However, notes historian Steven Charles Caton, Lean insisted on using ethnic actors when possible to make the film authentic. Casting Sharif in what is now considered one of the “most demanding supporting roles in Hollywood history,” was both complex and risky, as he was virtually unknown at the time outside of Egypt.
This performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, as well as a shared Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor. Sharif’s first English-language role was that of Sharif Ali in David Lean‘s historical epic Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. He also starred with his wife, Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, in several movies as romantic leads. He quickly rose to stardom, appearing in Egyptian productions, including La Anam (“Sleepless”) in 1958, Sayyidat al-Qasr (“Lady of the Palace”) in 1959 and the Anna Karenina adaptation Nahr el hub (“The River of Love”) in 1961. In the same year he appeared in Sira` Fi al-Wadi (“Struggle in the Valley”). In 1954, Sharif began his acting career in his native Egypt with a role in Shaytan Al-Sahra (“Devil of the Desert”). In 1955, Sharif converted to Islam in order to marry fellow Egyptian actress Faten Hamama. He then worked for a while in his father’s precious wood business before studying acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He later graduated from Cairo University with a degree in mathematics and physics. In his youth, Sharif studied at Victoria College, Alexandria, where he showed a talent for languages. His father, Joseph Chalhoub, a precious woods merchant originally from Zahle, moved to Egypt in the early 20th century, particularly Alexandria, where Omar Sharif was born and raised His mother, Claire Saada, was a noted society hostess, and Egypt’s King Farouk was a regular visitor until he was deposed in 1952. Omar Sharif, whose surname means “noble” or “nobleman” in Arabic, was born on 10 April 1932, as Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Melkite Greek Catholic family of Lebanese descent.
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