Mahmoud Kabil
Encyclopedia
Mahmoud Kabil is an award-winning Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 and political activist. He is also the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

. Kabil served as an officer in the Military of Egypt
Military of Egypt
The Egyptian Armed Forces are the largest in Africa, and the Arab World, and is the tenth largest in the world, consisting of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Command....

's Special Forces before becoming a promising actor in Egyptian cinema during the 1970s. Blacklisted in 1980, Kabil moved to the United States and took a 14-year hiatus from acting. He made a successful comeback upon his return to Egypt in 1993, and has since starred in more than 50 films and TV series on his way to becoming one of Egypt's most popular actors. After years of involvement with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, Kabil was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in November 2003.

Life & Career

Mahmoud Kabil was born in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt. His father, Dr. Ibrahim Kabil, was head of the Ministry of Finance in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 and the Western provinces as well as the Minister of Finance for the Saadi opposition party before his death in 1957, when Kabil was 11. Kabil was educated at the Lycee Francais of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 before joining the Military of Egypt
Military of Egypt
The Egyptian Armed Forces are the largest in Africa, and the Arab World, and is the tenth largest in the world, consisting of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Command....

 in 1964 at the age of 17. Serving until 1973 as an officer and captain in the Special Forces, Kabil participated in the Yemen War, the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...

, and the War of Attrition
War of Attrition
The international community and both countries attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The Jarring Mission of the United Nations was supposed to ensure that the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242 would be observed, but by late 1970 it was clear that this mission had been...

.

Prior to his decision to enlist, Kabil was approached by director Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director active in the Egyptian film industry since 1950. He was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif...

 about starring in one of his films. Though Kabil declined the offer at the time, he would later renew ties with Chahine after his service in the military. Chahine, credited with launching the career of Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...

, took Kabil under his wing and established him as a promising young actor in Egyptian cinema during the 1970s. Some of Kabil's more notable films during this period include Chahine's The Sparrow, Love Under the Rain (based on the Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie...

 novel), and The Damned (an adaptation of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...

).

Kabil spent the last years of the 70's attempting to have a short story he penned, Sinai 73, turned into a full-length film. Based on his experience of capturing Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i pilot Yair Barak in the Six-Day War in 1967, the film was ideally to be a joint American-Israeli-Egyptian production that would highlight the possibility of peace between Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. By 1979, Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....

 had signed on to play the role of Kabil's prisoner for $3.5 million, but the project ultimately never advanced past the preliminary stages due to Sadat's assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

. United Studios of Israel approached Kabil to produce the film independent of Egyptian involvement, but he declined. After a visit to Israel in March 1980, Kabil was subsequently blacklisted by the League of Arab States and threatened by radical terrorist groups such as the Abu Nidal Organization. Unable to find work as an actor, Kabil left to the United States in 1981.
Kabil returned to Egypt in 1993 to attempt an acting comeback. He found initial success with audiences and critics alike with the films Penalty (1994) and Cheap Meat (1995). Since then, Kabil has starred in more than 50 films and TV series on his way to becoming one of Egypt's most popular actors. The bulk of his notoriety lies in television series, particularly those aired during the Ramadan season. He is most remembered for his roles in Ladies of Garden City (Hawânim Gârden Citî) (1998), Where is My Heart? (Ayna Qalbî) (2003), and Amar 14 (2008).

Involvement with UNICEF

After years of involvement with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, Kabil was named the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa in November 2003. He has spoken publicly about several important issues concerning children in the Middle Eastern region, including the plight of the children in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

, Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...

, and Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, Female Immunization, Female Genital Mutilation, HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

, and the education of young girls. He has also been an outspoken critic of the Darfur genocide. Following a visit to the region, Kabil appealed to the Arab countries to play a more active role in offering support to UNICEF activities designed to help the women and children who have carried the brunt of the conflict.

In the aftermath of the Gaza Crisis, Kabil in February 2009 paid a visit to the El-Arish Hospital near the Gaza border crossing in Rafah
Rafah
Rafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...

. He met with injured Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 children and pledged UNICEF support to the development of an effective and speedy relief effort.
He concluded 2009 with a trip to Yemen and a joint visit to Gaza with fellow UNICEF Ambassador Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...

.

Kabil currently resides in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt.
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