Marwan Kenzari
Dutch actor (born 1983) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marwan Kenzari (Arabic: مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor. Starting his career in 2008, he first came to prominence for his role in the 2013 film Wolf, which earned him a Golden Calf award for Best Actor. Since 2016, he has been portraying roles in English-language films, including Aladdin (2019), The Old Guard (2020) and Black Adam (2022), which earned him international recognition.
Marwan Kenzari | |
|---|---|
Kenzari in 2013 | |
| Born | 16 January 1983 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Life and career
Summarize
Perspective
Early life and beginnings
Marwan Kenzari was born on 17 January 1983 in The Hague, Netherlands, to a Tunisian family. His father was a construction worker, while his mother was a housewife.[1] As a teenager he was mainly interested in football before a girl he was seeing signed them up to audition for the Dutch version of the musical Chicago.[1][2] In 2009, Kenzari graduated at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3] After graduation he was recruited by the Toneelgroep Amsterdam,[4] which allowed him to tour in Moscow, London, Vienna and New York City with the group.[5]
Kenzari has acted in films and TV series in his native Dutch since 2008. In 2013, he won a Golden Calf for Best Actor at the Netherlands Film Festival for his role in the feature film Wolf (2013).[6] He trained for over a year to play the role of kickboxer Majid. With his toned body, he was also featured on the cover of Dutch Men's Health in 2013.[7] His performance in the film was well received by critics, with Variety naming him an "International Star You Should Know".[2] In 2014, Kenzari won a Shooting Stars Award at the Berlin International Film Festival.[8]
Rise to prominence
In 2016 he appeared in the English-language films Collide, Ben-Hur and The Promise, which resulted in The Hollywood Reporter naming him amongst their list of "15 International Breakout Talents of 2016".[9] In 2019, Kenzari played villain Jafar in Disney's live-action adaptation of Aladdin.[10][11] He gained international recognition after portraying the role with mainstream media giving him the nickname "hot Jafar".[12] In July 2020, Kenzari appeared in The Old Guard as one of the film's protagonists.[13] In February 2021, Kenzari was cast to portray Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac in the 2022 film Black Adam.[14] He has a minor role in the second season of the Netflix show The Night Agent, released January 2025.
He starred as the controversial Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) officer Raymond Westerling in the 2020 film The East, which was released on Amazon Prime Video.[15][16]
Personal life
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Katia's Sister | Giac | |
| 2009 | The Last Days of Emma Blank | Martin | |
| 2010 | Loft | Tom Fenneker | |
| 2011 | Rabat | Zakaria | |
| 2012 | Black Out | Youssef | |
| 2013 | Wolf | Majid Zamari | |
| 2014 | Hartenstraat | Daan | |
| Accused | Det. Ron Leeflang | ||
| Reckless | Rico | ||
| Gift from the Heart | Richard | ||
| 2016 | Collide | Matthias | |
| Ben-Hur | Druses | ||
| The Promise | Emre Ogan | ||
| 2017 | The Mummy | Malik | |
| What Happened to Monday | Adrian Knowles | ||
| Murder on the Orient Express | Pierre Michel | ||
| 2018 | The Angel | Ashraf Marwan | |
| 2019 | Aladdin | Jafar | |
| Instinct | Idris | ||
| 2020 | The Old Guard | Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe | |
| De Oost | Raymond Westerling | ||
| 2022 | Black Adam | Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac | |
| 2023 | Ghosted | Marco | |
| 2024 | The Return | Antinous | |
| 2025 | The Old Guard 2 † | Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe | Post-production[18] |
| TBA | Any Other Night † | Max | Pre-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–2010 | Flikken Maastricht | Luca de Keyzer | 7 episodes |
| 2009 | Maite was hier | Vuc | TV movie |
| 2012 | Van God Los | Frank Hendrikx | 1 episode |
| 2012–2013 | Penoza | Mustafa | 8 episodes |
| 2025 | The Night Agent | Sami Saidi[19] | 4 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Golden Calf Awards[6] | Best Actor | Wolf | Won |
| SUBTITLE European Film Festival[20] | Angela Award | Won | ||
| 2014 | Rembrandt Awards[20] | Best Dutch Actor | Nominated | |
| Shooting Stars Awards[8] | Shooting Star | Himself | Won | |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards[21] | Choice Movie: Villain | Aladdin | Nominated |
| 2020 | Golden Calf Awards[22] | Best Actor | Instinct | Nominated |
References
External links
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