Youssef Kerkour – Wikipedia

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Moroccan-British actor

Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series Home, a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards.

Early life and education[edit]

Kerkour grew up in Rabat, Morocco.[1] His father was a Moroccan mathematics professor and his mother an English school teacher; they had met in France in the 1960s and moved together to Morocco.[2] As a child, Kerkour loved to sing and dance,[2] and idolised Bruce Lee after his father took him to a screening of the film Enter the Dragon.[2] In his early teens, Kerkour took a school trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, England, the home town of William Shakespeare, and attended a production of Henry V; he credits this experience with inspiring his love of acting.[2] Kerkour moved to the United States to study psychology at Bard College, but spent much of his time taking dance and acting classes instead.[2] He began pursuing an acting career at the encouragement of a university professor.[3][2]

In 2001, Kerkour played The Visitor in a production of the Steve Martin play Picasso at the Lapin Agile.[4] Unable to obtain a visa to remain in the United States, Kerkour moved to England and continue his acting career.[2] He spent two years at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[2]

Kerkour starred in the comedy-drama series Home, which debuted in March 2019 and lasted two series.[1] In the series, he played Sami Ibrahim, a Syrian asylum seeker who moves in with a middle-class English family. The role was based on the experiences of real-ife Syrian refugee Hassan Akkad.[1] Kerkour had not expected to be cast as Sami, since it was such a departure from the typecast violent characters he would usually play.[1] In 2020, he said:

“I spent my life playing terrorists. That’s my USP, that’s why I grew my beard. I’m a very big guy. I speak Arabic, so a big bearded Arabic man, there’s really one kind of part, traditionally. [Playing] Sami is the first time somebody has taken the chance and given me something more.”[1]

For his role as Sami, Kerkour was nominated for Best Male Comedy Performance at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards, losing the award to Jamie Demetriou (for Stath Lets Flats).[5] Kerkour is slated to appear in a film adaptation of The Alchemist, alongside Sebastian de Souza and Tom Hollander.[2]

In 2021, Kerkour starred in Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, playing the role of Iraqi Turkmen financier Nemir Kirdar.[6] He is also set to appear in Scott’s upcoming Napoleon Bonaparte drama Kitbag, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.[7]

Personal life[edit]

As of 2021, Kerkour is married and has a two-year-old daughter.[2] He has lived in London for two decades, and describes himself as a “notorious coffee drinker” in the cafes of Soho.[2]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Path to 9/11 Red / Abouhalima 2 episodes
2007 Holby City Jalil Amara Episode: “Someone to Watch Over Me”
2013 Royal Shakespeare Company: Richard II Lord Willoughby Television film
2014 Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part I Westmoreland
2014 Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part II
2014 Royal Shakespeare Company: The Two Gentlemen of Verona Eglamour, Sir
2016 Marcella Hassan El-Sayed 2 episodes
2017 Doctors Jamahl Habib Episode: “It’s Strange”
2017 Strike Back Sabil Adiz Episode: “Retribution: Part 1”
2017 Bounty Hunters Youssef 3 episodes
2018 Jack Ryan Mr. Sadik Episode: “End of Honor”
2018 Nightflyers Hartley Suczek 3 episodes
2019 Criminal: UK Jay Muthassin Episode: “Jay”
2019 Gavin & Stacey Emlyn Episode: “A Special Christmas”
2019–2020 Home Sami 12 episodes
2020 Dracula Olgaren Episode: “Blood Vessel”
2020 Sex Education Nathan Episode #2.5
2020 Baghdad Central Karl 6 episodes
2020 Cursed Pellam 3 episodes
2020 Worzel Gummidge Farmer Brawn Episode: “Saucy Nancy”
2021 0121 Mr. Simmons Miniseries
2021 Domina Maecenas 3 episodes
2021 Stay Close Fester 8 episodes
TBA Significant Other Sam In-production[10]

Video games[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]