I became an actor by accident

Egyptian actor Ahmed Ramzy Cairo – Shaimaa Mikkawi Women are known to swoon over this actor's tough guy persona, whose film roles higlight his handsome looks and roguish personality. Often protrayed as a womaniser, his illustrious career includes co-starring roles with stars Faten Hamama and Hind Rustom.
Arabstoday interviews the acclaimed "Don Juan" of Arabic cinema, Ahmed Ramzy.
"I never thought of taking up acting and never planned for this...it was all by accident. I consider acting a profession as any other and I relied on it to make a living at the start of my career. Until now, acting has been my only job. I discovered it's a very difficult job and have suffered a lot," said Ramzy.
"It makes you age very quickly as well," he quipped.
He added that the story of his first foray into acting was "funny and strange".
Ramzy said: "I was a close friend of Omar Sharif's. He's the one who made me take the first step in to acting. I used to go with him to Groppi [a famous restaurant in downtown Cairo]. One day Youssef Chahine was there. I sat with him and talked for ages, but after this I did not meet him again. I was surprised when Omar Sharif came and told me that Chahin had chosen me to star in the film 'Sera Fel Wadi' (Conflict in the Valley). This was in 1954. And I was surprised again when I knew that Chahin gave my role to Omar Sharif, but I was not upset about that at the time as I did not seriously consider working in cinema."
"Once after that, I was sitting in a billiards hall and was spotted by the director Helmi Halim. He proposed that I work as an actor and I agreed to try it out. There I worked in my first film 'Ayaman al-Helwa”'(Our Beautiful Days), where Abdel Halim Hafiz was a new face too. What was strange is that Omar Sharif acted in that film as well. This was in 1955 and this is how my career started. I did not except the success the film enjoyed at all," he said.
He also told us about his first experience in front of the camera: "The story of my first day is exciting. I spent two days beforehand just putting on make up, waiting in the studio for eight hours and then go home without doing anything. On the third day everybody else had packed up and left except for me and Zeinat Sedki. I told her that it was my first time in front of the camera. She reassured me and explained how things worked to me and advised me to be natural while acting. Zeinat Sedki’s lesson is the secret of my success. So as I remember Helmi Halim because he gave me the first chance to act, I also remember the late great actor Zeinat Sedki."
"Thank God I was received well by the public and was was heaped with praise like 'this signifies the birth of a new film star'. Producers and directors began to knock on my door, and there on I did films one after another. I did over 100 films in only 20 years as I retired for the first time in the mid-1970s,' said Ramzy.
About the film “Tharthara Fawkan-Neel” (Chatter on the Nile) he said: "I cherish this film very much. Mamdouh al-Laithi gave me the script and asked me to read it and tell him how much I would pay him to play the role...it was a very distinguished work that included veterans such as Naguib Mahfouz [the writer of the story] and [director] Hussein Kamal."
When asked whether he was really jealous of Rushdy Abaza, as rumours have suggested, he said: "Absolutely not! Rushdy Abaza was a close friend of mine. Our friendship lasted for 10 years. We used to go out together. He was fun loving, very nice and sociable."
As for celebrity Adel Adham Ramzy, Ramzy commented saying: "He was a friend of mine before he entered the field of acting. He used to work in Alexandria, but he quit his job and left for Cairo. I offered him a role with me in the film 'Fatah Shadha' (Abnormal Girl) as every artist needs a first step, but the rest of his career depends on his talent. Adel Adham was really talented."
About the films he is proud of the most, he said: "I am proud of all my work and do not regret any of them except a few I acted in as favours. The most beautiful films were 'Sera’ Fel Mena' (Conflict in the Port) with Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif, 'Lan Ataref' (I Will not Confess) with Faten Hamama and Ahmed Mazhar, 'Ayam wa Layali' (Days and Nights) with Abdel Halim Hafez and 'al-Akh al-Akbar' (The Older Brother) with Farid Shawki and Hind Rustom among others. However, the one I love the most is 'Tharthara Fawkan-Neel' (Chatter on the Nile) by director Hussein Kamal. It's my best work to date and the first film I did with Kamal."
Arabstoday asked him about any memorable experiences he's had while filming.
"Yes, I remember a very funny situation when we were preparing for a shoot inside Masr studio. I really needed to use the loo, so I left the studio as I could never use the toilets in Masr studio, and went to Mena House hotel as its bathroom is very luxurious. When I came bacl I found all the team waiting for me and Hussein Kamal said 'we are all waiting for your Highness'."
On his shelved role in the film “al-Engeel” (The Bible), Ramzy said: "I was going to work in the film after I met with the director who is one of the greatest directors in the world, and he selected me. However, some problems arose owing to Fathi Ibrahim, who was supervising the production...he did not like me. I was told 'there are orders from above that prevented you from acting'."
When asked why he retired, he said: "I did not retire, but work abandoned me. I began to hardly receive any offers and I was steadily ignored by producers and directors, so I did not retire voluntarily."
Asked why he was dubbed Don Juan of the screen, he said: "I don’t know; maybe because of my relationships with women."
"I've had a lot of relationships since my childhood. When I was eight I had many romances with girls, they would chase after me and send me letters, however I did not care much about that. My relationships were usually short. They started quickly and ended quickly," he said.
"My first love was a Greek girl named Paula. I got to know her at a club. We broke up after a year for reasons related to her family. I was very upset about that...I'll never ever forget her," he said wistfully.
Ramzy said he has been married three times and until now he views all his ex-wives with respect and appreciation.
His first marriage was to Attiyetallah al-Daramally. He said: "She was from an aristocratic family. We married in 1956 without a wedding reception and our flat was not furnished except for a fridge, stove and bed. We loved each other very much, but after a while we started to drift apart without knowing why. Also, she was very possessive of me."
Ramzy said about his children: "My children are the most important thing in my life. They are my children and also my friends. I now live in my daughter Naela's house. She and my other daughter Pakinam visit me constantly and call me every day. As for my handicapped son Nawaf, he is 38 years old. I learned a lot of from him, such as how to be patient. He is always in London as there is a lot of help for the handicapped there."
"I love my grandchildren even more than I love my children. I enjoy watching them playing around me, especially 'Ramzy' who is eight years old. He is very naughty and I love him very much," he said.
The Egyptian revolution greatly affected Ramzy, who said: "I saw righteous young people defending their homeland and I was very happy for that. I felt that today's generation is of the greatest generations. This revolution is no less than any other honest revolution in the past."