A celebration of legendary actor and 'King of the Third Class'

Egyptian and Arab cinema celebrating the birthday of late Egyptian iconic actor Ahmed Zaki who was born on November 18, 1949.

Zaki passed away due to complications from lung cancer on March 27, 2005.  

Zaki is considered one of the most prominent actors in the history of Egyptian cinema.

He was born in Zagazig as the only son in his family.

His father died when he was young, and when his mother remarried he was raised by his grandfather.

During his school years, his headmaster encouraged him to work on his acting talent after Zaki presented a dazzling performance in one of the school's productions.

This production saw the attendance of many artists from Cairo, and he was advised to join The High Theater Institute, from which he graduated in 1973.

After graduating first in his class, he worked in many commercially successful plays, including: “Madraset El-Moshaghbeen” (The School of Mischief), “Awladna Fi London” (Our Children are in London), “El-Eyal Kebret” (The Children Have Grown), “Hello, Shalaby” and “Al-Qahera fi Alf A'aam” (Cairo in 1,000 Years). Many of his films are considered stepping stones in his acting career, such as: “Ahlam Hend we Kamilia” (The Dreams of Hend and Kamilia), “Oyoon La Tanam” (Eyes that Don’t Sleep), “El-Baree” (The Innocent), “El-Hob Fawk Hadabet Al-Haram” (Love on Top of the Pyramid) and “Ard El-Khouf” (The Land of Fear). In efforts to reflect the values and identity of Egyptian society, Zaki has perfectly portrayed low and middle class society in roles such as the guard in “El-Beh El-Bawab” (The Gentle Guard).

He also played the role of a simple photographer in “Edhak El-Sora Tetlaa’ Helwa” (Smile, the Picture will Come Out Fine), and the role of the driver in “Sawaq El-Hanem” (The Madame’s Driver).

Six of his films are listed on the best 100 Egyptian films based on a selection by a number of Egyptian critics. Zaki has also introduced many of the most valuable biographical films, such as Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s biography, “Nasser 65”, and Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat’s biography, “Ayam El-Sadat”. He also depicted prominent Egyptian author, Taha Hussein, in “Al Ayam” (Days) series. Zaki’s last movie was a depiction of Egyptian singer, Abdel Halim Hafez, in a biography film titled “Halim,” which was released in 2005.