Soufiane El Khalidy (born July 22, 1987) is a Moroccan actor, filmmaker, and writer. Born in

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

, Morocco, he has acted in films and television series such as '' Ghosts of Beirut'' (2023), '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (2017), ''Shockwave: Countdown to Disaster'' (2017), and the upcoming

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

biopic ''

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

''. He also played the role of Ridwan in the film ''Riley Parra'' (2017) and its sequel ''Riley Parra: Better Angels'' (2019). Furthermore, Soufiane El Khalidy has starred alongside

Lambert Wilson Lambert Nicolas Wilson (; né Willson, 3 August 1958) is a French actor and theatre director. He is a seven-time Cesar Award nominee, four for César Award for Best Actor, Best Actor and three for César Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Sup ...

in the German film, ''Klandestin'' (2024) directed by Angelina Maccarone and the five times

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

winner, Benoît Magimel in the upcoming big budget French diptych, ''

De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

'', directed by Antonin Baudry. He starred as The Father in the commercial ''Heroic Girl'' (2017) directed by Aaron Weldon, the head of Layout at Blur Studios and the second unit director for

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

on the third season of ''Love, Death and Robots'' (2022). He played the character Youssef in the

Shahid ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acq ...

action series ''The Eight''. Soufiane El Khalidy is also a writer and filmmaker. He wrote the book ''Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel'' (2022), and has received accolades for his short film ''Flags and Masks Down'' (2014) and his

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

s, ''Just Like You Imagined'' and ''Jukebox Zero''.

Early life and education

El Khalidy was born in Agadir, Morocco to the

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

and former lieutenant in the

Royal Moroccan Army The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...

, Larbi El Khalidy and nurse Malika El Kaddouri. As a child, he was involved in

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

at his primary school, Al Hanane. El Khalidy is a 2005 French College in Agadir graduate in mathematics, and later attended Bordeaux Segalen University in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he majored in

medical education Medical education is vocational education, education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional trainin ...

.In 2008, he abruptly stopped his medical studies, as he decided to come back to Morocco, where he studied business and later earned his

bachelor degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years (d ...

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

from

Al Akhawayn University Al Akhawayn University (, Berber: ''Tasdawit En Wawmaten'') is an independent, public, not-for-profit, coeducational university in Ifrane, Morocco, from the imperial city of Fez, in the Middle Atlas Mountains. The medium of instruction is th ...

. According to the newspaper ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'', El Khalidy was during his studies at Al Akhawayn, the

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for the Moroccan web magazine ''Fashion Maroc'' and its partner ''

Elite Model Look Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...

'' for three consecutive years. Soon after his graduation, El Khalidy moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

thanks to a "Global Achievement Scholarship" offered by

Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center f ...

in Winterpark,Florida, where he'd graduate with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in film production.

Acting career

In 2016, El Khalidy started his movie career in

Los Angeles 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, ...

after a recommendation from his professor at Full Sail University, Bill W. Benton. In 2017,

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

invited Soufiane El Khalidy for its preliminary auditions in order to become a lifetime member. El Khalidy has been described by '' Medi 1'' as "the new face of Moroccan cinema". Like

Youssef Kerkour Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series ''Home (British TV series), Home'', a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards. Ea ...

and Said Taghmaoui, El Khalidy is one of the few Moroccan actors who have succeeded in international film productions and Hollywood. During his career, El Khalidy appeared in various music videos by rock bands like

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

, One Ok Rock and BRMC. In 2024, he is the lead in the music video ''Tatooine/ Maintenance'' by the French rapper, JXSH. He is slated to play the lead alongside Sveva Alviti in the Italian movie ''Le Chemin du Retour'' by Fabio Zito.

Personal life

Soufiane El Khalidy and Nadia Benzakour at the 2024 Marrakech International Film Festival

On 15 October 2022, El Khalidy married the French actress Nadia Benzakour ( Seneca: On The Creation of Earthquakes, Zodi & Tehu: Princes of The Desert, Killing Jesus,

Deep State Deep state is a term used for (real or imagined) potential, unauthorized and often secret networks of power operating independently of a State (polity), state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agendas and goals. Although the term ori ...

) in

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

. The couple is often referred by the media as the Moroccan Brangelina. Soufiane El Khalidy identifies himself as a liberal in a political and spiritual sense.

Artistry

Selective filmography

As an actor

* 2017: '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (TV series), as Sayid Lajani * 2017: Shockwave: Countdown To Disaster (Film), as the Young Militant * 2017: Riley Parra (TV series), as Ridwan * 2017: Gulag Magadan(Movie), as Commissar Yagoda * 2017: Heroic Girl (TV commercial), as The Father * 2019: Riley Parra: Better Angels (Movie), as Ridwan * 2022: The Eight(TV series), as Youssef * 2022: Colosseum (TV series), as Centurion * 2023: Ghosts of Beirut(TV series), as Kerem * 2024: Klandestin (Movie), as the Coast Guard * 2024: JXSH-Tatooine/Maintenance (Music video), as Alfred * 2025: Mary (Movie), as Frustrated Pilgrim *2025: De Gaulle: Part 1 (Movie), as Koenig Soldier

As a director /writer

*2014: Flags and Masks Down( Short Movie) * 2015: Colonized Mind (Short Movie)

Bibliography

Soufiane El Khalidy has authored one book: ''Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel'' (Editions Amalthée. ). Its preserved at the National Library of France in Paris and at the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Human Sciences and Islamic Studies in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. ''Les Riffs d'un Moroccan Rebel'' includes modern poems with both personal and political themes. His poetry depicts his childhood in Agadir, his life as a student in Al Akhawayn, in the United States, France and Spain, filming in Hollywood as an actor, racism in the film industry, his view of Moroccan and American societies as well as the rest of the world, as well as personal details.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Soufiane El Khalidy
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

(libraries) * {{DEFAULTSORT:El Khalidy, Soufiane Living people 1987 births 21st-century Moroccan male actors Al Akhawayn University Moroccan writers in French Al Akhawayn University alumni Full Sail University alumni Moroccan male television actors Moroccan actors Moroccan writers Moroccan film directors 21st-century screenwriters Moroccan screenwriters People from Agadir 21st-century Moroccan actors Moroccan film actors Moroccan male film actors