Karim Kassem | |
|---|---|
| Born | Karim Ahmed Kassem 8 October 1986 Cairo, Egypt |
| Education | American University in Cairo |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Karim Ahmed Kassem (Arabic: كريم أحمد قاسم, Kareem Ahmad Qassem, Egyptian Arabic: [kæɾˈiːm ʔæːsem], also spelled Karim Assem; born 8 October 1986) is an Egyptian actor.
Biography
Karim was born on 8 October 1986 in Cairo, Egypt. He is a Muslim himself though had a multi-faith religious upbringing celebrating all Jewish, Christian and Muslim holidays as a child. His late mother was Jewish and his father is a Muslim and is from both Islamic and Christian faith heritage. His paternal grandfather was Muslim and his paternal grandmother was a Christian. His maternal grandfather was a Jewish anti-Zionist who refused to immigrate to Israel, believing Zionism to be a "racist" movement.[1][2][3] His maternal grandfather was a prominent Egyptian nationalist.
He is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, where he studied theatre and acted in many of the university's plays.[4] He is trilingual in Egyptian Arabic (also Standard Arabic), French and English.[4]
Discovered in 2006 while taking an acting workshop,[5] he had his cinematic breakthrough in the teen drug film Awqat Faragh meaning "Spare time".[6] Kassem has co-starred with colleague Amr Abed in three of his films.[4]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Translation | Role | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | أوقات فراغ Awqat Faragh |
Leisure Time | Amr | ||
| 2007 | الماجيك el-Magic |
The Magic | Mustafa | ||
| To Each His Own Cinema | Young Youssef Chahine | In 47 ans après (47 Years Later) | |||
| 2009 | بالألوان الطبيعية Bel-Alwan el-Tabe'eya |
True Colors | Youssef | ||
| 2011 | إي.يو.سي E.U.C |
E.U.C | Omar | ||
| 2012 | مصور قتيل Mosawar Qatil |
Snapshot | Guest appearance | ||
| 2014 | The First Line (Promakhos) | Amit | |||
| 2014 | بتوقيت القاهرة Bi-Tawqit al-Qahira |
Cairo Time | Wael | ||
| 2015 | أولاد رزق Awlad Rizq |
Sons of Rizk | Ramadan | ||
| 2016 | كدبة كل يوم Kedbet Koll Youm |
A Lie for Everyday | Seif | ||
| 2017 | سمكة وصنارة Samaka we Senara |
Mostafa | |||
| 2018 | ليل/خارجي Leil/Karegy |
Night/Ext | Mohamed Abdel El-hady (Mo) | ||
| 2019 | أولاد رزق ٢: عودة أسود الأرض Awlad Rizq 2: Awdet Eswood El-Ard |
Sons of Rizk 2: The Return of the Lions of Earth | Ramadan | ||
| Sawah |
Television
| Year | Show | Translation | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | خاص جدا Khas Geddan |
Top Secret | Moataz | |
| 2010 | الجماعة Al-Gama'a |
The Brotherhood | Teymur | |
| 2012 | الهروب el-Horoub |
The Escape | Ahmed Abd El-Naser | |
| 2014 | كلام علي ورق Kalam Ala Waraq |
Words on Paper | Marawan | Starring Haifa Wehbe |
| 2015 | الكابوس el-Kabous |
The Nightmare | Faris | |
| البيوت اسرار el-Beyout Asrar |
Houses of secrets | Seif | ||
| 2017 | شاش في قطن Shash X Qotn |
Gauze in Cotton | Dr. Jean | |
| The State | Abu Akram | Broadcast in Britain by Channel 4 |
Theatre
| Year | Show | Translation | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | قالولي هنا Qalouli Hena |
They Told Me Here | Mime play |
References
- ↑ Egyptian Actor Karim Kassem Reveals His Mother Is Jewish Haaretz. 29 November 2016
- ↑ Egyptian TV star reveals he’s Jewish The Times of Israel. 26 November 2019
- ↑ "Egyptian actor shocks fans after revealing Jewish heritage". The New Arab. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
- 1 2 3 Abedelrahman, Sarah. "AUCian is Egypt's 'best upcoming star'". Caravan. AUC press. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ↑ "Arabic Cinema Database". elcinema.com. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ↑ "IMDb". Retrieved 14 April 2013.
External links