Ahmed Zaki
Ahmed Zaki (November 18, 1949 - March 27, 2005) was a leading Egyptian film actor who was characterized by his talent, skill, and ability to impersonate. Dubbed "The Emperor", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest male actors in the Arab world. Zaki has starred in six films that have been listed in the Top 100 Egyptian films.
Ahmed Zaki was born to a poor family in Sharqia, Egypt. His father died a few years after his birth, his mother remarried, and he was brought up to live with his grandfather. Zaki fell in love with acting when he was still in school, his headmaster saw his creative ability and pushed him to follow his passion. He would later travel to Cairo and earn his degree from the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in 1974. While studying, he first debuted in the stage play Hello Shalaby (1969). He also starred in very successful comedy plays such as School of Mischief (1973) and No Longer Kids (1979). Early in his career, he struggled with producers and directors as they believed he did not have the appearance to appeal to audiences. When he got objected by the film distributor to star in Al Karnak (1975) after he was cast as the character Ismail, he entered a severe depression. He did not overcome it until after poet and playwright Salah Jahin supported him, as Jahin was convinced of his talent and would later write films and a TV show Zaki starred in.
Many of his films had a strong political message that exposed governmental and police corruption. Two of his greatest successes were playing Egypt's presidents in two popular movies that became landmarks of Arabic cinema. He played Gamal Abdel Nasser in Nasser 56 (1996) and Anwar Sadat in Days of Sadat (2001). He also portrayed other prominent Egyptian figures such as writer Taha Hussien. Zaki was a method actor who immersed himself profoundly in his roles, absorbing every aspect of the character he was portraying whether he was fictional or real in origin. In 1983, he married actress Hala Fouad but the marriage did not last. She gave birth to his only son Haitham Zaki in 1984, who would also grow up to be an actor until his sudden and tragic death in 2019. His former wife died in 1993 after a battle with breast cancer.
He was a known heavy smoker. In 2005, Ahmed Zaki died of lung cancer during the shooting of Sherif Arafa's biography Halim (2006), in which he portrayed the legendary singer Abdel Halim Hafez, a role he's always dreamed to play. His son Haitham was roped in to fill the scenes and play the lead on behalf of his father. Years after his passing, he is remembered with great reverence and fondness within the film industry and outside it, his contributions seen as monumental by his contemporaries as well as the generations that followed.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 13.367 |
Birthday | 1949-11-18 |
Place of Birth | Zagazig, Egypt |
Also Known As | أحمد زكي, |
1979
No Longer Kids
7.7/14
The play tells the story of four siblings trying to stop their father from leaving his family for another woman after one of them accidentally finds a...
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No Longer Kids
1973
The School of Mischief
8.6/20
This play takes place in a school that consists of five rebellious students grouped together in one class, who have failed, for over a decade, to grad...
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The School of Mischief
1990
The Egg and the Stone
7/11
A philosophy teacher finds himself and his ethics surrounded by a corrupt society, and as he's mistaken for an exorcist and fortune-teller. He uses lo...
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The Egg and the Stone
1988
The Wife of an Important Man
8/25
When Mona marries the seemingly decent police officer Hisham, she finds out there is more into him than what he shows to the people.
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The Wife of an Important Man
1981
A Dinner Date
7.7/7
This movie revolves around the story of an innocent girl (Nawal) who was married to a rich and possessive man who still wants her back after their div...
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A Dinner Date
1978
Shafiqa and Metwally
6.7/3
The authorities summon many young men for forced labor in the Suez Canal, so Metwally leaves his sister Shafiqa alone with their old grandfather, wher...
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Shafiqa and Metwally
1986
Love Above Pyramid's Plateau
7.1/9
The film puts the lights on the struggle of youngsters to afford a proper life for marriage. Through their small incomes, and the ordeal of finding a...
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Love Above Pyramid's Plateau
2001
Days of El Sadat
8.1/11
A biopic depicting the life of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, following his early life, his political and military achievements, and his ass...
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Days of El Sadat
1981
Sleepless Eyes
4.5/3
Ibrahim, the owner of a large car workshop, marries a poor girl called Mahasen, which his brothers fear because of their fear of sharing their inherit...
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Sleepless Eyes
1984
Black Tiger
6.9/7
An Egyptian goes to Germany to work in a factory and become a boxing legend called black tiger.
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Black Tiger
1987
Four on an Official Mission
5.667/3
Anwar Abdel Mawla is an employee working in a government agency, his life changes when he takes an official mission to hand over a heritage to the hou...
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Four on an Official Mission
1993
Mr. Karate
5.4/8
Salah moves to Cairo to work as a guard in a garage and falls in love with Nadia, who works at a video store. He is obsessed with the films she has at...
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Mr. Karate
1979
Alexandria… Why?
6.2/18
Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, 18-year-old Yehia retreats into a private world of fantasy and longing. Obsessed with H...
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Alexandria… Why?
1992
Against the Government
8.25/8
After being fired by the prosecution office, Mostafa becomes a personal injury lawyer and takes advantage of people's pain for profit. But his life tu...
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Against the Government
1995
The Third Man
0/0
(Kamal Hussain) is a fighter pilot discharged from military service. After his wife leaves him, he works on a helicopter in an oil company. A big drug...
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The Third Man
1981
A Bird on the Road
8/3
Faris works as a regional car driver, and he loves Esmat who works in a garment shop. Ismail is the personal driver to wealthy man Gad, he asks Faris...
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A Bird on the Road
1993
Al Basha
7/2
A police officer finds himself worthless as he soon realizes there's no way he could put an end to a businessman associated with running a prostitutio...
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Al Basha
1991
The Escape
6.9/12
Ahmed Zaki plays a peasant, Mountasir, who gets involved in a criminal racket run by his friend Midhat. Mountasir is betrayed by Midhat and goes to ja...
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The Escape
1974
Sons of Silence
0/0
As the war of attrition with Israel reaches its peak, and while Magdy is waging his war on the front, his journalist fiancée is waging a brutal war ag...
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Sons of Silence
2000
Land of Fear
6.605/19
A story about a police officer who was assigned to a secret mission as an undercover drug dealer, with the license to kill, deal in drugs, and do what...
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Land of Fear
1988
Dreams of Hind and Camilia
6.6/11
Hend is a young widow who works as a maid, she meets Eid the conman who goes to prison and leaves her pregnant. While Camellia is a divorced maid who...
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Dreams of Hind and Camilia
1986
The Beginning
7.9/7
After a crash, a group of passengers are stranded in the desert. They attempt to cope with their new conditions as the most privileged of them all, an...
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The Beginning
1986
The Innocent
7.3/15
A simple minded peasant was recruited in the Egyptian army where he was deceived to believe that political activists are his homeland enemies, but not...
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The Innocent
1991
The Shepherd and the Women
5.8/5
Looking for shelter and work after his release from prison,hassan visit a widow, her daughter and sister in law in remote lonesome country side, becau...
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The Shepherd and the Women
1986
Market of The Fish
5.1/4
A widow bullied by traders in the fish market from further commercial aims after the death of her husband,a worker stand by her side and help then mar...
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Market of The Fish
1996
Nasser 56
6.4/7
Nasser 56 is a 1996 Egyptian historical film directed by Mohamed Fadel, starring Ahmed Zaki. The film focuses on the nationalization of the Suez Canal...
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Nasser 56
1987
The Bey Doorman
6.4/8
Abdel Samea goes to Egypt with his wife and children looking for a job so he works as a doorman, and by being smart he works as a broker until he make...
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The Bey Doorman
1984
Albarnas
10/1
A Young woman fall in love with a poor musician and because she was from the royal family she escaped with him then they get married after then they b...
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Albarnas
1984
The Dancer & the Drummer
6.5/3
After having trouble with the dancer who worked with him for several months, the drummer Abdo discovers a young dancer Mabahig who lives with her sist...
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The Dancer & the Drummer
1997
The Champion
0/0
On the eve of the 1919 revolution in Egypt, the friendship between Houda al-Najjar, who likes boxing, Petro, who likes to sing, and the good worker of...
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The Champion
2002
His Excellency the Minister
7.6/10
A mix-up leads Ra'fat Rostum to a ministerial seat that he was never meant to have. As he successfully holds onto his office for a long time, he start...
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His Excellency the Minister
1996
Hysteria
7/1
Zain, a graduate of the Higher Institute of Music, lives with his mother, his brother Ramzi and his sister Houria, who suffers from living conditions...
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Hysteria
1982
Houseboat No. 70
7/2
Documentary filmmaker Ahmed El Shazly is working on a new film about a cotton gin. When a worker who reveals to him what's happening in the gin is kil...
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Houseboat No. 70
2006
Halim
7.5/4
The film displays the life of legendary singer(Abd Alhalim Hafez) in various stages. Depicting many sides of his artistic and personal life since his...
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Halim
1990
The Emperor
5.5/2
The story deals with the journey of Zinham, a young man who fled Egypt from Upper Egypt in search of a living, climbs up in organized crime and drug s...
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The Emperor
1998
Smile, The Photo Comes Out Better
6.8/6
Photographer Sayed Gharib leaves his hometown and moves Cairo to be close to the Faculty of Medicine that his daughter Tahani attends. Tahani clashes...
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Smile, The Photo Comes Out Better
1980
Al-Batniyya
6/1
It tells stories of webs of drug dealing, rivalry, revenge and murder among the residents of al batneyya, a place so corrupt and well bonded among eac...
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Al-Batniyya
1983
Alley of Love
5.7/3
The encounters and relationships that a brothel hotel witnessed, from a well known man in power, ambitious cunning youngster, to chivalrous college pr...
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Alley of Love
1990
Kaborya
6/4
Hassan Hudhud is a poor boxer who dreams of championships and glory. He accidentally takes part in a match at the mansion of a wealthy man who admires...
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Kaborya
1996
Lobster
5.3/3
Abbas is an interior architect living in Hurghada. He gets into a quarrel with Ismat, the owner of the villa which Ahmed is working on, that ends with...
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Lobster
1996
Abo Dahab
5/1
Abo Dahab is a poor baker who goes to prison instead of his corrupted boss. When he gets out, he discovers that his employer did not fulfill his promi...
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Abo Dahab
1993
The Lady's Driver
5.3/3
A Lady of the royal family live and breed on the ruins of the past, her husband, son and daughter suffering from her domination and control. When she...
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The Lady's Driver
1990
One Woman Is Not Enough
0/0
Journalist Hossam is involved with three different women at the same time. Amira, the charming journalist who's well connected, Reem his rebel revolut...
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One Woman Is Not Enough
1996
An Affair
6/1
A psychopath woman seduces a married man to sleep with her so she could threaten him later and ruin his perfect marriage so she could get him for hers...
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An Affair
1997
Hassan Ellol
0/0
Hasan al-Lul is a poor young man. His father used to smuggle weapons to the guerrillas during the triple aggression. But 40 years later, his son Hassa...
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Hassan Ellol
1989
Welad Eleih
9/1
Najib discovers that the businessman's salary is doing a lot of illegal work, and he delivers dangerous documents condemning the man to his secretary....
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Welad Eleih
1988
The Third Class
4/1
A group of football team supporters go through a lot of trouble to watch the games while the management headed by Captain Aouf are reaping benefits e...
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The Third Class
1973
Trouble rioters
0/0
Rico is the director of an Egyptian theater company, a message comes from a concert in Lebanon to go to Lebanon, and upon arrival there, the band is s...
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Trouble rioters
1981
I'm not lying, I'm sugar coating
7.5/4
Ibraham the industrious student fall in love with his colleague Khayriyah and she also fall in love with him, but the rich student Hani admire her. Ib...
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I'm not lying, I'm sugar coating
1984
The promised night
7/1
Fathi trades in smuggled goods, he lives with his mother Bahia and loves his neighbor Fakiha who encourages him to finish his studies. A matchmaker pe...
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The promised night
1983
The Addict
5.5/2
He was a student at the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Ahmed Halim (Adel Adham), who studied with his daughter Laila (Najwa Ibrahim). He was a student at th...
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The Addict
1991
Al Makhtufa
5/1
A collision occurs between a taxi driven by Hussein and the car of Nevin, the daughter of millionaire Ratib Barakat, which leads to the taxi being des...
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Al Makhtufa
1983
Precausion is Mandatory
5/1
Hassan Musharraf, a reformist, came from the countryside looking for a role in the capital. Meets different models of young deviant within the reformi...
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Precausion is Mandatory
1978
Waraa Al-Shams
0/0
"Behind the Sun" clearly identifies the time identity of his film. It follows the horrific military defeat of June 1967, when a senior military comman...
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Waraa Al-Shams
1985
Saad the Orphan
0/0
The story of Saad al-Yateem, whose father was killed by his uncle (Badran), and his righteous lady (Karamat) until he grows up, and even the fate want...
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Saad the Orphan
1978
Life is a Moment
0/0
In the wake of the June 1967 war, Naamat lives on the hot side of her life, with her husband Abdelkader, the editor of one of the newspapers in which...
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Life is a Moment
1982
Bloody Destinies
0/0
As Major General Helmy and his son Sa'ad take part in the first Palestine War, his wife Horeya cheats on him with Kamal. When Helmy returns and finds...
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Bloody Destinies
1974
Bedour
0/0
Sewer worker Saber learns about the role of the woman who decides to repent. He claims to the people of the neighborhood that he is his cousin and liv...
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Bedour
1972
My Son
0/0
Jaber is a professional hitman who decides to repent, but the gang he is affiliated with refuses to let go of him easily.
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My Son
1969
Hello Shalaby
9.5/2
a comedy play about a struggling theater cast seeking funding to show one of its plays, they stay in a hotel waiting for the financier, but they don`t...
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Hello Shalaby
1969
Cairo in a Thousand Years
0/0
A play about the history of Cairo.
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Cairo in a Thousand Years
1984
Jail Cell
7/1
A doctor finds herself criminally involved in a baseless crime after a minor accident causes unbelievable mischief and trouble. She spends her days in...
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Jail Cell
1977
Star Maker
0/0
The famous star Siham attends a theatrical performance, where she meets the actor Saeed, and they fall in love and marry. Siham pushes him to the worl...
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Star Maker
Victims Hotel
0/0
a TV movie based on an Agatha Christie's novel
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