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 filmWolf,which earned him aGolden Calfaward forBest Actor.Since 2016, he has been starring in English-language films, includingAladdin(2019),The Old Guard(2020) andBlack 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
editEarly life and beginnings
editMarwan Kenzari was born on 17 January 1983 inThe 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 musicalChicago.[1][2]In 2009, Kenzari graduated at theMaastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3]After graduation he was recruited by theToneelgroep Amsterdam,[4]which allowed him to tour inMoscow,London,ViennaandNew York Citywith the group.[5]
Kenzari has acted in films and TV series in his native Dutch since 2008. In 2013, he won aGolden Calf for Best Actorat theNetherlands Film Festivalfor his role in the feature filmWolf(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 DutchMen's Healthin 2013.[7]His performance in the film was well received by critics, withVarietynaming him an "International Star You Should Know".[2]In 2014, Kenzari won aShooting Stars Awardat theBerlin International Film Festival.[8]
Rise to prominence
editIn 2016 he appeared in the English-language filmsCollide,Ben-HurandThe Promise,which resulted inThe Hollywood Reporternaming him amongst their list of "15 International Breakout Talents of 2016".[9]In 2019, Kenzari played villainJafarin Disney's live-action adaptation ofAladdin.[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 inThe Old Guardas one of the film's protagonists.[13]In February 2021, Kenzari was cast to portrayIshmael Gregor / Sabbacin the 2022 filmBlack Adam.[14]
He starred as the controversialRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army(KNIL) officerRaymond Westerlingin the 2020 filmThe East,which was released onAmazon Prime Video.[15][16]
Personal life
editFilmography
editFilm
edit| † | 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 | Post-production |
| TBA | The Old Guard 2† | Joe | Post-production[18] |
| TBA | Any Other Night† | Max | Pre-production |
Television
edit| 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 |
| TBA | The Night Agent | Reza[19] |
Awards and nominations
edit| 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
edit- ^ab"Met zijn rol in 'Aladdin' breekt de Nederlandse Marwan Kenzari internationaal door".NRC Handelsblad.14 May 2019.Retrieved25 March2021.
- ^ab"International Star You Should Know: Marwan Kenzari".Variety.14 March 2014.Retrieved24 March2021.
- ^"Marwan Kenzari on Becoming Jafar in Aladdin".motionpictures.org.26 June 2019.Retrieved11 March2021.
- ^"Is Marwan Kenzari onze volgende Hollywoodster?".Algemeen Dagblad.16 March 2016.Retrieved27 March2021.
- ^"Netflix Premieres" The Angel "Starring Marwan Kenzari".Brave New Hollywood.14 September 2018.Retrieved25 March2021.
- ^ab(in Dutch)Gouden Kalf winnaarsArchived2 April 2015 at theWayback Machine,Netherlands Film Festival.Retrieved on 28 March 2015.
- ^"Trainen met Marwan Kenzari".Men's Health.3 September 2013.Retrieved24 March2021.
- ^ab"European Shooting Stars Awards 2014".EYE International.Retrieved19 July2019.
- ^"15 International Breakout Talents of 2016".The Hollywood Reporter.14 December 2016.Retrieved25 March2021.
- ^Kroll, Justin (4 August 2017)."Disney's Live-Action 'Aladdin' Reboot Casts 'Mummy' Actor as Jafar".Variety.Retrieved4 August2017.
- ^"Disney's Aladdin remake has finally found its Jafar".The Independent.6 August 2017.
- ^"Breakout 'Aladdin' star Marwan Kenzari (aka 'hot Jafar') got into acting accidentally to impress a girl".CNBC.25 May 2019.Retrieved24 March2021.
- ^Kit, Borys (28 May 2019)."Jafar Actor Marwan Kenzari Joins Charlize Theron in Action Thriller 'Old Guard' (Exclusive)".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved28 May2019.
- ^Kit, Broys (17 February 2021)."Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' Casts 'Old Guard' Scene-Stealer Marwan Kenzari (Exclusive)".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved17 February2021.
- ^"Marwan Kenzari speelt rol in Nederlandse film De Oost".NU.nl(in Dutch). 4 February 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2020.Retrieved25 March2021.
- ^Broeren-Huitenga, Joost (12 May 2021)."Regisseur Jim Taihuttu over De Oost: 'Natuurlijk ga je niet iets bij elkaar fantaseren'".Het Parool.Archivedfrom the original on 14 May 2021.Retrieved29 September2021.
- ^"Marwan Kenzari, The Netherlands".Shooting Stars.Retrieved24 October2021.
- ^Rajput, Priyanca (23 September 2022)."Netflix'sThe Old Guard 2wraps filming in Rome ".KFTV.com.
- ^Grobar, Matt (26 March 2024)."Marwan Kenzari, Elise Kibler & Dikran Tulaine Join 'The Night Agent' Season 2".deadline.com.Archived fromthe originalon 26 March 2024.
- ^ab"Marwan Kenzari - Awards".IMDb.Retrieved20 July2019.
- ^"'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Riverdale,' 'Aladdin' Top 2019 Teen Choice Award Nominations ".Variety.19 June 2019.Retrieved7 July2019.
- ^"Two Golden Calf nominations for Carice van Houten - Movie".Variety.30 September 2020.Retrieved16 October2020.
External links
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