Remembering Ahmed Zaki on His 18th Death Anniversary

Eighteen years ago, the legendary actor Ahmed Zaki from the Egyptian film business passed away.

The audience was treated to some spectacular performances by the Emperor of the Silver Screen. He left way too soon. Nonetheless, Zaki will continue to exist through her fictional creations.

The late actor performed a number of compelling roles, from Naser to Halim and these will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Despite the fact that he first appeared in a small role in a comedy play, he is widely regarded as one of the most talented male actors, especially in dramatic and tragic roles.

Born in the city of Zagazig, he graduated from Zagazig's Crafts School in 1967 and then traveled to Cairo to study cinema before he graduated from the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies in 1974.

He ruled the industry in such an era where celebrities like Adel Emam, Hussain Fahmi, and Mahmoud Abdel Aziz explicitly dominate it. Zaki shattered the industry's glass ceiling and made a name for himself as a crowd-pleaser.

Throughout his long-standing, Zaki appeared in nearly 130 roles — including more than 100 films, most notably Al-Darga Al-Thalitha (The 3rd Class), Dreams of Hind and Camilia, Escape, Those Guy, One Woman Is Not Enough and Kaboria.

His famous films include 'Ahlam Hend we Kamilia' (The Dreams of Hend and Kamilia), Oyoon La Tanam (Eyes that Don’t Sleep), El-Bareea (The Innocent), El-Hob Fawk Hadabet Al-Haram (Love on Top of the Pyramid), Nasser 56, Ard El-Khouf (The Land of Fear) and Ayyam El-Sadat (The Days of Sadat). His last film is the biopic of the famous Egyptian singer Halim.

Many of his hit films were written by screenwriter Wahid Hamed and had a strong political message that exposed governmental and police corruption.

He also starred in the famous 1980s television comedy musical series Howa we heya with actress Soad Hosny. Zaki also featured in a series of successful action movies during the mid-and late-1990s.

Zaki breathed his last at Dar Al Fouad Hospital in Sixth of October City, after late president Hosni Mubarak offered to send him to France for medical treatment at the government's expense and granted him the Merit of Arts award for his work in over 50 movies.