He is very well-known and loved in Syria: Who is Ghassan Massoud?

Known for his roles in films such as "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Pirates of the Caribbean", master actor Massoud was born on September 20, 1958. Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud has played important roles in big-name films including Kingdom of Heaven and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Massoud, who played the role of Saladin Ayyubi, the commander of the Muslim armies in the Kingdom of Heaven, also starred in the Turkish film Valley of the Wolves Iraq in 2006. Massoud, who continues his work at the platforms called "Damascus Music and Drama School" and "High Institution of Theatrical Arts", also played the role of Hz. Abu Bakr in the TV series Hz. Ömer.

Ghassan Massoud (born September 20, 1958) is a Syrian actor and filmmaker. He is best known in the West for his role as Saladin in Ridley Scott's 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven.

QUESTION: You are one of the actors who came out of the Middle East and took on roles in Hollywood. Was it as easy as it seemed?

ANSWER: Of course, it was not easy at all. In my first experience, when director Ridley Scott was thinking of choosing a Middle Eastern, Arab actor to play the role of Saladin, they had to meet with many professional artists. More than a thousand actors were subjected to performances worldwide. So I submitted an audition and through my agent we sent it to Ridley Scott in the US. When Scott saw me performing a line in English from the script of “Kingdom of Heaven”, he said, “This guy is the best person to play this role!” So ​​neither access nor experience was easy. There was a lot of competition.

QUESTION: So, what did you do to get a foothold in Hollywood?

ANSWER: As I mentioned, my first experience was the character of Saladin in “Kingdom of Heaven”. Maybe this character opened the door for me to be someone who was sought after in other roles in Hollywood. That was the most important thing. Of course, the things that played the main role in order to get a foothold were; talent, on the other hand experience and appearance on the world stage.

Note for Muslims:

Ghassan is the name of the founder of the Christian Arab state that ruled Syria before Islam. It is written with the letter gayin. Today in Syria, there are many people with the Urdu name Ghassan. Hassan means good-natured, it is the name of the grandson of the prophet. It is written with him. The two are different names.