Ashraf Barhom

Ashraf Barhom (born 1979) is an Israeli Arab actor from Tarshiha, in Galilee, Israel. He has starred in Paradise Now and The Syrian Bride. In 2007, he gained critical recognition for appearing alongside Jamie Foxx in the movie The Kingdom as Col. Faris Al-Ghazi. He has since appeared in such Israeli films as Ahava Colombianit (Colombian Love) and Lebanon. He is also notable for starring in Agora, portraying the 5th century AD Alexandrian parabalani monk Ammonius, in the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans as the bounty hunter Ozal, and in Ralph Fiennes' 2011 adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. --- Barhom grew up in Galilee in a small village called Tarshiha. He participated in many school plays before attending the University of Haifa, where he graduated with a B.A. in Theatre and Arts. He has three sisters. Of his ethnic heritage, Barhom has said: "When we attach ourselves to national identities, then we enter into a cycle of conflict. I didn't choose where I was born or who to be or what people would call me. I'm a hybrid, from a cultural perspective, but I don't think in these terms. I'm more simple than that. I'm a mammal who will live 70 years more or less, who believes in God and likes his life."