Ahmed Talaat discovered his love for acting at an early age, first stepping onto the stage in school plays as a child. Even while pursuing a degree in Architecture, his passion for performance never faded. In 2019, he won over audiences with his breakout role as Henry in the TV series Zodiac, marking the beginning of a journey that has since led to his latest success in Rocky El Ghalaba (Poor Man’s Rocky). Enigma’s Habiba Abdulsalam sat down with the multi-talented actor to talk about his steady rise and the path that continues to shape his career.
When Talaat enters a room, his sense of humour and cheerful presence make it hard to believe he is the villain we see on screen. He walks into Enigma’s office with a warm, friendly energy that instantly puts everyone at ease, as if they have known him for years.
Born in Sohag in 1982 and raised in Maadi, Cairo, Talaat attended Victory College School, where he first discovered his calling. “My history teacher loved acting; he organised a school play every year, and I would always participate,” he reminisced. “I felt the passion most clearly when I played King Farouk.”
Talaat joined the Faculty of Architecture at Cairo University. During his first two years in college, he was focused on acting, and failed classes. This led him to setting acting aside so that he could focus on architecture.
Talaat went on to build a successful career as an architect and an equestrian course designer. He lived in England for 10 years; however, he always felt that a piece of him was missing. “In 2019, I decided to re-explore my first passion. So, I took acting classes, and it was my dear friend, producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy, who put me on track and exposed me to the world of acting, helping me land my first two roles.”
What followed was an impressive record, with six successful roles within just two years. “After Hefzy set me on the path, producer Tarek El Ganainy ran the course with me,” he joked. “He shaped who I am today by being there every step of the way.” Surrounded by friends in the industry, Talaat found encouragement to keep pursuing his passion. “I started with minor roles that I’m very grateful for; those roles motivated me to keep going.”
Talaat also reflects on a life-changing piece of advice he was given: “Director Tamer Mohsen had a big impact on my career without realising it, even though we only worked together once in Leabet Newton (Newton’s Cradle). He was the one who taught me how to act and express with my eyes, which helped my character come out the way it did.”However, there is one special role that cemented Talaat’s career: “My role as Henry in the series Zodiac made me realise that this isn’t just a hobby, this is who I am.” Talaat credits much of his journey to the support of friends within the industry. “Nelly Karim had a huge impact on me; she’s the one who pushed me into acting,” he recalls. “I also genuinely enjoyed working with Mohamed Mamdouh; he’s someone I always turn to whenever I face a problem.”
To master his art, Talaat maintains his love of reading about acting, and he especially enjoys Ivana Chubbuck’s work. “She’s an acting coach whose methods I try to live by. I follow her book The Power of the Actor. I value her help a lot, even though we never met.”
When it comes to choosing projects, Talaat’s approach is simple yet insightful. “I look for scripts that challenge me as an actor and bring out something new in me,” he explains. “The real mission is taking what’s on the page and shaping it into a complete personality: a walk, a way of speaking, a backstory, how the character acts and reacts until I can visualise him as a real person.” He adds passionately, “I also choose roles that are tasteful and resonate with me. For example, I’d play a strong, confident hero, but I would never agree to the clichéd fat guy stereotype.”
If Talaat could recreate an existing role, his first choice would be El Sheikh Hosny in El Kit Kat, the iconic character brought to life by Mahmoud Abdel Aziz. “Whenever you think of a blind person, his performance is what comes to mind; that’s the peak of success,” he says with admiration. He would also love to take on Albert from Hitch, played by Kevin James, the man hopelessly in love with a woman who doesn’t love him back. “It’s a funny story despite the pain he goes through.”
I asked Talaat the question many people have on their minds: why does he so often play the villain? His answer was both humorous and revealing. “Maybe I really am evil,” he giggles. “To be honest, I’m just drawn to antagonists because they reflect a part of me. I’m incredibly kind to the people I care about, but once someone hurts me, I fight back and that part comes through in my acting.”
For inspiration, Talaat looks to some of his favourite villains on screen. “My role model is Heath Ledger in The Joker and I even have him tattooed,” he shares. “In Egyptian cinema, Adel Emam is the greatest of all time. Mohamed Mamdouh also surprised me with how powerful he was, and of course, there’s Khaled El Sawi as well.”
Looking ahead, Talaat also has his own wishes for who he’d like to see embrace darker roles: “I wish I could see Amr Youssef take on a villain role; he’s one of the best actors and a master of underacting. He can do so little yet say so much,” Talaat says. “Asser Yassin as well. Maybe the three of us could be a trio of villains,” he adds with a laugh.
Curious about how he balances his many talents, I asked Talaat how he juggles architecture and acting. “I have always appreciated the idea of having the freedom to say no. It’s a luxury for me to have two passions; this gives me the ability to pick my roles wisely with no pressure,” he explains. “Even though my focus is shifting more onto acting, architecture gives me the stability that helps me enjoy it. So, I think of both as parts of me that complete each other; that’s what motivates me to grow in both fields at the same time.”
Yet Talaat believes the future holds much more for him. “I aim for more diverse roles; I want to be unrecognisable in each one, which is tough when you’re a bald man with a beard,” he says jokingly. Talaat aspires to reach the level of versatility Al Pacino achieved in Donnie Brasco, Scarface, The Godfather and Carlito’s Way, where he morphed into a completely different character each time. “I can’t change much about my looks, so the real goal is to be perceived differently in every role.”
After rising to fame in Egypt, Talaat is now taking his talent all the way to the US, starring in the four-episode mini-series Debriefing the President, based on John Nixon’s revealing book of the same name and featuring Joel Kinnaman, Dar Salim and Waleed Zuaiter. The series recounts the capture of Saddam Hussein by US forces and the details of his CIA interrogation. “I play Saddam Hussein’s bodyguard, who betrays him for a cash reward,” Talaat reveals. “I’m looking forward to everyone watching it, and I hope it will mark one of my biggest breakthroughs.”
Of course, success doesn’t come without challenges, and Talaat was candid about the struggles he faced with this role. “When I saw the script, I found out that I would be acting in English and Iraqi. Iraqi was a challenge; it’s a tough language to learn. I was given the script five days before filming, so I needed to become very fluent very quickly,” he shares. “I had faced a similar challenge in Mohamed Ramadan’s Moussa; I had to learn the Upper Egyptian dialect. It’s harder than people think because, like any dialect, it has its own melody, and capturing that took a lot of effort. I practised by listening to native speakers until I could get it right.”However, the roughest period that stuck with Talaat came during the filming of Rocky El Ghalaba (Poor Man’s Rocky). He woke up one morning with partial facial paralysis caused by a viral infection in the middle ear that affected the facial nerve. “I couldn’t move half of my face for three months. It was a terrifying experience and the worst period of my life. It felt like watching my career slip away,” he reflects. “As soon as I healed, we had to snap back into action so we could finish filming on time. It was a mentally draining situation that life gave me no time to recover from.”
As for his advice to aspiring actors, Talaat strongly believes that preparation is the key to success. “If you’re not ready to give the opportunity your all, it will haunt you for the rest of your career. So, make sure you’re ready before seeking the chance; missing out is better than not doing your best because you weren’t ready,” he advises firmly. “I worked every job under the sun, as a course designer, as an architect, and I met more highnesses and celebrities than you could imagine, yet the toughest job for me is acting. It’s like driving; you need a lot of practice before you are ready to hit the road.”