Marwan Kenzari
Marwan Kenzari (Arabic: مروان كنزاري; born 16 January 1983) is a Dutch actor born in The Hague, Netherlands. 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 |
| Partner | Nora Ponse (engaged) |
| Children | 1 |
Life and career
Early life and beginnings
Kenzari was born on 16 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]
Personal life
Kenzari speaks Arabic, Dutch, English and French.[17]
Kenzari is engaged to long-time partner Nora Ponse. The couple have one child.
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 | ||
| 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 | |
| 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 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Golden Calf Awards[6] | Best Actor | Wolf | Won |
| SUBTITLE European Film Festival[19] | Angela Award | Won | ||
| 2014 | Rembrandt Awards[19] | Best Dutch Actor | Nominated | |
| Shooting Stars Awards[8] | Shooting Star | Himself | Won | |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards[20] | Choice Movie: Villain | Aladdin | Nominated |
| 2020 | Golden Calf Awards[21] | Best Actor | Instinct | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "Met zijn rol in 'Aladdin' breekt de Nederlandse Marwan Kenzari internationaal door". NRC Handelsblad. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ a b "International Star You Should Know: Marwan Kenzari". Variety. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "Marwan Kenzari on Becoming Jafar in Aladdin". motionpictures.org. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
- ^ "Is Marwan Kenzari onze volgende Hollywoodster?". Algemeen Dagblad. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Netflix Premieres "The Angel" Starring Marwan Kenzari". Brave New Hollywood. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ a b (in Dutch) Gouden Kalf winnaars 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Netherlands Film Festival. Retrieved on 28 March 2015.
- ^ "Trainen met Marwan Kenzari". Men's Health. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ a b "European Shooting Stars Awards 2014". EYE International. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "15 International Breakout Talents of 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (4 August 2017). "Disney's Live-Action 'Aladdin' Reboot Casts 'Mummy' Actor as Jafar". Variety. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "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. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Kit, Borys (28 May 2019). "Jafar Actor Marwan Kenzari Joins Charlize Theron in Action Thriller 'Old Guard' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Kit, Broys (17 February 2021). "Dwayne Johnson's 'Black Adam' Casts 'Old Guard' Scene-Stealer Marwan Kenzari (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Marwan Kenzari speelt rol in Nederlandse film De Oost". NU.nl (in Dutch). 4 February 2019. from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ Broeren-Huitenga, Joost (12 May 2021). "Regisseur Jim Taihuttu over De Oost: 'Natuurlijk ga je niet iets bij elkaar fantaseren'". Het Parool. from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Marwan Kenzari, The Netherlands". Shooting Stars. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rajput, Priyanca (23 September 2022). "Netflix's The Old Guard 2 wraps filming in Rome". KFTV.com.
- ^ a b "Marwan Kenzari - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Riverdale,' 'Aladdin' Top 2019 Teen Choice Award Nominations". Variety. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ^ "Two Golden Calf nominations for Carice van Houten - Movie". Variety. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
External links
- Marwan Kenzari at IMDb