Egyptian international actor Omar El Sherif has been arrested and sentenced to a one month prison term with a bail of 1,500 Euro in France for assaulting a police officer and hitting him on the heat at a Casino. The court also sentenced Omar to pay a fine of 300 Euro to the victim for the damage caused.
According to the Saudi based, Al Watan, the incident took place on a Thursday night in the month of July, where Omar was loosing terribly at a game of poker and a fight broke out between the actor and the owner of the Casino. At this point the police officer interfered to end the fighting but Omar had begun swearing at the officer and ended up hitting him on the head.
On a different not, the actor has been nominated for the leading role in an upcoming film "Malik Rouhi" (King Over My Soul) alongside Egyptian actress Yusra. The film is scheduled to begin shooting of the scenes in the very near future. The director of the film had previously undergone extensive negotiations with Omar to star in the film and only very recently the actor gave his final acceptance to take the role.
Egyptian controversial director Enas Deghaidi has also nominated El Sherif for the leading role of her upcoming film "Lailet Masra' Diana" (The Night of Princess Diana's Tragedy). Enas was specifically chosen to direct the film, which script is currently being written in Denmark. The film will revolve around the events of Diana's last night of the princess's life. Omar will be playing the role of a journalist who was witness to the accident that took the life of Diana and Egyptian Dodi Al Fayed.
The British Television Network chose Omar to take part in a new documentary called the "Haram" (Pyramid). The actor is to use his voice to narrate the story of how the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built in the voice of an old man in his mid-eighties.
British TV has also nominated actors Abdullah Mahmood and Hisham Abdullah to participate in the film due to their Egyptian traits and tanned complexions. It was added that the film will be used in the curriculum of most schools in order to familiarize British students with the rich culture and history of the Pharos.
After becoming an international actor, the actor decided to leave Cairo because he believed that it was not suitable for his aspirations for the world cinema. At first, he tried to live in Beverly Hills in the US but hated it because it was full of actors. Then he moved to Paris, which he still loves but thinks of ultimately returning to settle in Cairo after halting acting in order to be near his family, with the problem of his habitude on the western culture.
Omar Al Sherif has not married openly since he divorced the renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamamah after a marriage that lasted for 13 years. Despite the fact that over 30 years have passed since this divorce the star is still hiding the reasons behind it. It could be that Faten Hamamah was the only love in his life. “I married only once because I loved only once,” admitted Sherif.
He defends himself against the accusations that he was a playboy by saying, “I was a lonely actor with no one to be associated with. Most often I used to stay in a hotel without knowing anybody but I used to take my meals with charming women. Due to my unbearable loneliness I became a gambler who was feeling bored all the time. I also became a smoking addict for the same reasons.” –Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
