Mousa Hussein Kraish ( ; ; born November 21) is an American actor and director, who has appeared in several Hollywood films including

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's 2005 film ''

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

''. He is best known for his role as the Jinn in ''

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''.

Biography

Kraish was born and raised in a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

family in the Bay Ridge section of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He is the oldest of nine children. Kraish attended Islamic school on Saturdays in Brooklyn until he was kicked out for his pranks.https://www.twitter.com/mousakraish/status/1371557114326306816?s=46 He first studied to become a doctor, then switched to working for an internet company. After graduating from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

he spent two and a half years studying theater at

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

's Atlantic Theater Company. In addition to appearing in numerous independent and Hollywood films in recent years, Kraish also performed on stage at the 2004

New York Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across sev ...

and the 2005 Arab-American Comedy Festival. He currently resides in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Filmography

Film

Television

as Writer/Director

* ''How To Make A Dollar Bill in Brooklyn'' * ''A Brother's Love'' * ''The Fourth Estate''

References

External links

*
Mousa Kraish
on Alive Not Dead
Podcast interview with Mousa Kraish at Actors Off
1975 births Living people Male actors from Brooklyn American people of Palestinian descent Brooklyn College alumni American LGBTQ rights activists {{US-screen-actor-stub