Prominent Egyptian actor Hassan Yousif denied recent rumors that he will be playing the role of Egyptian Coptic Pope Shanoudah III in a television drama or film. Hassan stressed that the rumor had been launched on the internet social network Facebook and circulated quickly to other websites.
The actor said that during an interview with one of the newspapers he was asked if he considers playing the role of Pope Shanoudah and he had answered that the only way he would accept such a role if a Muslim priest assures him that it is not against the teachings of Islam to do so. Hassan added that he holds the utmost respect for the late Pope Shanoudah and he had done many good things for Egypt and was always against religious discrimination.
On a different note, Hassan revealed that he is considering resigning from television drama due to the fact that it is very exhausting and he misses working for the big screen very much. He stated that he considers the cinema his first passion.
