Ahmed Mazhar

October 8, 1917 – May 8, 2002

Cairo, Egypt

Ahmed Hafez Mazhar (October 8, 1917 – May 8, 2002) was an Egyptian actor. He graduated from the military academy in 1938 and his colleagues included Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat. His acting career started in 1951 when he was picked for a role in Zehour Al-Islam because of his riding skills and his proper pronunciation of classical Arabic. In 1957, he retired as commander of the special cavalry units and decided to explore his acting talents. Mazhar's breakthrough in the world of acting came after he succeeded in playing the role of an evil prince in the famous movie Roda Qalbi (Return My Heart) which was his third movie. Other roles soon followed, including Al-Tarik Al-Masdood (1958), Al-Ataba Al-Khadraa (1959), Doaa al-Karawan (1959), Wa Islamah (1961), Al-Dowa Al-Khafet (1961) and Ghadan Youm Akhar (1961). He starred in an American movie, Cairo (1963), starring George Sanders and Faten Hamama. More than four years later, Mazhar appeared in Shafika and Metwali alongside Soad Hosny. Other films like Al-Nemr Al-Aswad, Demoue Sahebat El-Galalah, Al-Gasousa Hekmat Fahmy, and The Guns and the Fury soon followed.