Amr Waked

Amr Waked is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor, known for his roles portraying Middle Eastern and Mediterranean characters. He is best known to international audiences and in Hollywood as the terrorist leader in the 2005 film Syriana (2005). He also played the role of Rafik in Steven Soderbergh's movie Contagion and Yemeni Sheikh Muhammad in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. --- Waked was born on April 12, 1973. He is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, and has performed in theatre from 1992 through 2002. He originally just moonlighted as an actor, and relied on his day job as a stock trader, before finally dedicating himself to a career as an actor. Waked joined the 2011 Egypt anti-government protests. Waked's first ever major role was in Ashab wallah business (2002), for which reviewers offered that he portrayed the role of "Gehad " so well that many viewers left the theater believing he was actually a Palestinian actor, rather than Egyptian. His first lead role was as Ahmed in Deil el Samaka (The Fish's tail) (2003), and in 2005 he worked alongside George Clooney in the film Syriana, for which in 2006 he won a 'Special Award for Arabs in The International Cinema' at the Cairo International Film Festival. Waked joined the cast of the Egyptian television series "Lahazat Harega" "Critical Moments" in 2007, shooting 32 episodes for season one.