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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 starring 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 |
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 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]
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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 | ||
| Grab My 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 | Joe (Yusuf Al-Kaysani) | |
| De Oost | Raymond Westerling | ||
| 2022 | Black Adam | Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac, King Ahk-Ton | |
| 2023 | Ghosted | Marco | |
| 2024 | The Return | Antinous | |
| TBA | The Old Guard 2 † | 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 | Reza[19] |
| 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 |
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