Above Pyramid's Plateau
- 1991 The Shepherd and the Women as حسن عبدالراضي
- 1987 Four On An Official Mission as Anwar Abdel Mawla
- 1981 A Bird on the Road as Fares
- 1986 The Innocent as Ahmad Saba' Al Lail
- 1979 Alexandria… Why? as Ibrahim
- 1996 Nasser 56 as Gamal Abdel Nasser
- 1987 The Bey Doorman as Abdel Samea
- 1984 Albarnas as Yousef Osman
- 1984 The Dancer & the Drummer
- 1997 The Champion as Mahmoud (Houda Kalawi)
- 1982 Houseboat No. 70 as Ahmed Al-Shazly
- 2006 Halim as عبدالحليم حافظ
- 1990 The Emperor as Zeinhom
- 2002 His Excellency the Minister as Ra'fat Rostom
- 1980 Al-Batniyya as Safrout
- 1983 Alley of Love as Abdulaziz
- 1998 Smile, The Photo Comes Out Better as Sayed Gharib
- 1996 Hysteria as Zein
- 1990 Kaborya as Hassan Hudhud
- 1996 Abo Dahab
- 1996 Lobster as Abbas Al-Antil
- 1993 The Lady's Driver as حماده
- 1990 One Woman Is Not Enough as Hossam Mounir
- 1997 Hassan Ellol as Hassan Ragheb Al-Minshawi (Hassan Al-Loul)
- 1996 An Affair as Salah
- 1989 Welad Eleih as Zaki Al-Homsani
- 1988 The Third Class as Suroor
- 1973 The Troublemakers as سيد
- 1981 I'm Not Lying, I'm Sugar Coating as Ibrahim Saleh
- 1984 The promised night
- 1983 The Addict as Khaled Abdel Hamid
- 1983 Precausion is Mandatory as حسان
- 1991 Al Makhtufa as Hussein
- 1978 Waraa Al-Shams as Essam عصام
- 1985 Saad the Orphan
- 1978 Life is a Moment as عبدالعزيز سراج
- 1982 The Bloody Destiny as Kheir خير
- 1981 The Man Who Lost His Memory Twice ( 7 episodes ) as رأفت الجوهري/حمدي عبدالرحيم/سامي عبدالرحيم/فرج
- 1979 The Days ( 13 episodes )
- 1979 إصلاحية جبل الليمون ( 1 episode )
- 1985 He and She Stories ( 10 episodes )
- Soon Men Agl Walady ( 0 episode )
- 1980 الصراع ( 16 episodes ) as مهران
- 1978 بستان الشوك ( 1 episode ) as Mourad
