Marwan Kenzari facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marwan Kenzari
Kenzari in 2013
Born	(1983-01-16) 16 January 1983 (age 42) The Hague, Netherlands
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present

Marwan Kenzari (born January 16, 1983) is a Dutch actor. He started his acting career in 2008. He became well-known for his role in the 2013 film Wolf. For this movie, he won a special award called a Golden Calf for Best Actor.

Since 2016, Marwan has acted in many English-language films. These include Aladdin (2019), The Old Guard (2020), and Black Adam (2022). These roles helped him become famous around the world.

Early Life and Education

Where Marwan Grew Up

Marwan Kenzari was born on January 17, 1983. His birthplace was The Hague, Netherlands. His family came from Tunisia. His father worked in construction, and his mother was a homemaker.

How He Started Acting

As a teenager, Marwan loved playing football. But then, a girl he was dating signed them up for an audition. It was for the Dutch version of the musical Chicago. This was his first step into acting.

Learning to Act

In 2009, Marwan finished his studies at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. After graduating, he joined a theater group called Toneelgroep Amsterdam. This group allowed him to travel and perform in many cities. He toured in places like Moscow, London, Vienna, and New York City.

Acting Career Highlights

Early Roles and Awards

Marwan Kenzari began acting in Dutch films and TV shows in 2008. In 2013, he won a Golden Calf for Best Actor. This award was for his role in the film Wolf. He trained for more than a year to play the part of a kickboxer named Majid.

His strong performance in Wolf was praised by critics. A magazine called Variety even named him an "International Star You Should Know." In 2014, Marwan also won a Shooting Stars Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Becoming an International Star

In 2016, Marwan appeared in several English-language movies. These included Collide, Ben-Hur, and The Promise. Because of these roles, The Hollywood Reporter listed him as one of the "15 International Breakout Talents of 2016."

In 2019, Marwan played the famous villain Jafar. This was in Disney's live-action movie Aladdin. This role made him known all over the world. Many people even called him "hot Jafar."

In July 2020, Marwan starred in The Old Guard. He played one of the main heroes in this film. In February 2021, he was chosen to play Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac. This character was in the 2022 movie Black Adam. He also had a small role in the Netflix show The Night Agent in 2025.

He also played a real-life officer named Raymond Westerling in the 2020 film The East. This movie was available on Amazon Prime Video.

Personal Life

Marwan Kenzari is very good with languages. He can speak Arabic, Dutch, English, and French.

Filmography

Movies Marwan Kenzari Has Been In

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Note
2008	Katia's Sister	Giac
2009	The Last Days of Emma Blank	Martin
2010	Loft	Tom Fenneker
2011	Rabat	Zakaria
2012	Black Out	Youssef
2013	Wolf	Majid Zamari
2014	Hartenstraat	Daan
	Accused	Det. Ron Leeflang
	Reckless	Rico
	Gift from the Heart	Richard
2016	Collide	Matthias
	Ben-Hur	Druses
	The Promise	Emre Ogan
2017	The Mummy	Malik
	What Happened to Monday	Adrian Knowles
	Murder on the Orient Express	Pierre Michel
2018	The Angel	Ashraf Marwan
2019	Aladdin	Jafar
	Instinct	Idris
2020	The Old Guard	Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe
	De Oost	Raymond Westerling
2022	Black Adam	Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac
2023	Ghosted	Marco
2024	The Return	Antinous
2025	The Old Guard 2	Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe
TBA	Any Other Night	Max	Pre-production

TV Shows Marwan Kenzari Has Been In

Awards and Nominations

Awards Marwan Kenzari Has Won

See also

In Spanish: Marwan Kenzari para niños