Ahmed Zaki (actor)

On November 18, 2020, Google celebrated his 71st birthday with a Google Doodle, which included boxing gloves to refer to Al Nimr Al Aswad (The Black Tiger), a crab for Kaboria (The Crab), a camera for Edhak El-Sora Tetlaa’ Helwa (Smile, the Picture Will Come Out Fine), and the animals from Arba’a Fi Muhimma Rasmiya (Four on an Official Mission).

Many of his films were written by screenwriter Wahid Hamed and had a strong political message that exposed governmental and police corruption. He also starred in the famous 1980s television comedy musical series Howa we heya with actress Soad Hosny. Zaki also starred in a series of successful action movies during the mid-and late-1990s.

Ahmed Zaki was born in the city of Zagazig, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Cairo, Egypt. He graduated from Zagazig's Crafts School in 1967, and then traveled to Cairo to study cinema before he graduated from the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in 1974.

Two of his greatest successes were playing Egypt's presidents in two popular movies that became landmarks of Arabic cinema. He played presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser in Nasser 56, a movie that centered on the fateful summer of 1956 when then-President Nasser nationalizing the Suez Canal, and Anwar Sadat in the movie The Days of Sadat (2001) with director Mohamed Khan which he also produced. The movie depicted 40 years of the late president's life. He also had plans to play president Hosni Mubarak in a third movie. In 1980s, Zaki had the chance to act alongside Salah Zulfikar who was nicknamed Al-Abqary ("The Genius" – a reference to his popularity among Egyptians for combining success in both acting and film production), the two starred together in two movies. He was also known for portraying prominent characters in Egyptian history like Taha Hussein.

Ahmed Zaki Metwally Abdelrahman Badawi (Arabic: أحمد زكي متولي عبد الرحمن بدوي; 18 November 1949 – 27 March 2005), usually known as Ahmed Zaki (Arabic: أحمد زكي), was an Egyptian film actor. He was characterized by his talent, skill, and ability in impersonating. He was also famous for his on-screen intensity. Though he first appeared in a small role within a comedy play, he is widely regarded as one of the most talented male actors, especially in dramatic and tragedy roles. Zaki has six films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list.