The late Omar Sharif will forever be remembered as an icon of Hollywood and Egyptian cinema. He was the first Arab actor to achieve worldwide fame, an Oscar nomination and Hollywood recognition.
His legendary roles in “Dr. Zhivago” and “Lawrence of Arabia” have forever been imprinted in our minds before and after his passing on Friday, July 10 at the age of 83.
As the world mourns the loss of this great actor, we remember him through some of his most famous quotes.
“I don't know what sex appeal is. I don't think you can have sex appeal knowingly.”
“The people who seduce me personally are the people who seem not to know they're seductive, and not to know they have sex appeal.”
“My philosophy is that when I go out of my room, I'm prepared to love everybody I meet, unless they're bad.”
“I don't know what women are attracted to. I can't tell, but certainly I have no notion of having sex appeal or being seductive in any way.”
“I had too many big passions in life and it gets in the way of work. You can't concentrate properly on the one thing.”
“The reason it has relevance is because I, as a popular Arab personality - the Arab people like me and respect me - thought it was time for me to make an ever so tiny statement about what I thought about this whole thing.”
“I want to live every moment totally and intensely. Even when I'm giving an interview or talking to people, that's all that I'm thinking about.”
“Women know when they've got the menopause but men don't quite know. They know it afterwards.”
“I can't say I gave up totally my passion for women but almost.”
“I don't think any actor feels comfortable watching themselves in movies. You must be very narcissistic. The problem with your own opinion of yourself is that contrary to the normal spectators, when you watch a film you are in, you only watch yourself.”
“I love to be with my son and my grandchildren, like normal people. I have no particular idea of what I represent to other people. It's very mysterious to me. I don't understand it.”
“I see only defects because I'm not following the scene as it were. I'm not following the other person. It's like the best thing to clarify this is the theater.”
“I'm very wary about giving advice. I think it's very dangerous to give advice to people, except if you know them very well.”
“This is one of the factors that also made me very much want to make this film, apart from the fact that I loved it. If the boy hadn't been Jewish and the man hadn't been Muslim, it wouldn't have made any difference to the film. I don't think it's relevant, really.”
“I didn't want to be a slave to any passion anymore. I gave up card playing altogether, even bridge and gambling - more or less. It took me a few years to get out of it.”
“Working gets in the way of living.”
“This character in the film, these things that he says which sound like advice and wise things, they are very common for Orientals. It's all the tradition.”
“I never fell in love with another woman. I cannot have a relationship with a woman if I'm not in love... I'm a very particular person, I'm not very much interested in short adventures with women or girls. I have to fall in love with someone in order to have a relationship with her.”
“When one sees what happens in the world between the religions, the different religions - killing each other and murdering each other, it's disgusting and as far as I am concerned it's ridiculous. So I thought I might be useful, I believe in God and I believe in religion, but believe religions should belong to you. The extraordinary thing is that the Jews believe that only the Jews can go to paradise, the Christians believe that only a Christian can go to paradise and the Muslims believe that only the Muslims can go to paradise. Now why should God, in his great justice, make somebody born that cannot go to paradise - it is absurd. Please forgive me I don't mean to say it's absurd, people made it absurd.”
“Fidelity is a virtue which should be frequently proved, but not always.”
“I can't say I gave up totally my passion for women, but almost.”
