Amr Waked facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amr Waked
عمرو واكد
Waked at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
Born	(1973-04-12) April 12, 1973 (age 52) Maadi, Egypt
Alma mater	American University in Cairo
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Notable work	Syriana Lucy House of Saddam
Spouse(s)	Sarah Shaheen ​ (m. 2015)​

Amr Waked (Arabic: عمرو واكد Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʕɑm.ɾe.wæːked]; born (1973-04-12)April 12, 1973) is an actor from Egypt. He has starred in many films, TV shows, and plays. He is well-known around the world, especially in Hollywood. People often recognize him from the 2005 movie Syriana.

He also played a Yemeni sheikh named Muhammad in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Another famous role was Pierre Del Rio in Luc Besson's Lucy. He also played Farouk Hassan in the TV series Ramy. Since October 2017, Amr Waked has been living in Spain. He is not able to return to Egypt because of comments he made on social media.

Acting Career

Amr Waked's first big role was in the 2002 film Ashab wallah business. In this movie, he played a character named Gehad. Many people thought he was actually a Palestinian actor because he played the role so well.

His first main role was as Ahmed in Deil el Samaka (The Fish's Tail) in 2003. In 2005, he worked with famous actor George Clooney in the movie Syriana. For this role, he won a special award in 2006 at the Cairo International Film Festival. This award was for Arabs in International Cinema.

In 2007, Waked joined the TV show Lahazat Harega (Critical Moments). He filmed 32 episodes for the first season of this show.

In 2008, Amr Waked joined the cast of the BBC/HBO TV series House of Saddam. He played Saddam Hussein's son-in-law, Hussein Kamel. Some people in Egypt criticized him for taking a role in Wonder Woman 1984. This was because the movie starred Israeli actress Gal Gadot.

In 2009, Waked helped host the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival. He also returned to the TV show Lahazat Harega in 2010. He acted alongside Hollywood stars like Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow in the 2011 film Contagion.

He also co-starred in the British film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen with Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, and Kristin Scott Thomas. In 2014, he was in Lucy with Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson.

Since 2019, Waked has played Farouk Hassan, the father of the main character, on the Hulu series Ramy. In 2021, Amr Waked hosted a web series called Decoded (Dahaleez). He hosted it in both Arabic and English. This show won a Telly Award in 2022.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theater

• 1992, Afareet Hamza We Fatma as Hamza
• 1992, Vinegar Tom as The Devil
• 1993, Crimes Of The Heart as Doc
• 1993, Al Ghaba Al Saeeda as The Fox
• 1994, Tales From Agabad as Hero
• 1994, Compass Berserk as Montigu
• 1994, The Bus as Ahmed
• 1995, Oedipus The President as Prometheus
• 2000, Al Ze'ab Yohaddid Al Madinah as The Journalist
• 2002, Shabab Rewish Tahn as Ahmed

Awards and Recognition

Amr Waked has won several awards for his acting:

• 1999, he won a special award from Film Writers and Critics at the Alexandria International Film Festival.
• 1999, he also won Best Supporting Actor at the Alexandria International Film Festival for Gannat al shayateen.
• 2003, he won Best Actor at the Alexandria International Film Festival for Dail el samakah.
• 2006, he received a Special Award for Arabs in International Cinema at the Cairo International Film Festival for Syriana.
• 2006, he won the Horus Award for Best Supporting Actor at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema for Dam el ghazal.
• 2010, he won Best Supporting Actor at the Dear Guest Festival for Ibrahim Labyad.
• 2010, he also won Best Actor for a Second Role at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema for Ibrahim Labyad.
• 2013, he won Best Actor at the Dubai Film Festival for the Egyptian movie Winter of Discontent.

See also

In Spanish: Amr Waked para niños

• Cinema of Egypt
• List of Egyptian films of the 2000s