Ghassan Massoud
Encyclopedia
Ghassan Massoud is a Syria
n actor and film
maker. He is known in the West for playing the role of Muslim
ruler Saladin
in Ridley Scott
's 2005 film
Kingdom of Heaven
.
Massoud also played the "Sheikh
" in the Turkish film "Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak" (Valley of the Wolves: Iraq), and Ammand the Corsair in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End film.
Massoud turned down a role in the 2005 film Syriana
, claiming he feared the movie would be anti-Arab. Massoud also cited concerns regarding the political situation in his country and the wider region in declining the role. He later said he regretted his decision after seeing the completed film. Massoud is known in Syria for his appearance in many Syrian-made films, and writing and directing the theatre play Diplomasiyyoun, and was part of the Syrian Ministry of Culture’s National Theater’s 2002 season. He has appeared in the Syrian television miniseries The Chant of Rain, and in Haytham Hakky's well known work Memories of the Forthcoming Age, and on the Syrian stage was an actor in August Strindberg
's Miss Julie
.
Massoud was born in Damascus
. Married with both a son and daughter, Massoud teaches Drama
at both the Damascus Music and Drama School and Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts.
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n actor and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
maker. He is known in the West for playing the role of Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
ruler Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
in Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's 2005 film
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)
Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McKidd, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam...
.
Massoud also played the "Sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
" in the Turkish film "Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak" (Valley of the Wolves: Iraq), and Ammand the Corsair in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End film.
Massoud turned down a role in the 2005 film Syriana
Syriana
Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and executive produced by George Clooney, who also stars in the film with an ensemble cast. Gaghan's screenplay is loosely adapted from Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil...
, claiming he feared the movie would be anti-Arab. Massoud also cited concerns regarding the political situation in his country and the wider region in declining the role. He later said he regretted his decision after seeing the completed film. Massoud is known in Syria for his appearance in many Syrian-made films, and writing and directing the theatre play Diplomasiyyoun, and was part of the Syrian Ministry of Culture’s National Theater’s 2002 season. He has appeared in the Syrian television miniseries The Chant of Rain, and in Haytham Hakky's well known work Memories of the Forthcoming Age, and on the Syrian stage was an actor in August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
's Miss Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
.
Massoud was born in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Married with both a son and daughter, Massoud teaches Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
at both the Damascus Music and Drama School and Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts.