Feb. 1 marks the birthday of renowned Egyptian actor Mohamed Henedy whose films have been influencing Egyptian cinema up to this day. For those unfamiliar with the actor, Henedy, a Giza native, graduated with a BA from the High Cinema Institute in 1991. Henedy’s career jumpstarted with the stage production of “Doctor Zaatar” in 1989. He also starred in the television series “Al Bakheel Wa Ana” in 1991, From that point, Henedy went on to have tremendous success in “Ismailia Rayeh Gai” (Ismailia Back and Forth), starring Egypt’s Khaled El Nabawy, changing his place within Egyptian cinema. Before that, he was able to showcase his comic abilities in a supporting role in “Bakhit & Adeela”, which starred GOAT Adel Emam.
Henedy’s roles have been a source of joy, laughter, and happiness for his fans over the years. He is a comedian who is known for his distinctive brand of humor that makes us look on the bright side of challenges that we might be facing daily.
As we list his top films, we can’t forget about his performance in “Sa3idi fi’l Jam3ah El Americia”(Upper Egyptian at the American University,) where he rocked the famous yellow suit that he wore on his first day of classes. Henedy’s character believed that this yellow suit would be the newest style, but as he gets to know his classmates, he learns that he couldn’t be more wrong. Throughout the movie, Henedy’s character gets to discover what life in the big city of Cairo looks like and is hit with several new social norms he’d never thought to get used to.
Another great one is the movie “Ramadan Mabrouk Abul-Alamein Hamouda,” where he plays a middle-aged Arabic instructor from Upper Egypt. His character is passionate about the Arabic language itself and wants to teach his students all about it in a classic strict manner. He then begins to form a bond with his students, becoming a role model eventually helping them all to succeed. This movie kickstarted the acting career of Egyptian-British actor Amir El-Masry who played one of Henedy’s students in the film.
In our humble opinion, Henedy’s role as Hamam in “Hamam Fi Amsterdam” was most memorable. The movie talks about a story of a young Egyptian man who decides to travel to Amsterdam to achieve his dreams. Henedy’s performance and humor made the film light-hearted, but it was also his dramatic performance that established him as a major versatile talent.
Last but not least, Fool El Seen el Azeem had one of the funniest scenes as Henedy showed us that his humor is genuine and that the situations he experiences in these movies might actually happen to any of us. When Henedy’s character unintentionally flushed the toilet while flying to China, he became stuck in the bathroom. His looks were priceless as he was afterward carried by two cleaners across the airport to help him. For the rest of the film, his character tries to fit in with the Chinese community but is continually taken aback by cultural differences.
To those who do not know, Henedy is the voice behind some major Disney and Pixar movies such as the voice of Timon from Lion King, Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. and Homer Simpson from The Simpsons.
Henedy’s career has been a rejuvenating trip through multiple comedic personas that made us laugh and even cry sometimes. As a result, he won numerous prizes, one of which was the Career Achievement Award from the third El Gouna Film Festival, given to Henedy in 2019 for his important contributions to cinema.
Henedy frequently posts jokes on Twitter, which are worth mentioning while celebrating his career. In a manner, they relate to his audience and give them the impression that he is a regular person and a friend to all. For instance, Henedy suggests in this tweet that if Cristiano Ronaldo attended his latest movie and then shared a picture of it online, one percent of his fans would make Henedy so much money because the football star has about 542 million Instagram followers.
Henedy does not restrict himself to just acting as he frequently sings in his movies. It is a distinctive signature move that demonstrates his originality and enthusiasm for the movie he is starring in. For instance, his song “Kajweloh,” from Saidy Fil Gama El Amrikia has stood the test of time and remains a popular hit till today.
If we take a closer look, we will see that Henedy’s humor is relatable and strikes a chord with his audience as he experiences problems that the typical Egyptian faces. His performances are authentic and he always has a way of feeling familiar to his audience.
But what is Henedy currently working on? Well, the actor just released his newest film this month, “Nabil El Gamil Dr. Tagmeel,” which tells the story of a cosmetic surgeon named Dr. Nabil who owns a beauty salon where he and a colleague encounter various humorous situations.