Omar Sharif: Movies, Awards & Box Office

Omar Sharif (born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub on 10 April 1932 in Alexandria, then part of the Kingdom of Egypt) was an Egyptian actor and internationally acclaimed bridge player whose career spanned more than five decades and over one hundred films. He began in Egyptian cinema in the mid‑1950s, quickly becoming one of the country’s leading stars with roles in The Blazing Sun, Sleepless and A Rumor of Love, before his breakthrough on the world stage with David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) where his portrayal of Sherif Ali earned him an Academy Award nomination and two Golden Globe awards. Two years later he headlined another Lean masterpiece, Doctor Zhivago (1965), winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor and cementing his reputation as a versatile romantic lead who could convey deep emotion across languages; he spoke Arabic, English, French, Italian and Spanish fluently. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he appeared in a diverse mix of Hollywood, European and Arabic productions, including Funny Girl, The Tamarind Seed, Che! and The Mamelukes, often playing exotic or historical figures that highlighted his ambiguous ethnicity. In addition to his screen work, Sharif was a passionate horse‑racing enthusiast and a top‑ranked contract bridge player, founding the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus in the 1960s and authoring several bridge books. He received numerous civil honors such as the Egyptian Order of Merit, France’s Legion of Honour and the UNESCO Sergei Eisenstein Medal for his contributions to cultural diversity. After a brief decline in the 1980s and 1990s, he returned to critical acclaim with the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003), winning the César Award for Best Actor. His final screen appearance came in 2015, the year of his death, following a life marked by artistic triumph, linguistic brilliance, and a legacy that made him the first Arab star to conquer Hollywood.