Hollywood’s Unsung Arab Stars Under 30
By Mohamed Karrem
Hollywood’s gates are a great entrance for actors of all races and ages, and Arab actors couldn’t be more praiseworthy, especially with their latest contributions.
Most of Hollywood’s Arab stars are still under 30, which leaves the question: how did they make it to Hollywood so young? A sneak
Amir El-Masry
Amir El-Masry is the Egyptian actor who won the “Best Young Actor” award at the Egyptian Oscars in 2009 for his role as Ramzy in Ramadan Mabrouk Abu El Alamein Hamouda.
He was born in Cairo but raised in London. A turning point in his career was his enrollment in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), which skyrocketed his career as a year later, he starred in his first major Hollywood role with Gael Garcia Bernal and Kim Bodnia in Rosewater (2014).
His most recent movie, The Arabian Warrior (2018), left a big impression on Arab audiences.
Mena Massoud
Disney’s newest Aladdin, Mena Massoud, was born in Cairo, Egypt and raised in Markham, Ontario, Canada. The young Egyptian-Canadian actor played one of the most desirable roles in Hollywood at the age of 27.
Performing in such a movie wasn’t the only highlight in his career. It was also his first chance to work alongside an A-lister on the level of Will Smith. He also stars as Tarek Kassar in the highly-anticipated series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.
Outside of acting, he’s passionate about staying active and healthy. Sports like basketball have always been an important part of his life.
Alia Shawkat
Alia Shawkat, the daughter of the Iraqi actor Tony Shawkat was born in Riverside, California in 1989. Ever since childhood, she was surrounded by talent, which influenced her to join them at a young age and prove the old saying “like father, like daughter” right.
She started her career at the age of
She mentioned before in an interview that “if you want to do something, then you do it. If you don’t want to do something, don’t just do it because your friends are doing it, or because all the popular kids are doing it”.
The perfect angle to look at these stories to discover the Arab secret is to see the common thread between them. It’s crystal clear that the third-culture upbringing plays a big role in forming their personality and inspires their ambition to achieve success.
