Life could have been very different for Khaled Nabawy.
Had he not accidentally stumbled into rehearsals for a college play, the Egyptian actor, now mobbed regularly on the streets of Cairo, could be monitoring the price of grain.
"A drama teacher at the college where I was studying agriculture said nobody watches in the theatre until the audience arrives. He said if I wanted to stay I had to read or I should leave — so I did. Ironically, even though I'd originally been told to leave I instantly felt at home."
That night a young Nabawy, who only sneaked into the theatre to miss a class on the finer points of farming, checked the casting list to discover, to his utter surprise, he had been cast as the lead role.
"I thought the guy was completely crazy," he said laughing as he recalled the night which changed his life forever. "But I'm grateful too. I found what I wanted to do with my life and that's an incredible feeling. Many people go through their lives not ever knowing what they want to do."
He never looked back and isn't planning on it anytime soon. The Egyptian-born father-of-two, will walk the red carpet tonight before a gala screening of his latest movie, Fair Game, at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2010.
A proud Nabawy will be joined by the film's director, Doug Liman, most famous for his vision and leadership on the Bourne trilogy and Jumpers.
Fair Game, starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as the two leads and co-produced by Imagenation Abu Dhabi, follows the story of Valerie Plame, a loyal American secret agent, who was outed in a lurid public scandal. It later became clear the Bush administration was bent on discrediting revelations of falsified evidence in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"It's a great subject about brave people who stood against a big lie in Iraq. It's about people who refused the lie and instead went to tell the truth. It was an honour to be a movie which told such a wonderful story."
‘Learnt a lot'
A great movie, an even better director according to Nawaby. The Bourne Identity and Mrs and Mr Smith were box office smash-hits for Liman, which made Liman one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood.
"It happened. I was lucky," said Nawaby. "He has such incredible dramatic direction and I learnt a lot from him. I remember one scene in particular when I was supposed to drive an old car across the set and run into trouble. Doug was shooting behind me. As animated as a man could be, he charged in front of me waving his hands about. He said cars will fly from my left, cars will speed from the right. He told me I'd go forward and cars would be there and I would have to turn around and escape. There was no rehearsal. As I drove at high speeds and almost had an accident I stopped the car and yelled at Doug, ‘this is crazy. This car is too fast,' and he just yelled back with a huge smile on his face, ‘it's a crazy car for a crazy Egyptian driver. It's great and I love it.' I couldn't believe it but it taught me scenes caught in their truly natural state are better than anything you create."
Liman wasn't the only person Nabawy says helped him be a better actor.
"I first met Sean Penn in Cairo. He is an honest man. A great actor. We talked about many things and he taught me a lot. He helped me feel scenes in a way I hadn't before. Everything felt more natural.
‘Fantastic experience'
"I asked about directing and which school I could look into getting involved with. He told me when he wanted to direct he went to watch a director he loved on set. So I did the same. I went to watch Martin Scorsese and it was a fantastic experience. It's true. You learn by observing and doing."
Legendary director, the late Youssef Chahine first cast Nabawyin his 1993 movie Cairo Lights by Her People followed by The Emigrant next year.
In just over 10 years Nabawy was drawn to the bright lights of Hollywood and found his way into Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom.
"Let's be frank. Hollywood and the film industry in Egypt are worlds apart. There is the obvious size difference but more than that there is the gap in the diversity of the films being made. I believe in Hollywood but I also believe in Egypt. I'm an actor so it must be all about the script, the story or something I like. It mustn't be about where it came from. That has to be from the heart and only the heart.
"It would be a great honour to do a film which expresses the Egyptian people and beautiful land."
Although set in Iraq, Fair Game was filmed mostly in Jordan due to filming restrictions and difficulties in the war-torn area.
A world away from his adoring fans in Egypt, Nabawy softened his voice as he recalled some of the people he met from Jordan living difficult lives.
"Meeting new people allows you another way of thinking. It's something special. I loved the opportunity to meet people who were not living the easiest lives. It makes you appreciate your own."
Nabawy, who has twins, 15, and a two-year-old son, says he never takes anything for granted.
"They are my world and I will protect them no matter what. I try to keep them away from the media and the frenzy that can sometimes become my life. It's often hard because I cannot go anywhere in Egypt without being spotted, chased, followed and asked for my autograph. It always makes me smile though because it shows there are no barriers between people.
"I don't love being famous but I love having thousands of true Egyptian friends."
Don't Miss it
Fair Game is screened at Emirates Palace at 9.45pm Thursday night.
